11 U.S.C. §350(b); Dismissal of Case; Reopening of Case
In re Peachtree Stratford, LP, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2669, Case No. 01-65822 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. October 25, 2005)(Massey).
At a hearing on June 3, 2003, the court dismissed the debtor’s Chapter 11 case. After the hearing, but before the entry of the written order on dismissal, the secured creditor ran foreclosure advertisements for the debtor’s real property. The following month the secured creditor foreclosed and sold the property. The debtor subsequently filed a lawsuit in state court, contending that the secured creditor violated the automatic stay and that the foreclosure sale was void ab initio. The secured creditor then filed a motion to reopen the Bankruptcy case and annul the stay as of June 3, 2003.
The court noted that the case was dismissed at the June 3, 2003 hearing even though the order was not reduced to writing until several days later. However, the court held that is lacked the power under §350(b) to “take action in a case as if it had never been dismissed.” Therefore, the motion to reopen the case was denied and the motion to lift or annul the stay was, therefore, moot.
