Page 2 - John Hundley 2009

Welcoming David Grindle

The Sharp Law Firm, P.C. is pleased to announce that David J. Grindle, member of the bars of the United States District
Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, is joining the firm as Counsel.
David is a 1990 graduate of the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, where he received his Juris
Doctorate cum laude, and a 1986 graduate of the University of Georgia, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts.
While at Mercer, he authored Bowen v. Kendrick: The Malleable Lemon Test, 40 MERCER L. REV. 1063 (1989), and
Manumission: The Weak Link in Georgia’s Law of Slavery, 41 MERCER L. REV. 701 (1990).
David brings to the firm valuable perspective on federal practice, having worked in federal courts at both the trial and
appellate levels. He held a coveted legal clerkship for the Hon. Albert J. Henderson, Jr., of the Court of Appeals for the
11th Circuit, and also served as law clerk for the Hon. W. Louis Sands in the Middle District of Georgia.

In private practice, David has experience in both civil and criminal matters, having tried more than 40 major cases as lead
counsel. His previous work, both for the courts and in private practice, have given him subject-matter knowledge and
experience in a wide variety of legal areas of import to the Firm’s clientele, including employment law, civil rights, the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act, intellectual property (patent, copyright, trademarks), white-collar criminal
defense, bankruptcy, Social Security, administrative review, civil litigation and federal constitutional law.

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part of Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code for farmers. A cramdown proposal for home mortgages is
not without its detractors, as noted by Justice Stevens in Nobelman v. Am. Savings Bank, 503 U.S.
324 (1993): “At first blush it seems somewhat strange that the Bankruptcy Code should provide less
protection to an individual’s interest in retaining possession of his or her home than of other assets.
The anomaly is, however, explained by the legislative history indicating that favorable treatment of
residential mortgages was intended to encourage the flow of capital into the home lending market.”

Yet whether the fear of scaring off money from the mortgage market will stop Congress from
enacting such a proposal this year is doubtful. Indeed, some major mortgage lenders apparently
intend to go along with the proposal – provided it applies only to new mortgages. If the bill only
applies to new loans, they reason, they can adjust accordingly. Indeed, if the bill is enacted – with
or without a future-only clause – look for it to substantially change lending standards. Fearing
the effects in bankruptcy of a possible market decline, lenders will require far more conservative loan-
to-value ratios than have been available in recent years. Look also for ARMs to lose vogue, because
bankruptcy courts will only nullify upward adjustments in interest rates in such mortgages.

If the bill is enacted applying to existing mortgages, look for it to attract into bankruptcy
vast numbers of mortgage debtors. In recent years, few have been required to make large down
payments on residences, and in some cases unscrupulous appraisers have been used to justify loans
at greater than fair market values. Moreover, many homeowners who had built up equity over time
have refinanced their homes, or taken second mortgages, pulling the equity out. And many others
have taken ARMs which, in the long run, have proven improvident. In all those cases, borrowers will
be able to obtain significant advantages in bankruptcy, while keeping their homes. Add to this the
pressure toward bankruptcy which occurs because of ARM changes, job losses and the general
economic downturn, and the pool of debtors to whom the proposed law may apply grows even more.

If the Durbin bill is enacted for existing mortgages, the effects on mortgage investors may be truly
drastic.
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THE SHARP LAW FIRM, P.C.

1115 Harrison, P.O. Box 906, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 • Telephone 618-242-0246 • Facsimile 618-242-1170

Business Transactions • Litigation • Financial Law • Problem Finances • Real Estate • Corporate • Commercial Disputes • Creditors’ Rights •
Arbitration • Estate Planning • Probate

Terry Sharp: law@lotsharp.com; John T. Hundley: Jhundley@lotsharp.com; David J. Grindle, Dgrindle@lotsharp.com;
Mandy Combs: Mcombs@lotsharp.com; Real Estate Closing and Title Services, see www.sharptitleservices.com

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