Automatic Stay
The “automatic stay” is a rule that prevents any creditor
from doing anything at all to enforce a claim against a
debtor during the bankruptcy case. The granting of the stay
depends on how many bankruptcies you have filed within 1
year.
Some examples of actions by a creditor that would violate
the stay are these:
(1) Filing a new lawsuit, or continuing to pursue a lawsuit
that had already been filed.
(2) Sending threatening letters or making phone calls in an
attempt to collect a debt.
(3) Filing a “financing statement” to perfect a security
interest.
(4) Refusing to issue a transcript of your schooling.
(5) Canceling your driver’s license.
(6) Not canceling a Sheriff’s sale in a foreclosure
proceeding.
Exceptions: Criminal prosecution, paternity proceedings,
litigation to collect child support or alimony, repaying a
loan from certain types of pensions, and IRS audits are not
stopped. With residential real estate leases, landlords
seeking to evict tenants are free to complete evictions if
the landlord already has a judgment of possession. If you
had a bankruptcy dismissed less than one year before filing
a new bankruptcy the automatic stay goes into effect for
only thirty days unless you convince the court it should be
longer. Also if you had a bankruptcy dismissed within the
last six months because you disobeyed a court order or you
voluntarily dismissed it, no stay goes into effect.