In re: Schwartz-Tallard, No. 12-60052 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDebtor sought attorneys' fees incurred in defense of ASC's appeal of the bankruptcy court's determination that ASC had violated the automatic stay. The court concluded that, because debtor was not pursuing a damages award, but rather defending ASC's appeal of a previous finding of stay violation and thereby "remedying the stay violation," Sternberg v. Johnson did not prohibit the awarding of attorneys' fees at issue here. Accordingly, the court affirmed the bankruptcy appellate panel's reversal and remand of the bankruptcy court's decision denying debtor's request for an award of attorneys' fees.
Court Description: Bankruptcy. Affirming the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s reversal of the bankruptcy court’s decision, the panel held that a bankruptcy debtor was not precluded from recovering, as damages, attorneys’ fees for defending against a creditor’s appeal of a finding that the creditor violated the automatic stay. The panel distinguished Sternberg v. Johnston, 595 F.3d 937 (9th Cir. 2010), which held that a debtor’s attorneys’ fees for work on an adversary proceeding seeking damages for a stay violation were not actual damages and thus were not recoverable under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1) (providing that “an individual injured by any willful violation of a stay . . . shall recover actual damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees”). The panel held that the attorneys’ fees in this case were incurred for a different purpose than those in Sternberg and fell within the meaning of “actual damages” in § 362(k)(1) because they related to the debtor’s enforcing of the automatic stay and remedying of the stay violation. The panel further wrote that the BAP’s use of precedent expressly rejected in Sternberg was improper. Dissenting, Judge Wallace wrote that Sternberg controlled and required reversal. He also wrote that the BAP’s reliance upon one of its own cases, notwithstanding the Ninth Circuit’s previous rejection of the statement of law at issue, was an attack on Article III of the Constitution.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 29, 2014.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on December 19, 2014.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 14, 2015.
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