In re: Robinson

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Bankruptcy
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 14-3585
Decision Date: 
February 4, 2016
Federal District: 
S.D. Ill.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in reversing Bankruptcy Ct. order that denied, in instant Chapter 7 proceeding, debtor’s claimed exemption to rare 1830 Book of Mormon that was valued at $10,000. Plain language of Illinois personal property exemption statute (735 ILCS 5/12-1001(A)) grants to debtor ability to exempt bible from bankruptcy estate, and said statute did not contain any dollar limit as to value of said bible. Fact that debtor had other copies of Book of Mormon that had only negligible value, or that debtor expressed possibility that valuable bibles might not be covered by exemption, did not require different result. Ct. rejected Bankruptcy Ct.’s belief that intent of exemption was only to protect bible of ordinary value so as to not deprive debtor of worship aid.