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In re English (Case No. 08-60172) 09/23/2009

The debtors objected to three proofs of claim on the basis that no supporting documentation or evidence of contract was attached and that the debts may be barred by the statute of limitations. In response to the objection, each creditor filed an amended proof of claim attaching a copy of the transaction history of the account.  A proof of claim is presumed to be prima facie valid if supported by documentation as required by Rule 3001(c).  If the creditor files a proof of claim not supported by requisite documentation, the debtor's objection will be deemed to have been filed in bad faith if the debtor has scheduled the debt in an amount equal to or greater than the proof of claim and not marked the claim as disputed or if the debtor has no reason to believe that the basis of the objection is true.  If the proof of claim is supported by the required documentation, the presumption of validity may be overcome by the objecting party only if it offers evidence of equally probative value in rebuttal.  The debtors' objection based on no supporting documentation was overruled by the court as the debtors scheduled each of the claims in substantially the same amount as the proofs of claim and did not mark any of the claims disputed on the schedules.  In this case, a writing that included a detailed transaction history over a reasonable period of time was found sufficient to support the proof of claim for an unsecured debt.  As the debtors failed to provide any law or assert any facts to support the statute of limitations defense, the objection on that ground was overruled.

Date: 
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Category: 
Burden of Proof
Chapter 13 Issues
Claim Objections
Proofs of Claim
Statute of Limitations
Unsecured Claim
Chapter: 
13