May 2012

I have written several times about the automatic stay of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

I.          The Automatic Stay

I wrote:

Simply put, the automatic stay stays all actions by the debtor’s creditors against the debtor as a person (in personam), and against the property (in rem) of the debtor and of the bankruptcy estate that is created upon the filing of the papers.  In practical terms – with a few exceptions listed in § 362(b) – this means that creditors must stop all direct communications with the debtor, all attempts to collect money or other assets from the debtor, all lawsuits against the debtor, and all attempts to exercise control over the debtor’s (or the estate’s) property.  Willful violations of the automatic stay can be expensive mistakes because the debtor who successfully sues in the Bankruptcy Court under § 362(k) can collect damages including costs, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages.

Thus, the automatic stay provides some very important protection to a debtor who files for bankruptcy protection. 

II.        The Chapter 13 Codebtor Stay

If the debtor files under Chapter 13 there is another stay that is triggered that protects, not only the debtor, but also codebtors of the debtor.  Unsurprisingly, it is referred to as the codebtor stay, and it is found in 11 U.S.C. § 1301(a).  The portion I will focus on today is:

[A]fter the order for relief under this chapter, a creditor may not act, or commence or continue any civil action, to collect all or any part of a consumer debt of the debtor from any individual that is liable on such debt with the debtor . . .
Continue Reading The Codebtor Stay In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy