On March 7, Arizona Attorney General (AG) Kristin Mayes filed a novel lawsuit alleging consumer fraud and racketeering against numerous entities, individuals, and even law firms and title companies involved in the residential...more
For secured lenders, a consumer debtor’s chapter 13 bankruptcy filing can be a mixed bag. A chapter 13 bankruptcy petition often is utilized by a consumer debtor to avoid a foreclosure by allowing a debtor time (usually...more
The Issue and Background - Debtors David Caulkett and Edelmiro Toledo-Cardona (“Debtors”) each filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief with “underwater” junior mortgages held by Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank”). In other...more
Reaffirming its 1992 decision in Dewsnup v. Timm, on June 1, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bank of America v. Caulkett, No. 13-1421, once again ruled that a chapter 7 debtor may not void a junior lien under Bankruptcy Code...more
On June 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling resolving a split amongst circuit courts in which the 11th circuit was the singular minority, addressing the permissibility of “lien-stripping” in...more