Case Summary:
The Chapter 7 Trustee objected to an executing judgment creditor’s state-created lien. Previously, the Trustee had initiated an adversary proceeding to avoid the lien but dismissed it on stipulation. While the case was on appeal to the Supreme Court concerning an exemption issue, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling overturning the law which validated the executing judgment creditor’s lien. As a result, the Trustee filed an objection to the Creditor’s claim. The Creditor argued dismissal of the avoidance action precluded the Trustee from objecting to the claim and that the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling in Associated Bank v. Collier, 355 Wis. 2d 343 (2014), should not apply retroactively. The Court found that the theories of res judicata, law of the case, estoppel by record, and laches did not preclude the Trustee from objecting to the claim. Furthermore, the Court found that the only way to practically interpret Collier was to use retroactive application. Therefore, the Court sustained the Trustee’s objection.