Landlord filed for eviction

[SaltofEarth]

Fell behind on Trustee payments and Trustee dismissed my case. The very next day my apartment complex filed for eviction for past due fees and remaining amount that was being paid in plan. I was able to get my trustee payments caught up and case reinstated. More specific wording in the letter from the Trustee office said their request for dismissal was withdrawn and my plan would continue to completion.

My questions are 1) does that mean the automatic stay is back in effect and 2) is the landlord still able to proceed with eviction filing? (I live in NJ if that helps)

[justbroke]

First, the Trustee doesn't dismiss the case. Only the court can dismiss the case for cause such as non-payment. Second, only the court can reinstate a case. They can't withdraw their Motion to Dismiss for Non-Payment if the case is already dismissed. So procedurally I don't know how you got back to the case being active.

If the case is active again, then the automatic stay is in effect. The case would be active is the judge vacated the order of dismissal. I haven't heard that either there was an order of dismissal or a vacated order of dismissal and who sent that. Do you have a Chapter 13 attorney?

The landlord can't proceed to eviction on pre-petition items that are in plan in an active (non-dismissed) case. Did you have post-petition late fees and dues? If you have those post-petition then they may not be part of the plan and the landlord may be entitled to eviction.

You really need to get with your Chapter 13 attorney to figure out the actual status of your case.

[SaltofEarth]

Appreciate the information and reply!
Wrote this during lack of sleep and a not so clear head.
Correct, to clarify the Trustee filed a motion for dismissal for nonpayment. I cleared my arrears before the scheduled court date for their motion. As a result they withdrew the request prior to the hearing date because the arrears balance was paid in full. Haven't had time to find the notice to check again on if it came from the Trustee or bankruptcy court but my case is definitely still active. The wording on the notice was definitely " request for dismissal is withdrawn and plan will continue to completion." Triple checked the Trustee calendar disposition prior to the hearing date and it reflected the same.
Filed Pro Se so I don't have a bankruptcy lawyer but will contact legal aid since they sometimes offer assistance.
The post petition fees are legal/court fees from the landlord filing but I made sure to pay those alongside my rent so all that remains is the pre petition amount.

[justbroke]

Post-petition legal fees tied to the pre-petition arrears are typically not required to be paid "alongside" your rent but are typically paid "by" and "in" the plan. It reads as if you never had an actual dismissal, so the court did not need to reinstate the Chapter 13. Therefore you should be "in plan" and everything is in force.

As a Pro Se debtor you need to stay on top of things. There are procedural mechanisms that you can use if you have issues with making payments (e.g., you can work with the Chapter 13 Trustee and file a motion with the court to abate or modify the plan payments). A Chapter 13 is a precarious thing and as a Pro Se debtor it is imperative that you understand what procedural tools are at. your disposal. Whenever you have a major financial issue don't just skip payments. You would make procedural moves to seek permission from the court and/or Trustee to abate payments or modify the plan.

I don't know what caused you to miss payments but that is a significant flag for you. If it was from lost wages or a job, you may be able to do things to adjust your plan payment. For example, at one point I had to pay for a new sewer line and have my concrete driveway dug up. I asked for a modification and adjusted my plan payment for three months, but then the remainder was put into the following plan payments which caused an increase in payments after the three months. These are things a good Chapter 13 would do for you (at a cost of course).

I wish you the best.