Security Mortgage Co. v. Powers

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• relying on state law to determine whether a lien was valid in a federal bankruptcy proceeding
• distinguishing between attorney’s fees that were a “liability still contingent at the time of bankruptcy” and the “principal debt, which is secured by a lien,” “was not inchoate at the time” and “had already become perfect when the principal note and the loan deed securing it were given”
• Georgia statute requiring suit to collect attorneys fees deemed controlling on enforceability of ten percent attorney fee clause in mortgage note
• “The construction of [a] contract for attorney’s fees presents ... a question of local law.”
• Supreme Court recognized the legitimacy of applying a Georgia statute which required suit to collect under attorney fee clause in mortgage note
• purpose of Georgia statute is to protect defaulting debtor who pays within ten days from liability for attorney fees

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).