By: Scott B. Riddle, Esq.

In re Dillard, Ch. 13 Case No. 06-30939, 2007 Bankr. LEXIS 394 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. February 7, 2007)(Hershner).  Hours before the debtor filed her Bankruptcy petition (without getting counseling), the lender conducted a foreclosure sale.  The property was purchased by the lender, who "bid in" the loan amount.  Debtor’s case was subsequently dismissed.  A few weeks later, a Foreclosure Deed was filed transferring the lender’s interest in the property to another party. 

Debtor filed a second case several months later, after a dispossessory had been issued but before moving out of the property. The Court held that the debtor’s interest in the property, including her right of redemption, were extinguished prior to the filing of her second petition.  The Court distinguished the case of In re Geiger, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 897, Case No. 05-54262 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. March 20, 2006) (Hershner), wherein there was no notation of consideration after the sale and no foreclosure deed was filed prior the bankruptcy petition.