In re Bowling
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio
314 B.R. 127 (2004)
Charles Bowling (debtor) signed a mortgage on his Ohio property securing a note held by Mortgage Registration System (MERS) (creditor), with the mortgage paperwork falsely stating his signature had been notarized. After Bowling filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the trustee obtained an affidavit from Bowling establishing the notary was never actually present when he signed and that he never acknowledged the signature to the notary; the trustee then moved for summary judgment to avoid the mortgage as defectively executed under Ohio law.
Whether, under § 544(a)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code, the bankruptcy trustee holds the status of a bona fide purchaser of the debtor's real property with priority over a creditor that failed to perfect its interest in the same property.