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22 ¦ MARCH 23, 2020 NEWS

¦ From WHEN BANKRUPTCY on PAGE 21 have any effect on the strict application of §108(b).
also clear that a debtor has up until the date the fore- Since the law in effect prior to Canney held that
closure sale is confirmed to redeem. See Mortgage these curative provisions provided a basis for re-
Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. v. White, 278 organizing with property if a bankruptcy filing is
Conn. 219, 230 (2006). Thus, it could be questioned initiated before a foreclosure sale is confirmed,
whether §108(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, which is Valente v. Savings Bank of Rockville, 34 B.R. 362,
the statutory basis of the decision in Canney, would 366-67 (D. Conn. 1983), it can be persuasively ar-
even apply to the situation where a bankruptcy pe- gued that such a result remains available even after
tition is filed before a foreclosure sale is confirmed Canney.
by the state court, because, prior to that time, there It should be mentioned that there is a specific
would be no “applicable nonbankruptcy law” or “or- statute in Chapter 13 which provides that “a default
der entered in a non-bankruptcy proceeding” that with respect to … a lien on the debtor’s principal
fixes an actual date for the debtor to redeem. That residence may be cured … until such residence is
date would only be fixed when the state court con- sold at a foreclosure sale that is conducted in accor-
firms the foreclosure sale, and it cannot simply be dance with applicable nonbankruptcy law.” 11 U.S.C.
presumed that the sale would be confirmed on the §1325(c)(1). Whether “sold a foreclosure sale” means
date set for a hearing on its confirmation. Cf. Town the actual sale or its confirmation by the court is an
of Beacon Falls v. Christiano (In re Christiano), 605 open question, but it would seem to be an anoma-
B.R. 1, 6-8 (Bankr. D. Conn. 2019) (applying Canney lous result if other types of real property could be
and §108(b) in holding that the filing of a Chapter preserved for reorganization if a bankruptcy filing
13 petition by a delinquent taxpayer just ten days is made before the foreclosure sale is confirmed, but
before the expiration of her six-month right to re- not a debtor’s principal residence.
deem property sold at a tax sale, as afforded by ¦

C.G.S §12-157, provided only an additional 60 days Irve J. Goldman is a member of the Bankrupt-
to redeem the property, on the basis that applicable cy and Creditors Rights Practice at Pullman &
nonbankruptcy law established a six-month period Comley, LLC, and has been certified as a busi-
for redemption of property sold at a tax sale). ness bankruptcy specialist by the American Board
Still further, Canney did not address whether of Certification since 1993. He can be reached at
the curative provisions of chapter 11 or 13 would [email protected].

Federal Circuit:
We’ll Interpret the AIA, Not the PTAB

By Scott Graham
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Cir- The immediate impact is that Facebook and
cuit has cut short a U.S. Patent and Trademark the PTO have lost their argument that Facebook
Office plan for adopting new rules and proce- should have been excused for missing a deadline
dures governing administrative patent challenges. to challenge patent claims asserted by Windy City
A Federal Circuit panel flatly refused Wednesday Innovations. More broadly, the decision will force
to extend Chevron deference to decisions issued by the PTO to use more cumbersome notice-and-
the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s Precedential comment rulemaking, rather than POP decisions,
Opinion panel. to enact new procedures implementing the America

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