Peggy Wagner

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION
In Re:
Peggy Wagner,
Debtor.
) 	Case No. 12-36900
)
) 	Chapter 7
)
)
) 	JUDGE MARY ANN WHIPPLE
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO STOP SHERIFF’S SALE AND DIRECTING
ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSURE OF CHAPTER 7 CASE
The court held a hearing on January 9, 2013, on Debtor’s Motion to Stop Sheriff’s Sale [Doc. # 26].
Debtor Peggy Wagner appeared in person at the hearing. No creditor or other party in interest appeared at
the hearing.
Ms. Wagner is representing herself in this Chapter 7 case, which she filed on October 8, 2010. She
received her Chapter 7 discharge on February 16, 2011. Although no creditor, including Fifth Third Bank,
has sought abandonment of any assets, the Trustee filed a no asset report. The only reason the case has not
been administratively closed , and property including any interest she has in residential real estate, has not
been abandoned, is that there remains pending against her a non-dischargeability adversary proceeding
relating to credit card debt.
In the interim, Fifth Third Bank has apparently commenced or resumed a foreclosure proceeding on
Ms.Wagner’s home on Albert Street in Toledo, Ohio. Ms. Wagner often sends documents and letters to the
the record of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
of this court the document set forth below. This document has been entered electronically in
The court incorporates by reference in this paragraph and adopts as the findings and orders
Dated: January 10 2013
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court, some of them pertaining to the adversary proceeding. The court construed one of the letters dated
December 17, 2012, and related paperwork that accompanied it, as a Motion to Shop a Sheriff’s Sale
apparently being pursued by Fifth Third Bank with respect to the Albert Street property. The court therefore
set the letter and related paperwork for hearing, treating it as such a Motion.
At the hearing, Ms. Wagner was very unsure of what was happening to her home or why. She was
not 	able 	to explain to the court or present documents showing the legal status of any state court
proceedings against her home. The status of title to the home and her interest in it is unknown on the record;
she reports that her husband is now deceased. Ms. Wagner presented as very upset and understandably
concerned about whatever 	is 	happening with her home in the state courts, noting that some men had
appeared on the property very recently. But the court was not presented with a basis to understand or
address the status of any state court proceedings against the property and likewise lacks any basis to enter
an order stopping any sheriff’s sale. For that reason, the Motion will be denied.
As Ms. Wagner now understands, and the court concurs, she is in dire need of legal representation
to help her understand and address these issues. But she reports that she has been informed by several
agencies that they cannot help her while the bankruptcy case is ongoing. The court sees no reason that this
case cannot now be administratively closed under 11 U.S.C. § 350(a). As evidenced by the Trustee’s no
asset report, the estate has been fully administered. Ms. Wagner has received her Chapter 7 discharge. The
pending adversary proceeding will not affect property of the estate or require the services of a Trustee, and
the requested relief is self-contained and limited to the plaintiff. Therefore, although this case would
routinely be left administratively open until completion of the adversary proceeding, the court sees no
reason it should not be closed if that will facilitate obtaining legal or other assistance by Ms. Wagner.1
1Administrative closing of the case will also effect abandonment from the bankruptcy estate of any
interest Ms. Wagner has in the real property at 1231 Albert Street in Toledo, Ohio, 11 U.S.C. § 554(c), and
statutory termination of the balance of the automatic stay, 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(1). To the extent that
foreclosure or other proceedings are pending or have been ongoing during the pendency of this bankruptcy
case against any interest she has in the property, the court is mystified. In again reviewing the docket to
prepare this order, the court notes that neither Fifth Third Bank nor any other creditor has sought relief from
stay or abandonment of any real property from the bankruptcy estate. Notwithstanding that she received
a discharge terminating the stay as to any in personam actions against her, which are in turn now stopped
by the discharge, the automatic stay remains in place as to actions against any interest Ms. Wagner has in
real property that became property of her bankruptcy estate. Any such interest has not been abandoned.
See 11 U.S.C. §§ 362(c)(1); 554. If actions against property have been taken in violation of the automatic
stay, those actions may be voidable or even void, Easley v. Pettibone Michigan Corp., 990 F.2d 905 (6th Cir.
1993), 	or subject to claims under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k). The court has no record from which it can so
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THEREFORE, good cause appearing,
IT IS ORDERED that Debtor’s Motion to Stop Sheriff’s Sale [Doc. # 26] be, and hereby is,
DENIED, without prejudice; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to administratively
CLOSE the within Chapter 7 case under 11 U.S.C. § 350(a).
###
determine and no such issues have been properly presented to the court.
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