Court of Appeal Delves into Bankruptcy Law; Did It Get It Right? Find Out at Your Own Peril!

Paul J. Pascuzzi and Nicholas Kohlmeyer

Paul J. Pascuzzi is the Managing Partner at Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby Pascuzzi & Rios LLP in Sacramento. Mr. Pascuzzi is a former chair of the Business Law Section Executive Committee and the Insolvency Law Committee. Mr. Pascuzzi’s practice focuses on all aspects of business bankruptcy and insolvency law. www.ffwplaw.com

Nicholas Kohlmeyer is an associate at Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby Pascuzzi & Rios LLP. Mr. Pascuzzi’s and Mr. Kohlmeyer’s practices focus on all aspects of business bankruptcy and insolvency law. www.ffwplaw.com

In Rubin v. Ross, 65 Cal. App. 5th 153 (Cal. App. 4th 2021), the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District held that the automatic stay protections afforded all debtors in a bankruptcy proceeding pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362 did not prevent a judgment creditor from renewing a judgment against the debtor while the automatic stay was still in place. The court further held that although the automatic stay did not prevent the judgment creditor from renewing its judgment, 11 U.S.C. § 108(c) nevertheless extended the judgment creditor’s time to renew the judgment until thirty days after the automatic stay was terminated.