Lawrence
Lawrence v. Looney (In re Lawrence)
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Appellants Larry Lawrence and Ann Lawrence filed a motion for sanctions under 11 U.S.C. § 362 (h) (2004) 1 in the Unit *315 ed States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho against Appellee Butler and Looney, P.C. (“Butler & Looney”). They also filed an adversarial complaint against Appellees Harold Looney and Butler & Looney, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 523 , 524, and 727. The bankruptcy court denied the § 362(h) motion and dismissed the adversarial complaint, and the district court affirmed. Pursuant to our jurisdiction over Appellants’ timely appeal under 28 U.S.C. §§ 158 (d) and 1291, we affirm the district court judgment.
Appellants’ motion for sanctions under § 362(h) alleged that Butler & Looney violated the automatic stay effected by their filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 4, 2002, see § 362(a), by filing for foreclosure against Appellant Larry Lawrence’s co-defendant in a separate state court proceeding, and by recording its assignment of interest in Appellants’ real property. To prevail on their motion, Appellants were required to prove actual damages. Because they failed to do so, the bankruptcy court correctly denied the motion on the…