Cite as: 503 U. S. 638 (1992)
Stevens, J., dissenting
claims as exempt under subsection (b) of this section." Subsection (b) limits exemptions claimed by the debtor to "any property that is exempt under federal law . . . or State or local law that is applicable on the date of the filing of the petition." 11 U. S. C. § 522(b)(2)(A). When a debtor claims exemptions that do not even arguably satisfy this condition,6 there is good reason to hold that the filing does not comply with § 522 and therefore the 30-day objection period does not begin to run. As one court noted: "If Debtor may select in any manner her exemptions, then no purpose is served by the inclusion of the . . . terms." In re Kingsbury, 124 B. R. 146, 148, n. 9 (Bkrtcy. Ct. Me. 1991). It declined to conclude that Congress added the requirements that the property be exempted "under federal law . . . or state law or local law" but "refused to grant them meaning." Ibid. (emphasis omitted).
IV
The Court's disposition of this case is straightforward. Because it regards the meaning of the statute and Rule as "plain," that is the end of the case. I have no doubt, however, that if the debtor or the trustee were guilty of fraud, the Court would readily ignore what it now treats as the insurmountable barrier of "plain meaning." The equities in this case are not as strong as if fraud were implicated, but our power to reach a just result despite the "plain meaning" barrier is exactly the same as it was in Bailey v. Glover, 21
6 The debtor's claimed exemptions in this case not only failed to satisfy any statutory basis, but also failed to provide even the basic information necessary to inform the trustee adequately about the exemption. For example, the debtor indicated on her Schedule B-4 Property Claimed As Exempt form that she was claiming the "[p]roceeds from lawsuit," but that the value was "unknown." App. 14-15. Although the value of the full award ended up amounting to $110,000, and only an amount of approximately $24,000 was required to satisfy the claims of all of her creditors, the debtor never amended her schedule to reflect the precise value of the award.
651
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007