- 20 - In United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc., supra,6 a bankruptcy case brought under the Bankruptcy Code of 1978 (Bankruptcy Code), the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether the issuance of a notice of levy to a third party satisfies a taxpayer’s liability. The Supreme Court stated: Under the old Bankruptcy Act, a bankruptcy court’s summary jurisdiction over a debtor’s property was limited to property in the debtor’s possession when the liquidation was filed. Phelps v. United States, 421 U.S. 330, 335-336 (1975); Taubel-Scott-Kitzmiller Co. v. Fox, 264 U.S. 426, 432-434 (1924). Phelps, which involved a liquidation petition under the prior Bankruptcy Act, held that a bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction to direct the Service to turn over property which had been levied on and which, at time of the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, was in the possession of an assignee of the debtor’s creditors. Phelps does not control this case. First, the new Bankruptcy Code abolished the distinction between summary and plenary jurisdiction, thus expanding the jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts beyond the possession limitation. H.R. Rep. No. 95-595, pp. 48-40 (1977); see Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50, 54 (1982)(plurality opinion). Moreover, Phelps was a liquidation situation, and is inapplicable to reorganization proceedings such as we consider here. [Id. at 206 n.13.] 6The property in issue in United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc., supra, was tangible property. The property in issue in Phelps v. United States, 421 U.S. 330 (1975), was intangible property. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc., supra at 202, to resolve a split in the circuits, between United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc., 674 F.2d 144 (2d Cir. 1982) (tangible property), and Cross Elec. Co. v. United States, 664 F.2d 1218 (4th Cir. 1981) (intangible property). Accordingly, we reject petitioners’ contention that, with respect to the issue under consideration, a distinction should be drawn between tangible property and intangible property. See also Meehan v. Wallace, 102 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 1997); In re Challenge Air Intl., Inc., 952 F.2d 384 (11th Cir. 1992).Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Next
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