(6th Cir. B.A.P. July 3, 2017)
The Sixth Circuit B.A.P. vacates the bankruptcy court’s judgment and remands for dismissal based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The creditor failed to record its mortgage prior to the first Chapter 7 case, recorded it during that case, and it was not challenged. The creditor then sought to foreclose on the mortgage and obtained a state court in rem judgment permitting foreclosure. The debtor then filed a Chapter 13 case and challenged the state court judgment, based on the stay violation in the Chapter 7. The bankruptcy court held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine did not apply because the state court judgment modified the discharge injunction inappropriately, as the lien was not valid based on the Chapter 7 discharge. The B.A.P. reverses, finding that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does apply, and that the lien was effective under Kentucky law even if not perfected prior to the Chapter 7. Opinion below.
Judge: Humphrey
Attorney for Debtor: Marcus H. Herbert
Attorney for Creditor: DBI-ASG Coinvester Fund, III, LLC
Author: Matt Lindblom
Kentuckiana Bankruptcy Opinions 