City of Memphis v. Wilson (In Re Wilson)

MEMORANDUM DAVID S. KENNEDY, Bankruptcy Judge. In this adversary proceeding the plaintiff, City of Memphis, has filed a complaint against the defendant, Karen Anastasia Wilson, the above-named Chapter 7 debtor (“Debtor”), pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(7), seeking, inter alia, a nondis-chargeable judgment on account of unpaid traffic violation fines. The relevant facts are undisputed. On October 6, 1982, plaintiff obtained a judg *192 ment for city traffic fines in the amount of $100.00. On November 3, 1982, the Debtor filed an original petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Plaintiff was listed as a creditor in the Debtor’s Schedule A-3. Plaintiff subsequently filed the instant adversary proceeding. The sole and limited issue for judicial determination here is whether or not a liability to pay traffic fines is dischargeable. 1 Unlike the Bankruptcy Code, the former Bankruptcy Act made no specific provision concerning the dischargeability of fines and penalties due to a governmental unit, but certain principles became well settled in ^ this respect. Fines for violation of law were not provable under the former Act and therefore were held to be not dis-chargeable. In re Tingling, 2 B.C.D. 183 (Bkrtcy.S.D.N.Y.1976); Collier On Bankruptcy, Vol. 3, Para. 523.17 (15th Ed.). 2 § 523(a)(7) of the Bankruptcy Code provides, in pertinent part, as follows: “A discharge under section 727 ... of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt ... to the extent such debt is for a fine, penalty, or forfeiture payable to and for the benefit of a governmental unit 3 and is not compensation for actual pecuniary loss.... ” The Bankruptcy Law Manual (Weintraub and Resnick), Para. 3.09[8], provides in pertinent part, as follows: “[a]ny obligation to pay a fine, penalty, or forfeiture owed to a governmental unit will remain unaffected by the case. Liabilities to pay traffic fines, for example, are not dischargeable.” (Emphasis added.) Based on all the foregoing and the case record as a whole, the court finds, under the circumstances, that a liability to pay a traffic fine is nondischargeable. This “Memorandum” shall constitute findings of fact and conclusions of law under Bankruptcy Rule 752(a). Footnotes [1] Although the instant adversary proceeding involved other issues, this Memorandum is limited to this sole issue. [2] The concept of provability contained in § 63 of the former Bankruptcy Act was not retained under the Bankruptcy Code. See 11 U.S.C. § 101(4). [3] Under 11 U.S.C. § 101(21) “governmental unit” is defined as including a “municipality” such as the plaintiff here.