Watkins v. Watkins
Citation | 922 F.2d 1513 |
Decision Date | 14 January 1991 |
Docket Number | No. 90-7002,90-7002 |
Parties | Bankr. L. Rep. P 73,782 Janet WATKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Gregory L. WATKINS, Defendant-Appellee. |
Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (10th Circuit) |
Austin R. Deaton, Jr. of Deaton & Davison, Ada, Okl., for plaintiff-appellant.
Richard C. Lerblance, Hartshorne, Okl., for defendant-appellee.
Before LOGAN, SEYMOUR and TACHA, Circuit Judges.
Janet Watkins and Gregory Watkins divorced in Oklahoma in 1986. One of the assets, apparently owned in joint tenancy by the two parties, was a tract of commercial real estate in the same county as that in which the divorce proceedings were held. The divorce decree set aside, in a formal judgment of the court, the commercial real estate as a separate property to the husband, because it contained his dental office. It awarded the wife alimony to be paid over a certain period of time and "impressed and imposed upon the real property ... a lien in favor of the [wife] guaranteeing satisfaction of the award which is hereby reduced to judgment." R. tab 26, exh. A, at 703. This judgment was on record pre-bankruptcy in the office of the clerk of the district court. 1
After the ex-husband filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, the ex-wife filed a copy of the divorce judgment as a lien in the county clerk's office. Although the ex-husband listed the debt as unsecured, the ex-wife apparently made no appearance and the bankruptcy court never specifically treated the ex-wife's alleged lien in the bankruptcy proceeding itself. The instant proceeding arose out of the ex-husband's motion to reopen the bankruptcy case and to have the lien declared null and void.
The bankruptcy court invalidated the lien. This was affirmed on appeal, the district court holding that, because the divorce judgment had not been filed in the county clerk's office at the time of the bankruptcy filing, the lien was unenforceable. See 12 Okla.Stat.Ann. Sec. 706 () The ex-wife has appealed, arguing that that statute is not relevant under various grounds and asserting that her lien is valid and her claim secured by the lien must be excepted from the discharge. We agree, and reverse the determination of the district court.
Janet Watkins cites several cases in which bankruptcy courts have found a lien like that involved in the instant case to be excepted from discharge by various analyses, because marriage dissolution situations are treated differently than other claims. In re Williams, 38 B.R. 224, 228 (Bankr.N.D.Okla.1984) ( ); In re Thomas, 32 B.R. 11, 12-13 (Bankr.D.Ore.1983) ( ); In re Scott, 12 B.R. 613, 615 (Bankr.W.D.Okla.1981) ( ). We do not have to agree or disagree with those cases but resolve this case on a different basis.
At the time of bankruptcy filing, the trustee in bankruptcy assumes the position of a bona fide purchaser of real property from the debtor and may avoid any liens on the property that a bona fide purchaser could avoid. 11 U.S.C. Sec. 544(a)(3). The trustee, however, assumes the bona fide purchaser position subject to the state's constructive notice law. See In re Hagendorfer, 803 F.2d 647, 649 (11th Cir.1986) ( ); In re Probasco, 839 F.2d 1352, 1354-55 (9th Cir.1988) ( ); In re Flaten, 50 B.R. 186, 193 (Bankr.D.N.D.1985) ().
Under Oklahoma law, a purchaser of land takes the property with constructive notice of whatever appears in the conveyances constituting his chain of title. Jonas v. Dunn, 132 Okl. 204, 270 P. 46, 50 (1928). See also Rogers v. Jones, 40 F.2d 333, 335 (10th Cir.1930) ( ). Moreover, a purchaser from one in whom title has been vested by judicial decree is deemed to have constructive notice of title defects apparent on the face...
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...to avoid a mortgage or lien if it could be avoided by a hypothetical bona fide purchaser of the property. See Watkins v. Watkins, 922 F.2d 1513, 1514 (10th Cir.1991) (applying Section 544(a)(3) to determine whether the trustee may assume the position of a bona fide purchaser of real propert......
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