Bank of America, N. A. v. Caulkett, 135 S. Ct. 1995

Two Chapter 7 debtors (Caulkett and Toledo-Cardona) owned homes subject to a senior mortgage and a junior mortgage held by Bank of America.
Each home’s market value was less than the amount owed on the senior mortgage, making the junior liens wholly underwater.
Debtors moved in bankruptcy to "strip off" (void) the junior mortgage liens under 11 U.S.C. §506(d).
Bankruptcy courts granted the motions; the district courts and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that wholly underwater junior liens may be voided under §506(d).
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether §506(d) allows Chapter 7 debtors to void wholly underwater junior mortgage liens when the creditor’s claim is an allowed secured claim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a Chapter 7 debtor may void a wholly underwater junior mortgage under 11 U.S.C. §506(d)	Debtors: §506(a)’s definition makes a claim unsecured to the extent collateral value is zero, so a wholly underwater junior lien is not an "allowed secured claim" and may be voided under §506(d)	Bank: Dewsnup controls; an "allowed secured claim" in §506(d) means any claim that is allowed under §502 and secured by a lien, regardless of collateral value	Court: Debtors may not void the junior lien; Dewsnup’s definition controls — an allowed, lien‑backed claim cannot be voided under §506(d) even if collateral value is zero

Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410 (1992) (held that an "allowed" claim secured by a lien is not voidable under §506(d), even if undersecured)
Nobelman v. American Savings Bank, 508 U.S. 324 (1993) (addressed §506(a) definition of "secured claim" in the Chapter 13 confirmation context; did not redefine §506(d))
Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa, 539 U.S. 90 (2003) (canon: identical words in the same Act ordinarily have the same meaning)
Pasquantino v. United States, 544 U.S. 349 (2005) (reflected reluctance to give identical statutory words different meanings)