Purchase Money Security Interests in the Preference Zone: Questions Answered and Questions Raised by the 1994 Amendments to Bankruptcy Code 547

In October 1994, Congress approved the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994,' which revised various provisions of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The revisions included two amendments to the preference statute, 11 U.S.C. §547. Historically, a creditor generally could preserve from preference attack an otherwise voidable purchase money security interest if the creditor perfected its security interest no later than the tenth day after the debtor first possessed the collateral. After first discussing the basics of a preference attack on an Article Nine security interest, this article summarizes the leading cases that prompted Congress to amend 11 U.S.C. § 547(c)(3)(B), suggests that the amendment fails to completely eliminate the possibility of continuing conflict between state commercial law and the Bankruptcy Code, and offers an analytical road map for courts that continue to confront the dilemma.

Finally, the article raises possible interpretive problems created by the amendment to 11 U.S.C. § 547(e)(2) and proposes a statutory construction of the amendment that may render those problems moot.