PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_july2018 | Page 10

BANKRUPTCY C o r n e r
Serial Filings May Have a Result Much Worse Than
Losing a House
JASON S. RIGOLI
Beginning at 9:30 (or 10:00) a.m. on various
days of the week, the judges for the
bankruptcy court for the Southern District
of Florida are holding motion calendars.
Common among the disputes during the
motion calendar are mortgagees arguing for
relief from the automatic stay or objecting
the re-imposition of a stay because the
debtor, or debtor and a co-debtor, have
filed successive bankruptcy cases to stop
a foreclosure sale. Serial filings became
a “litigation strategy” borne out of the
financial crisis.
This tactic may not be the “sword” debtors
are looking for after all. On June 6, 2018,
the United States Court of Appeal for the
Seventh Circuit (the “