In Re Cummins

656 F.2d 1262 7 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 833 , Bankr. L. Rep. P 68,101 In re Donald Kenneth CUMMINS, Bankrupt. COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT and Stephen A. Strawn, Tax Collector of the County of Humboldt, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. William B. GROVER, Trustee, Defendant-Appellant. No. 77-3922. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted April 14, 1980. Decided Feb. 12, 1981. Francis B. Mathews, Mathews, Traverse & McKittrick, Eureka, Cal., on brief, for defendant-appellant. Charles P. Selden, Eureka, Cal., on brief, for plaintiffs-appellees. Appeal from United States District Court for Northern District of California. Before SCHROEDER and FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and CLAIBORNE, * District Judge. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge: 1 We are asked to decide the status of appellee Humboldt County's claim against the bankrupt, Donald Cummins, for certain delinquent personal property taxes. The bankruptcy court denied the county the status of a lien holder but held that a portion of the claim was entitled to priority under section 64 of the Bankruptcy Act, and that the balance should be treated as a general claim. On appeal, the district court disagreed and held that the county was a secured creditor by…