Kupperstein v. Schall, No. 20-1472 (1st Cir. 2021)
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In this property dispute leading to a bankruptcy filing, the First Circuit held that a probate court's contempt proceedings and resultant penalties were excepted from an automatic stay and that the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in partially lifting the stay.
Donald Kupperstein rented certain property that he did not own to various tenants. The property belonged to the Estate of Fred Kuhn, now managed by Irene Stall. The Estate owed money to Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services (MassHealth). When Kupperstein would not relinquish his claim to the property, the parties ended up in several Massachusetts courts. The probate court voided the property's transfer and ordered Kupperstein to pay to rents collected from the property to MassHealth. Kupperstein subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and the court held him in contempt. Schall and MassHealth filed motions in the bankruptcy court to lift the automatic stay as it applied to state court actions so the cases could proceed. The court lifted the stay and denied Kupperstein's motion to hold MassHealth in contempt and to impose sanctions. The district court affirmed. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in denying relief.
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