Chicago Title Insurance v. Sherred Village Associates

COFFIN, Circuit Judge.

The issue before us is whether federal law should adopt a state rule of decision governing the relative priority of a mechanics’ lien and a mortgage insured by and assigned to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We have been charged by the Supreme Court with the responsibility of determining whether the facts of this case are sufficiently different from those in United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc., 440 U.S. 715, 99 S.Ct. 1448, 59 L.Ed.2d 711 (1979), to necessitate a federal rule of decision in priority disputes involving HUD mortgages. For the reasons…