Law Commons^™

Tools Of Ignorance: An Appraisal Of Deficiency Judgments, Alan M. Weinberger

All Faculty Scholarship

While achieving success as a major league catcher, Mike Matheny was preparing for a post-baseball career in real estate development. He could not have picked a worse time to pursue his aspiration. Matheny lost his accumulated savings and his family’s home after being held personally liable for a $4.2 million deficiency judgment following foreclosure of property he was unable to develop or market during the Great Recession. Matheny’s failure to succeed in real estate was the proximate cause of his return to baseball as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Matheny’s story provides the backdrop for examining the methods by …