12291259 - house and dollar notes on scale

The recent decision in the Olivares case [2016 WL 6810716 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2016) reminds lenders of the perils of being a second mortgage holder where equity is questionable.

A lender that held a second mortgage on real property owned by the chapter 13 debtor objected to the debtor’s proposed plan on the basis that the debtor’s plan was filed in bad faith, not feasible and the debtor proposed to pay the first mortgage holder with out participating in the mortgage modification mediation program.  The debtor filed a motion to value the property and determine the secured status of the lender.

Unfortunately for the second mortgage holder, the decision of the Court came down to one issue, the determination that there was no equity in the property in excess of the first mortgage.  The lender conceded that there was no equity in the debtor’s real property.  Specifically, the property was valued at $459,544.00 and the amount owed on the first mortgage is $823,372.03.

The second lender attempted to make several objections that could have been raised by the first mortgage holder, but the Court found that the second mortgage holder could not argue objections belonging to a third party, including: 1) the debtor’s inability to meet the payment requirements of the first mortgage, 2) the veracity of the family members promises to help fund the first mortgage payments, and 3) bad faith for failure to participate in the MMM program.
The second mortgage holder also argued that the debtor could not strip off liens where the first mortgage is being “treated outside the plan”, but failed to cite any legal authority for their argument.
As a result, the Court found that the plan was proposed in good faith, confirmable, and the motion to value and strip off its lien should be granted.  The only solace for the second mortgage holder is that the lien strip is conditional upon the debtor’s successful completion of all payments under her chapter 13 Plan.
  Heather L. Ries is an attorney with the Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Department of the law firm of Fox Rothschild LLP. Heather focuses her practice in matters related to bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, commercial workout and foreclosure disputes, and commercial litigation. You can contact Heather at 561-804-4419 or hries@foxrothschild.com.