CopyPublished | United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida | 24 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 106, 2013 WL 3455947, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2751
Chapter 13 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEBTORS’ MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION Michael G. Williamson, United States Bankruptcy Judge Section 443.051(2), Florida Statutes, provides that unemployment compensation *636 “benefits due ......
...are exempt from all claims of creditors and from ... attachment ... for ... collection of a debt.” At the time they filed this case, the Debtors were holding $15,631 in accumulated unemployment compensation benefits. They claimed those benefits as exempt. But the Court ruled that section 443.051 only exempts benefits owing but not yet paid....
...1 As a consequence, because the accumulated benefits were not exempt, the Swetics’ Chapter 13 Plan failed the “best interests of the creditors” test under Bankruptcy Code § 1325(a)(4). The Debtors have asked the Court to reconsider its ruling because they say that the wording of section 443.051 exempts not only “benefits due” but benefits received and in the possession of the Debtors on the petition date. 2 In support of this conclusion, they argue that section 443.051 should be broken down into two clauses: under the first clause, “benefits due” may not be encumbered, while under the second clause “benefits” — whether due or already paid — are exempt from execution. The Debtors’ interpretation of section 443.051, however, is grammatically incorrect....
...mpound predicate joined by a conjunction must have the same subject as the first verb. Plus, the word “due” in this case is a postpositive adjective, 4 which means it modifies the noun it follows: “benefits.” The Debtors’ interpretation of section 443.051 ignores both of these grammar rules....
...Before filing for bankruptcy, the Debtors had accumulated $15,631 in unemployment compensation benefits. 5 When they filed for bankruptcy, the Debtors claimed those funds (which were sitting in a bank account at Branch Banking & Trust) as exempt. 6 Under section 443.051, Florida Statutes, unemployment compensation “benefits due” to the recipient are exempt from execution: [BJenefits due under this chapter may not be assigned, pledged, encumbered, released, or commuted and, except as otherwise pro...
... 13 Under that definition, then, benefits “due or payable” would not include benefits already paid. On the other hand, it was not clear to the Supreme Court that the words “due or payable” applied to the whole statute. 14 After all, unlike section
443.051, section
440.22 (the statute involved in Jacksonville Medical) consisted of two clauses with two separate subjects....
...case with the one in this case: unlike the statute in Jacksonville Medical, the statute in this case cannot be broken down into two independent clauses. 17 Consequently, this Court concluded that the words “benefits *638 due” applied throughout section 443.051 and did not include benefits already paid to the Debtors....
...sisted of two clauses. For that reason, the Debtors say Jacksonville Medical is not distinguishable from this case. Second, because Jacksonville Medical is not distinguishable, the Debtors say this Court should have followed that decision and broken section 443.051 down into a subject (“benefits”) and two clauses (the first clause being “due under this chapter may not be assigned, pledged, encumbered, or released,” and the second clause being “are exempt from all claims of creditors an...
...dicate.' If the clause following the conjunction “and” is merely the second part of a compound predicate, it must have the same subject as the preceding clause. 23 *639 Here, there is no question the clause following the conjunction “and” in section 443.051 is the second part of a compound predicate....
...Because the same subject must apply to both clauses, the Court concludes that the subject in this case is “benefits due.” 26 And the Court has already concluded— just like the Court in Jacksonville Medical — that “due” means “owing.” Accordingly, section 443.051, by its plain terms, does not exempt benefits once they are paid out....
...s employ here. While that approach is understandable, the Court must follow fundamental principles of grammar when interpreting a statute. 28 And in doing so, the Court has no choice but to conclude that the words “benefits due” apply throughout section 443.051, Florida Statutes....
...That includes adjectives. Id. So a "postpositive adjective” is an adjective that appears after the noun it modifies. Id. Examples: accounts receivable, body politic, fee simple, force majeure, and proof positive. . Doc. No. 1 at Schedule B. . Id. at Schedule C. . § 443.051(2), Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 13742
...agency, including unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, and other benefits." 42 U.S.C. § 666(c)(1)(G). In Florida, the Department is responsible for administering the Title IV-D program. §§
409.2554(1),
409.2557(1), Fla. Stat. (2010). Section
443.051(3), Florida Statutes (2010), provides that: (a) The Department of Revenue shall, at least biweekly, provide the Agency for Workforce Innovation with a magnetic tape or other electronic data file disclosing the individuals who owe support obligations and the amount of any legally required deductions....
...The Department is empowered by the Title IV-D program, as well as Florida Statutes, to withhold 40% of unemployment compensation to satisfy "child support obligations," which may include owed delinquencies, arrearages or retroactive support even if repayment for such is not specified in the support order. See §§ 443.051(1)(b)-(c), 443.051(3)(b), Fla....
