Three Bankruptcy Filings in 12 Months Equals No Automatic Stay
By L. Jed Berliner, Western & Central Massachusetts Bankruptcy Attorney on Jan 29, 2009 in Automatic Stay In Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure
Three bankruptcy filings in 12 months seems a bit much, yes? But it happens. Perhaps there was carelessness by the filer or an attorney, or perhaps there was misplaced hope that a Chapter 13 case could succeed but then a sudden loss of income occurred.
There is no automatic stay, which means no automatic protection, against any creditor if two or more cases were pending during the 12 months before the filing of the last case and those other cases were dismissed. To get that protection, one needs a special court order issued after a hearing. Be sure to ask for an emergency hearing if the foreclosing auctioneer is at your door!
Grounds include the negligence of debtor’s attorney, a substantial change of circumstances, or any other reason which convinces the judge that this last case will succeed. 11 U.S.C. 362 (c)(4).
The count of previously pending cases does not include a case dismissed and refiled because of a means test result or because of an other finding of abuse.
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