Consumer Finance Litigation

On June 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Bank of America, N.A. v. Caulkett, in which all nine Justices joined in an opinion that reversed an Eleventh Circuit ruling that chapter 7 debtors may "strip off" wholly unsecured junior liens. The Caulkett opinion largely relies upon the Supreme Court's prior decision in Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410 (1992), in which the Court held that a chapter 7 debtor may not "strip down" liens where the value of the property partially secures the underlying claim. The Eleventh Circuit previously recognized but distinguished ...