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44 In October 2019, default service attorneys throughout the Eleventh Circuit breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Hon. Jerry C. Oldshue, presiding over the Southern District of Alabama, issued an opinion in In re Russell, No. 19-11514-JCO (Bankr. S.D. Ala 2019) that upheld the long-standing "gavel rule." In Russell, the court determined whether, during the period of time between a foreclosure sale and the execution and delivery of the foreclosure deed from that sale, a debtor can cure his mortgage arrears through a bankruptcy plan. e court held that the "gavel rule"—which states that a debtor's right to cure and maintain no longer exists after the foreclosure sale—remains the correct legal standard for determining a debtor's interest in a foreclosed property. Moreover, the court clarified, the "gavel rule" earns its name: the debtor's right to cure ends with the literal fall of the gavel at the time of the foreclosure sale, not any point afterward. e facts in Russell, while straightforward, presented an opportunity to clarify an area of Alabama law that had become murky in recent years. In Russell, after a debtor defaulted on his mortgage, the bank conducted a valid foreclosure sale. Four days after the sale, the debtor filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in which he attempted to cure his mortgage arrears through the plan. ereafter, the foreclosure deed was executed and recorded. Because the debtor had filed for bankruptcy after the sale but before the deed was executed and recorded, the bank filed a motion to confirm the validity of the foreclosure sale and sought relief to proceed with an ejectment action. e Russell court granted the motion, issuing a 14-page opinion holding that (1) the foreclosed property was not part of the bankruptcy estate, and therefore (2) the debtor could thus not cure his mortgage arrears through the plan. Judge Oldshue's opinion began with a historical review of the relevant case law that has "[run] the gamut of outcomes from pre-foreclosure sale acceleration to post-foreclosure redemption." Id. at 5. e WHEN THE GAVEL FALLS Legal Industry Update STATE FOCUS ALABAMA By: Brooke E. Sanchez