Case Summary:
The debtors brought an adversary proceeding to determine whether the post-petition maintenance fees that accrued on the debtors' campsite were dischargeable in their bankruptcy and seeking sanctions against the defendant for violating the automatic stay in attempting to collect a debt.  The court (Judge Martin) held that the 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(16) requirements for an exception to discharge had not been met because (1) the unit is not a dwelling unit; (2) the debtor never physically occupied the unit; and (3) the debtors never rented or received rent from the unit.  The court then, following the holding of the Seventh Circuit in In the Matter of Rosteck, 899 F.2d 694 (7th Cir. 1990), held that the post-petition maintenance fees were dischargeable in the debtors' bankruptcy because the debt was for future assessments based on a pre-petition contract to pay, and the debt arose pre-petition.  The court refused to impose sanctions on the defendants because if the defendants attempted to collect a debt from the debtors, they did so under a good faith belief, supported by case law, that the debt was nondischargeable.

Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(16) -- Nondischargeability - Fees / Assessments to Associations

Key Terms:
Claims - Definition
Maintenance Fees