From the Editor – Automatic Stay

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Mortgagee willfully violated stay by eviction. When the purchaser of a mortgage, on which the Chapter 13 debtor was personally liable, evicted the debtor from the church where he was pastor, it willfully violated the stay and $50,000 punitive damages were awarded. The return of the debtor’s personal property did not remedy the violation. The eviction resulted in an altercation and physical violence directed at the debtor’s wife, supporting a conclusion that the eviction was in bad faith. In re Jean-Francois, B.R . . .

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