Internal Revenue Service v. Barnard (In Re Kuppin)

OPINION

BECKWITH, Chief Judge.

Appellant Internal Revenue Service appeals from the judgment of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio ordering it to pay a tax refund to Debtor Herbert Kuppin, Jr. and in turn ordering Kuppin to distribute the refund to Alyson Barnard, a creditor of Kuppin’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. For the reasons that follow, the judgment of the Bankruptcy Court is REVERSED.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The factual and procedural background of this case, while apparently undisputed, is somewhat complex.

In December 2001, the…