Foreclosure Action By Bank Not In Violation of Discharge Injunction.

The debtors filed Chapter 7 in late 2009 and the creditor, a bank, filed four claims that were secured by the debtors' residence.  The bank knew that the debtors received a discharge in early 2010.  The debtors' Chapter 7 case was then converted to Chapter 12  and new payment terms were worked out resulting in a direct assignment of proceeds from the debtors' dairy farm (i.e., milk checks) to the bank along with new interest rates and maturity dates.  The debtors made the required payments for about two months until the checks no longer met the amount required under the new payment terms.  Almost two years later, the bank started foreclosure proceedings.  The debtors filed a contempt motion, claiming that the bank's conduct violated the discharge injunction of 11 U.S.C. Sec. 524(a)(2).  The debtors claimed that the milk payments were involuntary payments.  The bankruptcy court ruled for the bank.  On appeal, the court affirmed.  The court noted that the bank's conduct was exempt from the discharge injunction because the agreement between the parties - (1) involved a situation where the bank retained a security interest in the debtors' principal residence; (2) was entered into in the ordinary course of business between the creditor and debtor; and (3) was limited to seeking or obtaining periodic payments associated the bank's security interest in the residence (11 U.S.C. Sec. 524(j)).  In re Teal, No. 4:14-CV-15, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32315 (E.D. Tenn. Mar. 17, 2015).