Thu Thi Dao
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
For Publication UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
3 In re: ) ) THU THI DAO, ) Case No. 20-20742-C-7 ) Debtor. ) Dkt. Control No. DNL-2 ) 7 OPINION REGARDING STATUS OF AUTOMATIC STAY CHRISTOPHER M. KLEIN, Bankruptcy Judge: Bankruptcy Code provisions that apply in chapters 7, 11, and 13, should be interpreted to avoid dysfunction in all applicable chapters. That precept has been neglected in chapter 13 decisions holding that the 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3) 30-day automatic stay termination “with respect to the debtor” who files serial cases also, by inference, extends to “property of the estate.” This needless inference works havoc in chapter 7. This is no minor matter because stripping the estate of stay protection contradicts the central chapter 7 policy of maximum and equitable distribution for creditors, for which the § 362(a) stay of acts against property of the estate is a key tool. Much ink has been spilled in chapter 13 cases, without 22 …