REVISED - December 5, 2000
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
_____________________
No. 00-30053
_____________________
In the Matter of BRYAN EUGENE WOODS
Debtor
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BRYAN EUGENE WOODS,
Appellant
v.
UNITED STUDENT AID FUNDS, INC,
Appellee
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
_________________________________________________________________
November 27, 2000
Before KING, Chief Judge, and CUDAHY* and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellant Brian Eugene Woods appeals the district court’s
grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellee United Student Aid
Funds, Inc. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.
The sole issue before us is whether the district court erred
when it held that Bryan Eugene Woods’s student loan debt to
*
Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit, sitting by designation.
United Student Aid Funds, Inc. (USAF) was not discharged when he
received a general discharge upon completion of his Chapter 13
plan pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) (“§ 1328(a)”).
In 1997, Woods petitioned for Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief
in the United States Bankruptcy Court. His plan called for
complete repayment to all holders of nonpriority unsecured
claims, including the USAF debt listed on his schedules. USAF,
to whom Woods owed a debt for educational loans made through a
governmentally funded program, filed its claim after the claims
bar date, and the bankruptcy court denied USAF’s proof of claim
as untimely. USAF neither attended the hearing regarding the
proof of claim nor appealed the bankruptcy court’s disallowance.
Upon completing his plan payments, which did not include any
payments on the disallowed USAF claim, Woods received a general
discharge from the bankruptcy court under § 1328(a).
After receiving his general discharge, Woods instituted an
adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy court for an order
declaring the USAF debt discharged under the general discharge.
The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.
The bankruptcy court denied Woods’s motion, granted USAF’s
motion, and issued an order finding Woods liable for the debt,
postpetition interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. The
bankruptcy court ruled as a matter of law that the student loan
debt owed USAF was not discharged under the general discharge
received in August 1998 pursuant to § 1328(a) because § 1328(a)
2
specifically exempted from the mandatory discharge educational
loans made to a debtor through a governmentally funded program.
In an excellent opinion, the district court affirmed. See In re
Woods, No. 99-03211, 1999 WL 1124784, at *3 (E.D. La. Dec. 7,
1999).
Woods contends that because his Chapter 13 plan provided for
complete repayment of the USAF debt, it should be discharged
under § 1328(a), which states that a court “shall grant the
debtor a discharge of all debts provided for by the plan.”1
We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary
judgment, applying the same standards as the district court. See
Allen v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 204 F.3d 619, 621 (5th Cir.
2000). We do not agree with Woods. Section 1328(a) specifically
exempts educational loans made through a governmentally funded
program, described in 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8),2 from discharge.
1
Section 1328(a) of the Code provides:
As soon as practicable after completion by the debtor
of all payments under the plan, . . . the court shall
grant the debtor a discharge of all debts provided for
by the plan or disallowed under section 502 of this
title, except any debt --
(1) provided for under section 1322(b)(5) of this
title; [or]
(2) of the kind specified in paragraph (5), (8),
or (9) of section 523(a) . . . of this title.
11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) (West 1997).
2
The exception from discharge in § 523(a)(8) excludes
certain educational debts:
A discharge under section . . . 1328(a) . . . does not
3
See, e.g., Bell v. Educ. Credit Mgmt. Corp. (In re Bell), 236
B.R. 426, 430-31 (N.D. Ala. 1999) (debtor still liable for unpaid
portion of student loan debt and post-petition interest after
Chapter 13 general discharge). Because these loans are exempted
from discharge, Woods’s claim has no merit.
It would serve no useful purpose to restate the well-written
opinion of the district court judge. Therefore, for the reasons
set out in that opinion, the judgment is AFFIRMED.
discharge an individual from any debt–
. . .
(8) for an educational benefit overpayment or loan
made, insured or guaranteed by a governmental unit, or
made under any program funded in whole or in part by a
governmental unit or nonprofit institution, or for an
obligation to repay funds received as an educational
benefit, scholarship or stipend, unless–
(A) such loan, benefit, scholarship, or stipend
overpayment first became due more than 7 years
. . . before the date of the filing of the
petition; or
(B) excepting such debt from discharge under this
paragraph will impose an undue hardship on the
debtor and the debtor’s dependants.
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8)(West 1997).
4