Memphis Bank & Trust Company v. Linda Gail Whitman

MERRITT, Circuit Judge.

This secured claim case arises under the newly revised Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code which sets out principles for courts to follow in composing the debts of distressed wage earners. It is a case of first impression under the new Code. The “confused state of the law concerning the treatment of secured claims” caused major problems under the old Chapter XIII, 5 Collier on Bankruptcy § 1325.01[E] at 1325-14 (1982), and led to a radical revision of the treatment of wage earner plans in the new Code. We first explain the legal framework in which the case arises and then…