Richard Anthony Plater

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
at Greenbelt
IN RE: :
:
RICHARD ANTHONY PLATER : Case No. 04-18641PM
: Chapter 13
Debtor - Movant
Daimler Chrysler Services
North America LLC
Respondent
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MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
The Debtor filed a motion pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 506(b) for this court to render a valuation of
his 1997 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S320 SWB 4-Door Sedan. The Respondent filed a proof of claim
in the total amount of $30,112.91, with $20,825.00 said to be the value of the collateral, making the
balance of the claim an unsecured claim without priority. This motion, if granted, implements Debtor’s
Plan that proposes to cramdown the claim to Debtor’s asserted valuation of $12,335.00. Debtor
bases his estimation upon a Kelley Blue Book Report listing for a private party sale value of a vehicle in
good condition. DaimlerChrysler Services uses a valuation based upon what it terms as the Gold Book
that states that a dealer would try to sell the vehicle for $20,825.00. The Gold Book approach is to fix
a price for a sale of a vehicle in excellent condition with appropriate dealer warranty.
The court is left to choose between two cited authorities. However, it is reasonable to assume,
and the court so finds, that the replacement value of a 7-year-old vehicle with 125,000 miles is not the
price that a retail dealer would seek to obtain for the vehicle, were it to have such an automobile in its
Date signed August 17, 2004
Case 04-18641 Doc 21 Filed 08/17/04 Page 1 of 2

stock but rather is replacement value without the bells and whistles often provided by dealers selling
“previously owned” vehicles. Associates Commercial Corp. v. Rash, 520 U.S. 953, 965 (1997).
Obviously, the Debtor here does not have the benefits of dealer warranties, assurances or
reconditioning.
On the whole, the court finds the Debtor’s estimation of value closer to replacement value than
that asserted by the creditor. An appropriate order will be entered.
cc: Ann M. Gaegler, Esq., 6309 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 201, Riverdale, MD 20737
DaimlerChrysler, c/o Harold Davis, Jr., Esq., 200 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 1450, Memphis, TN
38103
Richard A. Plater, 9507 Carol Street, Springdale, MD 20774
Timothy P. Branigan, Esquire, P.O. Box 1902, Laurel MD 20725-1902
End of Memorandum Decision
Case 04-18641 Doc 21 Filed 08/17/04 Page 2 of 2