Small claims case and chapter 7

[SCTiger]

I have a small claims court hearing scheduled on Monday. My Chapter 7 was just filed today.

I called the court to inform them and they told me that since the Chapter 7 was filed AFTER the case was filed that the hearing would proceed and that there was no automatic stay.

Is this correct? It doesn't sound right to me.

[damooster]

They are 100% incorrect. The second you file the automatic stay is in place. You need to notify the person suing you, however, so that they can cancel the hearing. That may be your problem there; if you don't notify the plaintiff in time, they can proceed with the suit but they won't be able to act on the default judgement. The worst case scenario would be you showing up for the hearing and giving the court your case number so that you don't have a judgement go on your record.