Should the Stay Stay or Should It Go: Successive Filings and the Termination of the Automatic Stay

By Alexander Schmidt and The Honorable John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Ohio, Western Division (Toledo, OH)

Consumer bankruptcy cases are almost never easy. But they can be especially tricky when the debtor is filing again after having had a previous bankruptcy case dismissed within the last year. There are special, complex rules involving the automatic stay, one of which is codified at §362(c)(3). The complexity is multiplied by a split of authority in the case law about what actually happens when the automatic stay is terminated under §362(c)(3).

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Critical Case Comment – Repeat: No Fee Splitting

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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A referral fee by retained special counsel paid to debtor’s attorney violates the prohibition in § 504 in that it constitutes an unauthorized splitting of attorney’s fees. (Williamson) In re Davis, 638 B.R. 198 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. March 31, 2022) Case Summary Four years after Lisa Davis filed her Chapter 13 petition, she was involved in an auto accident resulting...

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Cathy Moran

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Part I discusses projecting income tax deductions on the means test when the year of filing situation looks much like last year. Part II looks at things when they aren’t the same year over year.

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

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Dear Readers: We are all working at what feels like the speed of light these days. (And if we’re not, then we’re upset that work is too slow. Yes, we feel like Goldilocks—work’s either too busy or not busy enough.) But the wonderful Regina has asked me a question that often relates to someone hitting “send” too soon: “When opposing...

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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