As the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday considered the case of a Massachusetts homeowner battling his mortgage lender over a bankruptcy plan, several justices focused their attention on his unlikely ally: Bank of America Corp., Reuters reported yesterday. Bank of America, one of the largest U.S. banks, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Louis Bullard, who owes community bank Blue Hills Bancorp Inc. $387,000 for the mortgage on a property in the town of Randolph. During a one-hour oral argument on the technical issue of whether Bullard can appeal a bankruptcy judge's rejection of his proposed bankruptcy plan, some justices wondered why Bank of America, as a major creditor, would support a debtor. Bank of America's brief says that allowing appeals when bankruptcy plans are rejected would assist with "the orderly and uniform development of bankruptcy law," which would benefit creditors as well as homeowners like Bullard. The brief, along with the one by the U.S. government, could prove critical in swaying the court, with several justices probing lawyers on both sides about the practical consequences of a ruling in favor of Bullard. Justice Kagan noted that in parts of the country where such appeals are allowed, "it hasn't really led to the kinds of bad consequences we're all surmising about." Click here for a transcript of the oral argument in Bullard v. Hyde Park Savings Bank.
The Supreme Court also heard oral argument in the case of Harris v. Viegelahn yesterday. Click here for the transcript.
For additional information on these cases and other bankruptcy cases before the Supreme Court, be sure to visit ABI's Supreme Court page.
