In re Talmadge

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OF LAW VACATING BANKRUPTCY COURT ORDER AND REMANDING WITH INSTRUCTIONS

This matter is before the court on the appeal of Charles Duck, the appointed Trustee of the estate of the debtors herein. Trustee appeals from an order of the bankruptcy court finding certain sections of the California Code of Civil Procedure unconstitutional as applied to debtors.

Debtors’ basic argument is that Cal.C. Civ.P. § 703.110 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, in that it treats married and unmarried debtors differently with respect to the amount of exemptions that may be claimed by debtors. Specifically, debtors object to the limitation of married spouses’ exemptions to a specific dollar amount, whereas unmarried couples are able to claim as exempt twice the amount of an individual’s exemption (i.e., one exemption for each of the individuals who comprise the unmarried couple).

Where, as here, there is no suspect classification such as race or alienage at issue, the standard to be applied in determining whether a particular classification passes muster under the Equal Protection Clause is the “rational basis” test. “If the…