Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner held that a wholly unsecured, subordinate lien may be stripped off in chapter 13 even if the lien arose before the debtor owned the property.
Local rules and local standard plans cannot force a chapter 13 debtor to disregard one of the options in Section 1327 and require revesting of estate assets on discharge.
The federal appeals court brushed aside technicalities under state criminal law in deciding that an order for restitution was not discharged under Section 1328(a)(3).
Judge Huennekens explained that a church’s immunity for receipt of a constructively fraudulent transfer only applies if the transferor was an individual and the transferor was the debtor.
Whether orders in contested matters are ever appealable is in doubt after a Fourth Circuit decision that declined to follow contrary opinions by bankruptcy appellate panels.
