Allana Baroni v. David Seror, Chapter 7 Trustee, et al.

11 U.S.C. § 1141 (b) provides, “Except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan, the confirmation of a plan vests all of the property of the estate in the debtor.” No other section deals with who has title to property in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It also does not address what happens when a Chapter 11 bankruptcy is converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. By contrast, Congress said what would happen to property when a Chapter 13 case is converted to a Chapter 7 case. Then, property of the estate at conversion remains estate property. 11 U.S.C. § 348 (f) (1). The questions presented is: Because Congress stated in clear language that a confirmed Chapter 11 debtor retains title to property after her plan is confirmed, did the Ninth Circuit err in reading into section 1141 an exception no language in the statute supported: courts could look to the Chapter 11 plan itself to determine what happened to the debtor’s property?