In re: Pace, No. 16-8036 (6th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Debtor owned nonresidential real estate that FNB sold in a pre-petition foreclosure sale. Before Debtor's bankruptcy filing, FNB obtained a deficiency judgment and filed two judicial liens. During her chapter 7 case, Debtor moved, under 11 U.S.C. 522(f)(1)(A), to avoid those liens as impairing Debtor’s Ohio homestead exemption in her residence. The bankruptcy court denied Debtor’s motion, ruling that section 522(f)(2)(C) specifically prohibits the avoidance of a deficiency judgment lien because it is a lien based on a judgment arising out of a mortgage foreclosure. The Sixth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel reversed, finding that section 522(f)(2)(C) is not ambiguous, so reference to either state law or legislative history is not required to interpret it. Section 522(f)(2)(C) does not preclude avoidance of mortgage deficiency judgment liens but “clarifi[es] that the entry of a foreclosure judgment does not convert the underlying consensual mortgage into a judicial lien which may be avoided.” The court noted that most courts hold that mortgage deficiency liens are not "judgments [that] aris[e] out of a mortgage foreclosure" and are therefore avoidable.
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