Insurance proceeds for the repair of the debtor’s fire-destroyed house are not considered when calculating impairment to the debtor’s homestead exemption where the debtor had not made any repairs on the house prior to filing for bankruptcy. Waltrip v. Sawyers, No. 20-1130 (8th Cir. July 2, 2021). Read More
Tag Archive: lien avoidance
-
Insurance Proceeds Don’t Enter Exemption Impairment Calculation
Posted by NCBRC - July 8th, 2021
-
Trustee Can Avoid Tax Penalty Lien for Benefit of Estate
Posted by NCBRC - June 19th, 2021
Under sections 724(a) and 551, the chapter 7 trustee could avoid the penalty portion of a federal tax lien on the debtor’s homestead property and preserve the value of the avoided lien for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate. United States of America v. Warfield, 2021 WL 1530094 (D. Ariz. April 19, 2021) (case no. 3:20-cv-8204). Read More
-
No Deadline for Lien Avoidance Motion
Posted by NCBRC - May 21st, 2021
The debtor was not required to file her motion to avoid a judicial lien while her case was still open, and to assert a homestead exemption in Oklahoma, the debtor need only reside on the property. In re Rose-Brownfield, 2021 WL 809767, No. 18-80342 (Bankr. E.D. Okla. Feb. 22, 2021). Read More
-
Lien for Incarceration Costs Is Avoidable Judicial Lien
Posted by NCBRC - December 23rd, 2020
The State Treasurer’s lien based on a statute authorizing the state to seek reimbursement from a prisoner for the costs of his incarceration was not a statutory lien but a judicial lien which the debtor could avoid as impairing his exemptions. State Treasurer v. Wigger, No. 19-732 (W.D. Mich. Nov. 16, 2020).
The debtor was a prisoner in the Central Michigan Correctional Facility. The Michigan State Treasurer sought to recover some of the costs of his incarceration under the State Correctional Facility Reimbursement Act (SCFRA). After a bench trial, the state court found the State Treasurer was entitled to reimbursement from the debtor’s IRA funds and from proceeds from a judgment the debtor had against his son. The debtor initiated a chapter 7 bankruptcy and filed an adversary proceeding seeking to have the state’s lien voided as a judicial lien impairing his exemptions under section 522(f)(1). The bankruptcy court granted the debtor’s lien avoidance motion finding that the lien impaired his exemption for retirement funds under section 522(d)(12), and his exemption for property valued up to $13,100 under section 522(d)(5). Read More
-
Ninth Circuit Ties Itself in Knots to Affirm Lien Avoidance Dismissal
Posted by NCBRC - April 4th, 2020
In an unusual path, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of the debtor’s lien avoidance action where it found the underlying lien, based on an abstract of judgment which did not “substantially comply” with state requirements, to be invalid. Sanger v. Ahn (In re Ahn), No. 18-16794 (9th Cir. Feb. 28, 2020) (unpublished).
Ms. Ahn filed an adversary complaint in her bankruptcy seeking declaratory judgment that the Sangers’ lien was invalid because it was based on an abstract of judgment which did not comply with state law notice requirements. In the alternative, Ms. Ahn sought to avoid the judicial lien as impairing her homestead exemption. The bankruptcy court granted summary judgment to Ms. Ahn on the declaratory judgment count and dismissed the lien avoidance claim as moot.
On appeal, the district court found that the bankruptcy court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to reach the declaratory judgment claim and reversed that holding. Rather than remanding to the bankruptcy court to address the issue of lien avoidance, however, the district court instead went on to determine that the underlying judicial lien was invalid and, therefore, the debtor’s homestead exemption was not impaired under section 522(f). The district court, therefore, affirmed the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of the lien-avoidance claim. Read More
-
Federal Lien Broader than State Lien for Avoidance Purposes
Posted by NCBRC - March 2nd, 2019
Federal law defines a lien more broadly than Missouri law, and for that reason, the debtor was able to avoid a judgment lien as impairing the exemption he claimed on his residence, which he owned as a tenancy in the entireties with his wife, even though state law did not recognize the creation of the lien. CRP Holdings A-1, LLC v. O’Sullivan, No. 17-3226 (8th Cir. Feb. 1, 2019).
Chapter 7 debtor, Casey O’Sullivan, and his wife acquired their residence as tenants in the entirety. CRP obtained a foreign judgment in the amount of $765,151.18 against the debtor and registered the judgment in the debtor’s resident county in an effort to obtain a judicial lien against the property. When Mr. O’Sullivan filed for bankruptcy, he claimed an exemption for the property and sought to avoid CRP’s judicial lien under section 522(f)(1) as impairing that exemption. The bankruptcy court found that the judgment lien, even though unenforceable, placed a “cloud” on the debtor’s title and could therefore be avoided as impairing his bankruptcy exemption. The BAP affirmed. Read More
-
Impairment to Exemption Calculation Based on Debtor’s Half Interest in Property
Posted by NCBRC - October 24th, 2018
A debtor seeking to avoid a lien as impairing a homestead exemption must calculate the impairment using his proportionate interest in the property and the sum of the corresponding mortgage liens in proportion to that interest. Sandoval Irrevocable Trust v. Taylor, No. 17-1241 (10th Cir. Aug. 14, 2018).
