Bankruptcy and looming Superior Court Judgment

[TurnThePage]

So I was finally served today -- Notice of Replevin Lawsuit is next week.

Question for Des -- once I file the paperwork, how do I place the Superior Court on Notice of the Bankruptcy? Do I add the Court's address to the Creditor Matrix, or do I also need to file an "Answer" with the Superior Court with my Chapter 13 Case #? The automatic stay will stop the Creditor's Lawsuit, but I'm wondering how to proceed from here. The deadline to appear in Court is around the corner.

[despritfreya]

. . . Question for Des -- once I file the paperwork, how do I place the Superior Court on Notice of the Bankruptcy? Do I add the Court's address to the Creditor Matrix, or do I also need to file an "Answer" with the Superior Court with my Chapter 13 Case #? The automatic stay will stop the Creditor's Lawsuit, but I'm wondering how to proceed from here. The deadline to appear in Court is around the corner.

1. You do not list the court on the mailing list. The court does not want junk mail.

2. You file a Notice of Filing Bankruptcy in the Superior Court case. If you have an attny, he/she will file it. A copy of what is filed is sent to the attorney for the Plaintiff.

3. There would be no need to file an Answer in the Superior Court once you have filed bk.

4. I tried to find a sample Notice of Bankruptcy Filing on the Internet. This is the best I could come up with this morning - a local form for North Carolina. It is just a sample and needs to be re-worked to cover you State and Superior Court location:

https://www.nccourts.gov/assets/documents/local-rules-forms/925.pdf

You may be able to find others - check your Superior Court's website as it may have its own local form.

Des.

[TurnThePage]

Thanks Des -- looks easy enough. I can tailor that to fit my local court.

I was hoping for more time in researching and filing the Ch. 13, but now the creditor has forced my hand. Ironically, I also served Uber a notice of my small claims case, the same day I was served. I'm playing both offense and defense in the Court systems.

I was able to speak with an Attorney about Bankruptcy Exemptions, and he said the Federal Wild Card with unused Homestead Exemption is much more generous than our state's exemptions here in Washington ($1,500 in cash, versus approximately $14,000). So my claim / asset against Uber should be protected.

[flashoflight]

The practice of my attorney is to pick up the phone and call all of the lawsuit creditor's law firms and inform them of the bankruptcy. This is on top of mailing all of the creditors. It is the responsibility of plaintiff counsel to ensure that their case is actually paused for the duration of the chapter 13. Often the creditor will dismiss without prejudice. But they can also wait for you to fail the 13 and then get that judgment without a new case.

Since you appear to be pro se, if I were creditor's counsel I would not dismiss and will wait for you to fail the 13. In my area, just about 100% of chapter 13 pro se cases never make it to discharge.

[TurnThePage]

Thanks flashoflight -- yes, that's probably what opposing counsel would do. Litigation is like 3D Chess Lol ... In any case, they're going to get a surprise with this Ch. 13 filing -- they think they have this in the bag with a proposed, default order of replevin.

[justbroke]

If this is over a vehicle, the creditor won't be shocked. If it's an institutional lender... they do this all day every day. They will (likely) only pause the current state litigation and then object to your confirmation of plan. They'll probably object even if the plan a.) addresses any arrears to be paid during the plan, and b.) treats their claim adequately (e.g. the Till Rate). (I don't know why they like to object to confirmation even when the plan deals with their claim appropriately, but vehicle lenders and mortgage lenders are tough.)

As flashoflight wrote, they'll watch your case, and will literally hope that you fail somewhere along the way. Some will actually sell the claim to someone else or have it the claim managed by a specialty company. That is, a company like Ascension Capital. Ascension is not the typical junk debt buyer; they specialize in bankruptcy case management and recovery.

For that reason, I hope that you are able to file a feasible plan and deal with any potential objections. I had a successful Chapter 13 Pro Se discharge and so have a few others here on BKForum. I want you to be successful procedurally and in your Chapter 13. Hopefully you are finding all the things you need to file a good (confirmable) plan.

I assume you are filing an emergency (skeleton) petition? And, that you can get the plan and other forms down within 15 days of filing (whatever that requirement is)?

[TurnThePage]

Thanks JB -- I've got a difficult path ahead of me, but I hope and pray that all goes well.

[justbroke]

We all do and we're here to try to answer any questions that we can.