JOHN S. PENFOUND; JILL L. PENFOUND v. DAVID W. RUSKIN, CHAPTER 13 TRUSTEE - Articles

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JOHN S. PENFOUND; JILL L. PENFOUND v. DAVID W. RUSKIN, CHAPTER 13 TRUSTEE

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Aug 10, 2021

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Aaron J. Scheinfield, GOLDSTEIN, BERSHAD & FRIED, P.C., Southfield, Michigan, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Stuart A. Gold, GOLD, LANGE, MAJOROS & SMALARZ, P.C., Southfield, Michigan, for Appellee.

Judge(s): GRIFFIN, LARSEN, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. In Davis v. Helbling (In re Davis), this court held that when a Chapter 13 debtor has regularly contributed to his 401(k) in the months leading up to his petition for bankruptcy, he may exclude that recurring amount from the calculation of his “projected disposable income.” See 960 F.3d 346, 355–57 (6th Cir. 2020). This case presents a twist to that fact pattern. What if a debtor has historically contributed to a 401(k) plan, but was unable to make further contributions in the months leading up to bankruptcy? John and Jill Penfound claim that such a track record should permit them to shield voluntary post-petition contributions from the reach of their creditors. Because neither the statute nor our caselaw supports the Penfounds’ position, we AFFIRM the judgment below.

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