Opinion ID: 2976274
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: facts

Text: On May 23, 2000, Christopher and Carolyn Nolan (the “Debtors”) signed a note in the amount of $327,600 in favor of WSB for property located in West Chester, Ohio (the “Property”). On the signature page of the mortgage, below the signatures of the Debtors and handwritten beside the signature of Tina Harrison (“Harrison”), a notary public in the state of Ohio, is the phrase “Witness my hand this 23rd day of May, 2000.”1 Harrison’s name is hand-printed below her signature. Below Harrison’s name is the printed phrase “ATTACH INDIVIDUAL NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT,” beside of which are the handwritten words “See Attachment,” although no notary acknowledgment is attached. The following page has the signatures of William Tinker and Harrison as witnesses, and the next page has a notary stamp for Harrison. On December 30, 2002, the Debtors transferred the Property to the Nolan Family Limited Partnership (the “Partnership”), and approximately one year later, on December 11, 2003, the Partnership transferred the Property to Carolyn Nolan, Trustee of the Carolyn Nolan Trust Agreement dated December 9, 1988 (the “Trust”). On March 23, 2005, the Debtors filed their joint voluntary petition for relief under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.2 The Debtors listed the Property on Schedule A and indicated that the nature of their interest was an “equitable interest.” 1 Although there is dispute concerning who wrote the phrase because Harrison states in her affidavit that she did not write it, and counsel for WSB states in briefing that the Debtors wrote it, who wrote the phrase is not a material fact, as noted by the bankruptcy court, because it is not outcome-determinative of whether the phrase complies with Ohio law regarding acknowledgments. 2 Because the Debtors filed their bankruptcy petition prior to October 17, 2005, the case is governed by the Bankruptcy Code without regard to the amendments made by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. All statutory references are to the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101 to 1330 (2004), unless otherwise specifically noted. -3- On August 16, 2006, the Trustee filed a complaint against Carolyn Nolan, as Trustee of the Trust, and the Debtors, individually and as general partners of the Partnership, seeking to avoid the transfers of the Property as fraudulent conveyances. The bankruptcy court entered a consent judgment in that adversary proceeding on August 28, 2006, avoiding the transfers and “thereby vesting title” in the Trustee. (Jt. App. at 478.) The Trustee commenced this instant adversary proceeding against WSB on December 20, 2005, alleging that the mortgage was not executed in accordance with Ohio law and, therefore, was avoidable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 544(a)(3). The bankruptcy court entered an order on March 21, 2007, granting the Trustee’s motion for summary judgment and denying WSB’s motion for summary judgment. The court held that the phrase “witness my hand” does not satisfy the requirements for an acknowledgment under Ohio law, thus making the purported acknowledgment defective such that the Trustee, as a bona fide purchaser, could avoid the mortgage lien under the Bankruptcy Code. WSB timely filed this appeal.