Can A Bankrupt Farm Debtor Make Plan Payments Directly To Creditors?

Overview

Economic and financial conditions remain tough in much of agriculture.  Bankruptcy filings have seen an increase, and that includes the number of Chapter 12 filings.  In a Chapter 12 the debtor must file a reorganization plan under which the debtor proposes a plan for paying off creditors.  Plan payments generally must pass through the hands of the bankruptcy trustee.  The trustee is compensated out of a portion of the plan payments.

But, what if a debtor proposes to make payments directly to the creditors?  Doing so would bypass the trustee, and would also bypass the trustee’s fee.  It would also mean that all of the payments made under the bankruptcy plan would go to the creditors instead of some of it syphoned off to pay the trustee. 

That’s the focus of today’s post – whether a debtor in reorganization bankruptcy can make direct payments to creditors under the debtor’s reorganization plan.

The Reorganization Plan

A Chapter 12 debtor has an exclusive 90-day period after filing for Chapter 12 bankruptcy to file a plan for reorganization unless the court grants an extension.  A court may grant additional time only if circumstances are present for which the debtor should not fairly be held accountable.  11 U.S.C. §1221.  See e.g., In re Davis, No. CC-16-1390-KuLTa, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 2169 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. Aug. 2, 2017).  If the court determines that the debtor will be unable to make all payments as required by the plan, the court may require the debtor to modify the plan, convert the case to a Chapter 7, or request the court to dismiss the case.  In other words, the plan must be feasible.  It must also be proposed in good faith.  Good faith can be viewed as practically synonymous the requirement that the plan be feasible.  See, e.g., In re Lockard, 234 B.R. 484 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1999).

The Bankruptcy Trustee

Duties.  A trustee is appointed in every Chapter 12 case.  A Chapter 12 trustee’s duties are similar to those under Chapter 13.  Specifically, a trustee under Chapter 12, is directed to:

*          be accountable for all property received;

*          ensure that the debtor performs in accordance with intention;

*          object to the allowance of claims which would be improper;

*          if advisable, oppose the discharge of the debtor;

*          furnish requested information to a party in interest unless the court orders otherwise;

*          make a final report;

*          for cause and upon request, investigate the financial affairs of the debtor, the

    operation of the debtor’s business and the desirability of the continuance of the business;

*          participate in hearings concerning the value of property of the bankruptcy estate; and

*          ensure that the debtor commences making timely payments required by confirmed plan.

In specifying the duties of trustees, Chapter 12 modifies the duty applicable to trustees under other chapters of the Bankruptcy Code to “investigate the financial affairs of the debtor.”  Chapter 12 authorizes an investigative role for trustees, as noted above, “for cause and on request of a party in interest....”  Thus, it would appear, in a routine case where there is no fraud, dishonesty, incompetence or gross mismanagement, the debtor should be allowed to reorganize without significant interference from the trustee.

Compensation.  The compensation of trustees is not to exceed 10 percent of payments made under the debtor’s plan for the first $450,000 of payments.  The fee is then not to exceed three percent of aggregate plan payments above that amount.  28 U.S.C. §586(e)(1).  The trustee collects the fee from payments received under the plan.  28 U.S.C. § 586(e)(2).  That’s an important point - the fee is based on all payments the debtor makes under the plan to the trustee rather than on amounts the trustee disperses to creditors. See, e.g., Pelofsky v. Wallace, 102 F.3d 350 (8th Cir. 1996). 

Plan Payments

Except as provided in the plan or in order confirming the plan, it is the trustee that is to make payments to creditors under the plan. Courts have generally recognized that payments on fully secured claims that the bankruptcy plan does not modify can be paid directly to the creditor, as can claims not impaired by the plan.  However, for claims that are impaired, courts are divided as to whether a court may approve direct payments to creditors. 

The issue of who actually disburses the debtor’s payments is important to the trustee because, as noted above, the trustee is entitled to a statutory commission only on funds actually received from the debtor pursuant to the reorganization plan.  But, the bankruptcy code does not prevent a debtor from making payments directly to creditors.   

So, how does a court decide whether a debtor can make payments directly to creditors and bypass the trustee (and the trustee fee)?  Historically, the courts have utilized three approaches for deciding whether a debtor can make direct payment under a Chapter 12 reorganization plan (and thereby bypass the trustee fee).  One approach utilizes a blanket rule barring the direct payment of impaired secured creditors.  See, e.g., In re Fulkrod, 973 F.2d 801 (9th Cir. 1992).  Another approach is, essentially, the direct opposite.  Under this approach, debtors can pay secured creditors directly, regardless of their impaired status.  See, e.g., In re Wagner, 36 F.3d 723 (8th Cir. 1994).   But, the majority approach is to weigh a number of factors in the balance on a case-by-case basis to determine whether direct payments can be made.  See, e.g., In re Beard, 45 F.3d 113 (6th Cir. 1995)

The issue came up again in a recent case.

Recent Case

In In re Speir, No. 16-11947-JDW, 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 2359 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. Aug. 8, 2018), the debtor filed Chapter 12 in mid-2016 and a reorganization plan later that year.  The plan called for direct payments to the secured creditors but payments to the unsecured creditors would be made to the trustee for distribution.  The trustee objected, but the court upheld the direct payments except as applied to one secured creditor based on the application of a 13-factor test.   Those factors are: 

• The debtor’s past history;
• The debtor’s business acumen;
• Whether the debtor has complied post-filing statutory and court-imposed duties;
• Whether the debtor is acting in good-faith;
• The debtor’s ability to achieve meaningful reorganization absent direct payments;
• How the reorganization plan treats each creditor to which a direct payment is proposed to be made;
• The consent, or non-consent, of the affected creditor to the proposed plan treatment;
• How sophisticated a creditor is, and whether the creditor has the ability and incentive, to monitor compliance;
• The ability of the trustee and the court to monitor future direct payments;
• The potential burden on the trustee;
• The possible effect on the trustee’s salary or funding of the U.S. Trustee system;
• The potential for abuse of the bankruptcy system; and
• The existence of other unique or special circumstances

In balancing the factors, the In re Speir court noted that each factor may be considered, but it is not necessary that equal weight be given to each factor or even to different claims in the same case. Ultimately, what the analysis came down to in In re Speir was a weighing of the necessary compensation for the Trustee against a feasible plan for the debtor. The court noted that the debtor had used the bankruptcy process to substantially modify one secured creditor’s claim and, as a result, had to pay that creditor’s claim through the Trustee.  The other secured creditors, the court noted, remained mostly unaffected by the debtor’s bankruptcy and could be paid directly. 

Conclusion

While times remain tough in agriculture for some ag producers, Chapter 12 bankruptcy was created specifically to assist farm debtors in distress.  The ability to pay creditors directly and bypass the Trustee (and the Trustee’s fee) might be possible.  For those in Chapter 12, the issue should be evaluated.