Sonya Laraye Owens

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
SONYA LARAYE OWENS,
Debtor.
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Case No. 07-00547
(Chapter 13)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DISMISSING THE
DEBTOR’S OBJECTION TO SALLIE MAE’S CLAIM AND
DIRECTING DEBTOR TO INCLUDE WITH ANY RENEWED OBJECTION
TO CLAIM AN AFFIDAVIT DEMONSTRATING THAT NO CLAIM IS OWED
The debtor has filed an Objection to Sallie Mae/USAF’s proof
of claim (Claim No. 3) (Docket Entry (“DE”) No. 81, filed April
8, 2008). 	Sallie Mae has not filed a response. 	The debtor,
however, served her objection on Sallie Mae at the following
address:
Sallie Mae/USAF MC 8303
POB 7167
Indianapolis, IN 46206-7167
Sallie Mae’s proof of claim, on the other hand, indicates that
all notices are to be sent to the following name and address:
Sallie Mae, Inc. on behalf of United Student Aid Funds, Inc.
Attn: Bankruptcy Litigation Unit E3149
PO Box 6180
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6180
The Memorandum Decision and Order below is hereby
signed. Dated: July 1, 2008.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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Accordingly, Sallie Mae has not been properly served and the
court will dismiss the debtor’s objection to claim.
Furthermore, in the event the debtor re-files and properly
serves a renewed objection to Sallie Mae’s claim, the court will
require the debtor to include with that objection an affidavit or
affidavits demonstrating that no claim is owed. 	A properly
executed and filed proof of claim constitutes “prima facie
evidence of the validity and amount of the claim.” 	Fed. R.
Bankr. P. 3001(f). 	Essentially, Rule 3001(f) treats a proof of
claim, executed under penalty of perjury, as the equivalent of an
affidavit supporting the creditor’s claim, casting the burden on
the objecting party to adduce contrary evidence. 	Under Rule
3001(f), the court may direct that the debtor file an affidavit
to overcome the prima facie evidence of the validity and amount
of a claim. 	See Garner v. Shier (In re Garner), 246 B.R. 617
(B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2000); In re Nejedlo, 324 B.R. 697, 700 (Bankr.
E.D. Wis. 2005) (evidence rebutting prima facie validity of claim
may come “in the form of an affidavit or declaration, especially
when the claimants themselves do not respond or appear at the
hearing on the Objections,” citing Garner).
Without deciding whether Sallie Mae’s claim was properly
executed and filed and therefore entitled to a presumption of
validity under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3001(f), the court observes that
the debtor’s objection in its current form does not contend that
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3	O:\TEEL\Laura\ORDERS\Obj to Claim\Objectin to claim - order to file affidavit - chapter 13 - Owens_v2.wpd
Rule 3001(f) is inapplicable to Sallie Mae’s proof of claim. 	In
order to expedite the court’s disposition of any renewed
objection to claim, the court deems it appropriate to require the
debtor to include with any renewed objection an affidavit
demonstrating that no claim is owed, without which the court may
be unable to sustain the debtor’s objection to claim even if the
creditor again fails to respond. 	It is thus
ORDERED that the debtor’s objection to Sallie Mae’s claim
(DE No. 81) is DISMISSED without prejudice to the debtor’s re-
filing of an objection to claim that is properly served. 	It is
further
ORDERED that, to the extent the debtor elects to renew her
objection to Sallie Mae’s claim, she shall also file and serve on
Sallie Mae an affidavit or affidavits demonstrating that no claim
is owed. 	If she fails to do so, and even if Sallie Mae does not
file a response to the debtor’s renewed objection to claim, the
court will overrule the objection as to Sallie Mae’s claim
without prejudice to a renewed objection to the claim.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Chapter 13 Trustee;
Sallie Mae, Inc. On behalf of United Student Aid Funds, Inc.
Attn: Bankruptcy Litigation Unit E3149
PO Box 6180
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6180
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