Chapter 13 Plan Payments

In Holcomb v. Hardeman, the debtors’ original Chapter 13 bankruptcy case was dismissed on March 2, 2007, for failure to make payments.  The debtors filed a second petition a month and a half later.  They filed a motion a month after that to determine if the automatic stay from the first petition was still in effect.

The bankruptcy court determined that the original stay had terminated on the 30th day after the filing of the second case, and the debtor appealed.  The bankruptcy appellate panel reversed and remanded the case, ruling that the stay had not terminated. The court found that the language in the Bankruptcy Code was unambiguous, and the stay is only terminated with respect to the debtors and the debtors’ property, and it did not terminate as to property of the estate.