n re New Bride Missionary Baptist Church, 509 B.R. 85 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2014) –

After the bankruptcy court denied confirmation of a debtor’s proposed chapter 11 plan of reorganization because there was no accepting impaired class, the debtor proposed an amended plan that placed a mortgagee’s large deficiency claim in one class and claims of other unsecured creditors in a separate “administrative convenience” class.

Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC v. Summit Bank, N.A. (In re Francis), 750 F.3d 754 (8th Cir. 2014) –

A lender that attached the wrong legal description to its recorded mortgage sought equitable subrogation and/or reformation of the mortgage in order to obtain a first priority lien on the intended property.

Hardesty v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (In re Boothe), 510 B.R. 154 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 2013) –

A chapter 7 trustee successfully sought to avoid a mortgage using his “strong arm” powers on the basis that the mortgage was not properly acknowledged. Once again a mortgagee paid dearly for sloppy execution of a document.

Far East Nat’l Bank v. U.S. Trustee, San Diego (In re Premier Golf Properties, LP) 477 B.R. 767 (9th Cir. B.A.P. 2012) –

Williams v. City of Milwaukee City Clerk (In re Williams), 473 B.R. 307 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 2012) –

In re Rosewood at Providence, LLC, 470 B.R. 619 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2011) –

In a long-awaited decision released on February 22, 2011, Judge James M. Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of Barclays Capital in Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.’s multi-billion-dollar lawsuit arising out of the sale of Lehman’s investment banking and brokerage assets, which occurred in September of 2008.

On January 14, the Supreme Court ruled that more than a mere retention of estate property is needed for a party to violate the automatic stay, vacating and remanding a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (In re Fulton, 926 F.3d 916 (7th Cir. 2019)) that held that the City of Chicago (City) violated the automatic stay by retaining vehicles that were impounded before the filing of the owners’ bankruptcy petitions. See City of Chi. v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021). The decision resolved a split among several circuit courts.

Introduction

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published its quarterly consumer credit trends report on September 25. In the Report, the CFPB gave an in-depth look at bankruptcy trends and the impact of filing for the period 2001-2018, which includes the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”) and the Great Recession.