AUTOMATIC STAY - VIOLATION OF

(a) Duty of Creditors Upon Notice. Upon notification that a bankruptcy has been commenced, all creditors shall take all appropriate steps to cease any and all collection efforts and shall take all necessary action to release garnishments that violate 11 U.S.C. § 362. For purposes of this Rule, notice includes the official notice from the Court of the commencement of a bankruptcy case or any other notice provided to the creditor by the debtor or debtor’s attorney which reasonably alerts the creditor to the existence of a bankruptcy case. (b) Motions to Terminate Garnishment.

After the commencement of a bankruptcy case, the debtor may seek termination of any pending garnishment by motion which shall set out a showing that: (1) The debtor and/or debtor’s counsel have contacted the judgment creditor seeking voluntary release of the garnishment; (2) The garnishment and the withholding of any funds from the garnishment are in violation of 11 U.S.C. § 362, and; (3) The motion to terminate the garnishment has been served on the judgment creditor, the Court in which the garnishment is pending and any entity that has been served as garnishee. The motion shall include a notice which shall provide 14 days for a response and shall be served pursuant to LBR 9007-1 or 2002-1(e). If no objection is filed to the motion within the 14 days provided, the Court may enter an order authorizing any entity holding garnished funds to release the funds and authorizing that the garnishment be terminated. 26 Back to TOC PART V. COURTS AND CLERKS