Motion to Invoke the Automatic Stay for Multiple Bankruptcy Filers
I filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy for a Debtor who had two previous bankruptcies in the last year; therefore, I had to file a Motion to Invoke the Automatic Stay. The filing of the bankruptcy does not automatically afford him the protection of the automatic stay. Since he has had two previous cases that were pending in the last year, he must file a special motion with the court to ask the Judge to invoke the stay. Since his house is up for foreclosure on August 7, I must request the motion be expedited.
This is a lot of extra work up front for an attorney; therefore the upfront fee for filing the Chapter 13 is usually more than if the Motion to Invoke didn’t have to be filed. Just because the motion gets filed, doesn’t guarantee the Judge will invoke the stay. In my client’s case, he has had 6 previous bankruptcies since 2001. Four out of the six cases were dismissed because the client failed to file all his paperwork with the court. Under the circumstances, it doesn’t appear as if the Debtor is serious about being in a bankruptcy and can’t afford his current mortgage payment. The only hope my client has as to why the Judge will invoke the automatic stay would be he was in a previous bankruptcy for almost two years before it got dismissed. That will add some credibility to his desire to successfully complete his current bankruptcy.
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