Jonathan Mark Hopkins and Teri Jean Hopkins

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IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEW BERN DIVISION
IN RE:
JONATHAN MARK HOPKINS and
TERRI JEAN HOPKINS,
Debtors. 	Case No. 06-03597-8-JRL
Chapter 7
______________________________________________________________________________
ORDER
The matter before the court is the debtors’ motion to set aside the judgment and avoid the
lien of Manufacturers Commercial Finance Corp.
Section 522(f)(1) allows the debtor to “avoid the fixing of a lien on an interest of the debtor
in property to the extent that such lien impairs an exemption to which the debtor would have been
entitled under subsection (b) . . . .” 11 U.S.C. § 522(f)(1). Because exemptions are determined on
the petition date, a lien must ordinarily exist on the petition date to impair an exemption. In re
Pettaway, Case No. 02-02619-8-JRL (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 10, 2004).
The debtors assert that Manufacturers Commercial Finance Corp. obtained a money
judgment in the amount of $11,622.68 against the debtors on December 13, 2002 in Michigan. The
SO ORDERED.
SIGNED this 07 day of March, 2007.
________________________________________
J. Rich Leonard
United States Bankruptcy Judge
____________________________________________________________
Case 06-03597-8-JRL Doc 30 Filed 03/07/07 Entered 03/07/07 15:01:49 Page 1 of 2

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debtors have not claimed an exemption in property located in Michigan, so there appears to be no
valid judgment lien impairing an exemption. 	However, as the judgment was unsecured on the
petition date, the discharge injunction has invalidated the underlying debt and deprived the judgment
on any legal effect.
Based on the foregoing, the court denies the motion to set aside judgment and avoid lien.
End of Document
Case 06-03597-8-JRL Doc 30 Filed 03/07/07 Entered 03/07/07 15:01:49 Page 2 of 2