Man reading legal docsHere is the sixth defense against preference avoidance actions, the so-called statutory lien defense.

Defenses To Preference Avoidance Actions, Part VI:

The Statutory Lien Defense

Some liens are voluntary, the result of the debtor voluntarily granting a lien to a creditor.  Examples include home mortgages and car loans.

Other liens are involuntary and are recorded against the debtor’s wishes.  For example, if a creditor obtains a judgment against the debtor, the creditor can record a judgment lien against an asset — such as the debtor’s home.

Another type of involuntary lien is a statutory lien, which is a lien that arises by operation of some statute.  For example, if a homeowner is behind on homeowners association dues, the HOA can record a lien pursuant to a statute.  See, e.g., Cal. Civ. Code § 1367.1.  Statutory liens are the focus of § 547(c)(6):  “The trustee may not avoid under this section a transfer — . . . that is the fixing of a statutory lien that is not avoidable under section 545 of this title.”  Thus, if the statutory lien is not avoidable under § 545, it is not avoidable.  (One of the challenges in understanding statutes is having to follow chains of references from one part of the statute to another.  This is one of those challenges.)

Section 545 provides:
Continue Reading Preferential Transfers IV: Defenses To Preference Avoidance Actions (Part VI)