Bryan v. Stanton (In re Bryan)
- Citation:
- No. 11-6068 (8th Cir. B.A.P. March 21, 2012).
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- Affirmed order of bankruptcy court sustaining objection of trustee to claim of exemption of annuity under Missouri state law. BAB concluded that prior ruling of bankruptcy court that annuity was not exempt was res judicata on issue (debtor had subsequently amended exemption claim to cite alternate state statute), and that the annuity was not covered under Missouri exemption of life insurance policies.
- Procedural context:
- Debtor claimed an annuity as exempt under Missouri law as life insurance. The trustee objected to the claim of exemption. The court sustained the objection. The debtor did not appeal the denial of the exemption. The debtor later amended Schedule C to assert the annuity was exempt on other Missouri statutory provisions. The court bankruptcy court's decision was upheld on the grounds that the annuity was not life insurance and there was no evidence that it was issued under provisions of Missouri law applying to rare insurance carriers. Moreover, the court found the initial denial of the exemption constituted res judicata. The B.A.P. distinguished this case from Ladd v. Ries (In re Ladd), 450 F. 3rd 751 (8th CIr. 2006). In Ladd, the 8th Cir. held that an earlier denial of exemption for the debtors' farm was not res judicata of the exemption upon the debtors' switch from the "federal" exemptions to Minnesota state exemptions. The B.A.P. noted that unlike the instant case, the the debtor in Ladd could not claim the property as exempt under federal and state law at the same time, but that the debtor in the case under review could simultaneously claim exemption under numerous provisions of the Missouri law.
- Facts:
- Debtor had an annuity. Trustee objected to the debtor's claim that the annuity was exempt as life insurance. The Court upheld the objection, finding that an annuity is not insurance. The debtor did not appeal that decision. The debtor later on amended its exemption claim to cite alternative provisions of Missouri law.
- Judge(s):
- Kressel, Chief Judge, Schermer (writing). and Saladino522
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