Publication Date

Winter 2024

Journal

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review

Abstract

In Mortgage Corp. of the South v. Bozeman (2023), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a confirmed chapter 13 plan was unworthy of res judicata respect. In so ruling, it held itself not bound by the Supreme Court’s super-finality opinion in United Student Aid Funds v. Espinosa. The Eleventh Circuit thought that it was preventing the chapter 13 plan from “murdering” the home mortgage. In reality, the plan was lawful and upheld payment in full of the mortgage. The debtor was actually trying to end the plan early before the mortgage was paid. The Bozeman court should have insisted that the debtor complete the plan before getting a discharge, and for this it could have cited Espinosa. Its renunciation of Espinosa is the opposite of what it should have done. Because the Bozeman court misread the plan, it needlessly rebelled against Supreme Court governance.

Volume

32

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

30

Publisher

American Bankruptcy Institute

Disciplines

Bankruptcy Law | Law

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