Also known as: juniors · junior lien · junior creditor · subordinate
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A position or interest that is lower in rank or priority than another.
Jacob Jennings holds a second mortgage on property already encumbered by Jiang Textiles' first mortgage. When the owner transfers the deed directly to Jiang Textiles to avoid foreclosure, Jacob's lien survives the transfer because the deed in lieu does not automatically extinguish junior interests. Jacob may still enforce his lien against the property after the transfer.
Jillian James, a junior associate, receives instructions from her supervising partner on whether to disclose a potential conflict in a pending deal. She follows the partner's reasonable resolution of the arguable duty and therefore does not violate the rules even though the direction came from another lawyer.
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Juarez Holdings buys equipment already subject to a perfected security interest held by Jones Petroleum. When Juarez later grants a security interest in the same equipment to Jimenez Motors, the new interest is subordinate because the collateral was acquired subject to the earlier perfected interest with no gap in perfection.
Jeanette Jensen holds a fee simple conditional and conveys a life estate to Javier Jimenez before the required issue is born. The life estate is subordinate to Jeanette's own interest and to any valid executory interests that follow the conditional estate.
Jessica Jacobs purchases the landlord's interest in leased property for value without notice of an outstanding equitable interest held by Justin Jarvis. Jarvis's equitable claim is subordinate to Jessica's legal interest even though both relate to the same leased premises.
Jiang Textiles holds a junior lien on property subject to foreclosure by the senior mortgagee. Because the junior lienholder receives proper notice and is joined in the proceeding, the foreclosure sale extinguishes the junior interest and distributes any surplus according to priority.
A junior lienholder receives payment only after all senior liens are satisfied in full. If the sale produces a surplus after the senior mortgage, the surplus is applied next to junior liens in order of their priority before any remainder reaches the mortgagor.
A junior lawyer does not violate the rules if the lawyer acts in accordance with a supervisory lawyer's reasonable resolution of an arguable question of professional duty. The junior remains bound by the rules but receives protection when the supervisor's resolution is reasonable.
The later interest is subordinate if the debtor acquired the collateral already subject to a perfected security interest, the earlier interest remained continuously perfected, and no statutory exception applies. This rule prevents the new debtor from using the collateral to create a superior claim.
…We are here to decide cases "agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United States." It is the essence of judicial duty to subordinate our own personal views, our own ideas of what legislation is wise and what is not. If, as I should surely hope, the law before us does not reflect the standards of the people of…