In Re Pajot’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate ·

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 34 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Prior to BAPCPA, vehicle financers could be harmed by a debtor who acquired a vehicle in the months leading up to bankruptcy, then filed bankruptcy and crammed the creditor’s claim down to the collateral value on the date of filing. Due to the rapid depreciation of motor vehicles the moment they leave the dealer’s lot, debtors could often reap a benefit by cramming down the debt, only paying a secured claim equal to the depreciated value of the car ... In enacting the hanging paragraph, Congress fixed this disparity to ensure that debtors could not load up on vehicle-secured debt pre-petition only to cram it down to the collateral value in bankruptcy.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In Re Penrod) · In Re Johnson

2. “In essence, at the moment the first vehicle is “bought” by the second creditor as a trade-in, the secured debt held by the first creditor is satisfied by the value paid for the car. The deficiency — the amount the first creditor’s debt exceeds collateral value as determined at the time of the trade — is the negative equity. This deficiency is unsecured just as it would be if the first creditor had foreclosed. Therefore, the substance of the transaction, though instantaneous, is that the second creditor is paying off the debtor’s unsecured deficiency debt on the first vehicle. If the second creditor did not pay that debt off, the debtor would have the option of continuing to make payments to the first creditor, but that debt would be unsecured. The court sees no distinction between the substance of this transaction and paying off and rolling in any other unsecured debt that may be held by the debtor. The lender could just as easily pay off the debtor’s student loans and roll that amount into a secured claim on the second vehicle. The only possible nexus is that the purpose of the first debt was to acquire a vehicle, and the second debt is also to acquire a vehicle. In sum, it is not clear that there is a close nexus between the negative equity payoff and the acquisition of the new vehicle.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Munzberg

3. “... the definition of “purchase money obligation”, “price of the collateral” or the “value given to enable” includes obligations for expenses incurred in connection "with acquiring rights in the collateral, sales taxes, duties, finance charges, interest, freight charges, costs of storage in transit, demurrage, administrative charges, expenses of collection and enforcement, attorney’s fees, and other similar obligations ...”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Myers