Eleventh Circuit Requires Payment of Default Interest

Representation of special servicer and holder of mortgage loan on the Sagamore Hotel in an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on orders of the United States Bankruptcy Court and United States District Court. The issue on appeal regarded the determination that Sagamore was not required to pay default rate interest and attorneys' fees to the secured creditor under Sagamore's confirmed plan of reorganization, which reinstated the original terms and maturity date of a defaulted mortgage loan. The Eleventh Circuit held, in a matter of first impression in the circuit, that reinstatement of a defaulted debt requires a debtor to pay default rate interest in accordance with the loan documents and applicable non-bankruptcy law. The Eleventh Circuit also reversed the lower courts' determinations that, on the facts of the case, default rate interest had been waived by the lender. The Court remanded to the District Court with instructions to determine the fees due to the secured lender.