On October 4, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that chapter 7 debtors who file a statement of intention to surrender real property in bankruptcy cannot later contest a foreclosure action, and bankruptcy courts have broad power and authority to sanction violations. Failla v. CitiBank, N.A., case no. 15-15626 (11th Cir. October 4, 2016).
In a rare win for mortgage lenders, the 11th Circuit (controlling law in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama) ruled today that an owner who agrees to “surrender” their residence in bankruptcy court under 11 U.S.C. Section 521(a)(2)(A) also forfeits the right later to challenge any foreclosure proceedings on the property.
In re World Imports Ltd., Civ. A. No. 14-4920, Bankr. No. 13-15929 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 19, 2016) [click for opinion]
On June 9, 2016, the New York State Court of Appeals, in Ambac Assur. Corp. v. Countrywide Home Loans, 2016 BL 184648 (N.Y. June 9, 2016), reversed a lower court decision, consistent with the overwhelming majority of federal court decisions, that the common interest doctrine under New York law is not limited to communications made in connection with pending or reasonably anticipated litigation.
(7th Cir. Sept. 14, 2016)
(Bankr. E.D. Ky. September 14, 2016)
A unanimous state Supreme Court ruling affords foreclosed upon borrowers standing to bring suit by showing that there has been an invasion of his/her legally protected interests. In 2006, homeowner Tsvetana Yvanova borrowed money and executed a deed of trust on a residential property. The lender and beneficiary of the trust deed, New Century, filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and was liquidated in 2008. Yvanova claimed that the trust deed was illegally assigned to a bank in 2011, after New Century dissolved, and that the deed was improperly assigned to an investment trust.
Just when courts appeared to be developing a consensus on how to value affordable housing projects in bankruptcy, an opinion from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has muddied the landscape. In In re Sunnyslope Housing Ltd.
On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for public comment (the Proposed Rule) introducing a regulatory regime to govern the receivership of national banks that are not insured (uninsured banks) by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). See OCC, Receiverships for Uninsured National Banks, 81 Fed. Reg. 62,835, 62,835 (Sept. 13, 2016) (the Proposed Rule).
While bankruptcy relief is available as a tool for individuals to discharge debts, it is not available to everyone, under all circumstances. Before a debtor can, for example, discharge debts in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, he or she must prove that debts and income are within certain statutory thresholds. When determining whether an individual is eligible for relief, the nature of the debts at issue is also relevant.