As a result of Mark Taylor’s misappropriation of funds from an Irrevocable Trust for which he was trustee, the Trust (Sandoval) obtained state court judgments against him and liens against his residence. Mr. Taylor filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy and listed the property, which he co-owned with his ex-wife, as having a total value of $560,000 with his portion amounting to $280,000. He later converted his case to chapter 7 and moved to avoid the judgment liens as impairing his state homestead exemption of $37,500. Read More
-
Rooker-Feldman No Bar to Exercise of Trustee’s Strong-Arm Power
Posted by NCBRC - July 23rd, 2018
The Sixth Circuit agreed with the position advanced in NACBA / NCBRC’s amicus brief that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not preclude application of the trustee’s strong-arm power to avoid a lien notwithstanding a state court judgment of foreclosure. Isaacs v. DBI-ASG Coinvestor Fund III, LLC (In re Isaacs), No. 17-5815 (6th Cir. July 18, 2018).
Linda Isaacs and her husband entered into a mortgage agreement with GMAC Mortgage Corporation. The contract provided in the “description of security,” that “By signing this Mortgage, we hereby mortgage, grant and convey [the collateral],” and, in the “priority of advances” section, that “The lien of this Mortgage will attach on the date this mortgage is recorded.” Shortly after signing the agreement, Ms. Isaacs filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. She scheduled GMAC as a secured creditor not realizing that it had not yet recorded the mortgage. GMAC recorded the mortgage while the automatic stay was in effect. Ten years after Ms. Isaacs obtained her chapter 7 discharge, the successor to GMAC, sought an order of foreclosure against the Isaacs. The state court issued a default order of foreclosure and, one day before the scheduled sale, Ms. Isaacs filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy. Read More
-
Mortgage Deficiency Judgment Liens Are Avoidable
Posted by NCBRC - July 24th, 2017
Section 522(f)(2)(C) does not create an exception to lien avoidance for mortgage deficiency judgment liens. In re Pace, No.16-8036 (B.A.P. 6th Cir. June 20, 2017).
Antoinette Pace filed a chapter 13 petition in which she scheduled her residence with a value of $147,630 and claimed a homestead exemption in the amount of $132,900. At that time, Farmers National Bank (FNB) held two judicial liens resulting from post-foreclosure deficiency judgments (though the two liens appeared duplicative, the bankruptcy court and the BAP treated them as separate liens). There were also two liens on the house held by Midland Credit Management (MCM) and Matthew Giannini, as well as a county lien against the property for unpaid real estate taxes. Ms. Pace converted to chapter 7 and moved to avoid the non-tax liens as impairing her homestead exemption. The motion was unopposed. The bankruptcy court granted the motion to avoid the MCM and Giannini liens, but denied the motion to avoid the liens held by FNB. Read More
-
Avoiding a Lien Requires that the Lien Exist
Posted by NCBRC - November 29th, 2016
Where the creditor sought to establish a judicial lien against the debtor’s interest in a tenancy in the entirety the threshold question is not whether the lien impairs the homestead exemption and may be avoided under section 522(f)(1), but whether a lien has been created at all. CRP Holdings v. O’Sullivan, No. 16-1526 (8th Cir. Nov. 14, 2016).
CRP obtained a default judgment against Casey Drew O’Sullivan and, attempting to secure a judicial lien on his real property, filed a notice of foreign judgment in the county where Mr. O’Sullivan’s residence was located. Mr. O’Sullivan filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy and claimed the property, which he owned as tenants in the entirety with his wife, as his homestead. The bankruptcy court sustained Mr. O’Sullivan’s motion to avoid the judicial lien. The BAP affirmed, finding that while CRP’s lien may not have been enforceable, it could still be avoided. In re O’Sullivan, 544 B.R. 407 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2016). Read More
-
Request Assistance
Request assistance with a case.
-
Help NCBRC
NCBRC needs your support to protect the rights of consumer bankruptcy debtors. The most effective way to support NCBRC is with a direct donation.
There are many other ways to give to NRBRC:
iGive.com: When you purchase items at over 1,400 online stores, a percentage of your purchase will be donated to NCBRC. Stores include Macy’s, Melissa and Doug, Bed Bath & Beyond, Nike, Petsmart, and more. Shop and Give today!
-
HAVEN Act Guide
The Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019 (“HAVEN Act”) excludes certain benefits paid to veterans or their family members from the definition of current monthly income (“CMI”) found in the Bankruptcy Code. The HAVEN Act amends § 101(10A) of the Bankruptcy Code and supplements the 2005 amendments to the Code that excluded other government benefits, such as social security income.
This Guide provides an overview of the HAVEN Act identifies benefits that are excluded, and answers frequently asked questions.
-
Keep up with NCBRC
Thank you!
Thank you to the following organizations without whose support our work would not be possible.
American College of Bankruptcy
The American College of Bankruptcy is an honorary public service association of bankruptcy and insolvency professionals who are invited to join as Fellows based on a proven record of the highest standards of professionalism plus service to the profession and their communities. Together with its affiliated Foundation, the College is the largest financial supporter of bankruptcy and insolvency-related pro bono legal service programs in the United States.NACBA
The only national organization dedicated to serving the needs of consumer bankruptcy attorneys and protecting the rights of consumer debtors in bankruptcy. Formed in 1992, NACBA has more than 3,000 members located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.O. Max Gardner Foundation, Inc.
Visit NACBA.org
The O. Max Gardner Foundation, Inc. provides financial support to institutions devoted to charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes. NCBRC has been a recipient of grant awards from the foundation.