Automatic Stay

Ninth Circuit Allows Counsel Fees when Debtor Successfully Appeals a Stay Violation

Ninth Circuit is the first court of appeals to expand a debtor’s appellate counsel fees beyond successfully defending an award for a willful stay violation.

Benchnotes February 2019

Feb 2019

First Circuit Terminates the Stay Entirely as to Repeat Filers

In the first opinion at the circuit level, the First Circuit latches onto the lousy drafting of Section 362(c)(3)(A) to end the automatic stay entirely, 30 days after the second filing within a year.

Judges’ Round-and-Round (2018 Winter Leadership Conference)

Benchnotes January 2019

Jan 2019

Bankruptcy Won’t Lift Suspension of a Driver’s License for Failure to Pay Traffic Fines

The government doesn’t violate the automatic stay by refusing to reinstate a driver’s license suspended for failure to pay traffic fines, Judge Surratt-States says.

New Jersey Judges Side with the Minority on Turnover of Repossessed Autos

Split deepens regarding failure to return a repossessed auto as an automatic stay violation.

Invocation of Rooker-Feldman Requires Finality in the State Court Judgment

Rooker-Feldman applies only if the state proceedings have ended before the federal suit is filed, Eleventh Circuit says.

Courts Disagree on the Status of a Supersedeas Bond on the Filing of Bankruptcy

A supersedeas bond and a cash deposit are interchangeable in terms of the rights of a judgment creditor, Judge Sacca says.

Benchnotes December 2018

Dec 2018