Bankruptcy: Ninth Circuit Orders En Banc Hearing for Schwartz-Tallard 11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1) Issue

 

En Banc Order Came Down on December 19, 2014.

     In our April 17 and August 29, 2014 posts, we discussed In re Schwartz-Tallard, 765 F.3d 1096 (9^th Cir. 2014), which determined in a 2-1 opinion that a Chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor could recover attorney’s fees on appeal for successfully defending an automatic stay violation determination as “damages” under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1). Because the majority and dissent varied on the application of the Court’s own prior decision in Sternberg v. Johnston, 596 F.3d 937 (9^th Cir. 2010), the Ninth Circuit ordered an en banc hearing of the matter in a December 19, 2014 Order.