Arthur J. Horowitz

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
ARTHUR J. HOROWITZ,
Debtor.
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Case No. 08-00211
(Chapter 13)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION RE CLAIM OF GMAC
This addresses the debtor’s objection to the proof of claim
of GMAC. 	GMAC has not responded to the debtor’s objection to its
proof of claim. 	The court issued its Memorandum Decision and
Interim Order re Claim of GMAC on September 26, 2008, concluding
that GMAC’s proof of claim had to be disallowed to the extent
that it exceeded $14,889.96, and setting a deadline of October
15, 2008, for GMAC to amend its proof of claim to indicate what
amount was received from the sale of the debtor’s vehicle. 	Well
beyond that deadline, GMAC filed an amended proof of claim on
November 11, 2008, asserting an unsecured claim for $15,272.84,
but that proof of claim failed to state what amount was received
on the sale of the vehicle. 	Nothing in the amended proof of
claim attempts to respond to the court’s reasoning in its
The decision below is signed as a decision of
the court.
Signed: December 03, 2008.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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Memorandum Decision and Interim Order concluding that GMAC’s
proof of claim had to be disallowed to the extent that it
exceeded $14,889.96.
The attachment to the proof of claim recites that the
$15,272.84 consists of a “Net Remaining Base Monthly Payments”
amount of $14,242.40, plus “Past Due Monthly Payments” of
$866.44, and “Unpaid Late Charges, Fees, Taxes and Other Charges”
of $164.00. 	Those latter two items are inconsistent with GMAC’s
original proof of claim which stated that there was no
prepetition arrearage owed. 	The amended proof of claim does not
attempt to explain why there is a discrepancy.
Although a proof of claim filed in conformance with the
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure is entitled under Rule
3001(e) to a presumption of prima facie correctness, the
inconsistency between the two proofs of claim (with not one word
of explanation for why there is an inconsistency), the lack of
any statement as to the amount of proceeds realized from the sale
of the vehicle, and the failure of the amended proof of claim to
address the conclusion in the Memorandum Decision and Interim
Order that at most $14,889.96 could be owed, suffice to show
error in the amended proof of claim, shifting the burden to GMAC
to demonstrate why the amended proof of claim is correct.
As explored in the Memorandum Decision and Interim Order,
the lease agreement is a complicated contract regarding the
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computation of what a debtor owes upon surrender of a vehicle.
GMAC has offered no meaningful assistance through either of the
proofs of claim as to how it computed the amount due pursuant to
the provisions discussed in the Memorandum Decision and Interim
Order.
The debtor, however, has not objected to the amended proof
of claim, and in a supplemental memorandum regarding its
objection to the original proof of claim has only requested that
the court disallow the amended proof of claim to the extent that
it exceeds $14,889.96, consistent with the Memorandum Decision
and Interim Order. 	GMAC has not been put on notice that its
amended proof of claim might be reduced below that $14,889.96.
Accordingly, the amended proof of claim will be allowed in the
amount of $14,889.96, without prejudice to the debtor’s objecting
that the amended proof of claim should be disallowed (for
example, to the extent the amended proof of claim asserts “Past
Due Monthly Payments” of $866.44, and Unpaid Late Charges, Fees,
Taxes and Other Charges” of $164.00, which if disallowed in toto
would reduce the claim to $14,242.40).
Finally, the amended proof of claim was not signed. 	This
furnishes an additional reason to disregard the proof of claim,
and to allow GMAC to have a claim pursuant to the original proof
of claim in the reduced amount of $14,889.96 as decided in the
Memorandum Decision and Interim Order.
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4	O:\TEEL\Judge Temp Docs\Horowitz Mem Decsn re GMAC Amended Claim.wpd
An order follows.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Debtor’s attorney; Chapter 13 Trustee; Stephen
A. Hecker, Esq. (counsel for GMAC on its motion for relief from
the automatic stay); and:
GMAC
P. Bengtson, Agent
PO Box 130424
Roseville, MN 55113
GMAC
T. Trollen, Agent
PO Box 130424
Roseville, MN 55113
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