BAPCPA Ruling Applies § 522(p)'s $125,000 Homestead Exemption Cap to Florida Debtor
In one of the first rulings under BAPCPA, In re Kaplan, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida held that the new $125,000 homestead exemption cap under § 522(p), covering property that is acquired within 1,215 days of the filing of the petition, applied to a Florida debtor who had purchased a condo within this 1,215-day period.
In so holding, the court rejected a decision by an Arizona Bankruptcy Court, In re McNabb, 326 B.R. 785 (June 23, 2005), which had held that the 522(p)'s homestead cap only applies in states that have not opted out of the federal exemption scheme. In rejecting this decision, Judge Robert Mark concluded that in BAPCPA, Congress specifically targeted what it believed were excessive state exemption laws, such as the Florida homestead exemption.
Although there is no official cite to the case yet, you can read about it here.
