You may already have an ongoing lawsuit on your hands, making you hesitant to add another legal case (i.e., a bankruptcy case) to the mix. But unfortunately, your dire financial situation may make it that this is the only viable resolution. In this case, read on to discover the types of lawsuits your bankruptcy case may or may not protect you from and how a seasoned Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer at Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center can help you juggle all these pending legal cases.
What types of lawsuits does bankruptcy protect me from?
Essentially, your bankruptcy filing may protect you from lawsuits involving a money collection action. This is because the Kentucky bankruptcy judge may immediately enforce an automatic stay order. This may stop your creditors from continuing almost all their collection activities against you, including all the lawsuits they filed against you. With that being said, the bankruptcy judge may have jurisdiction to suspend your lawsuit if it concerns any of the following:
- A legal action concerning your credit card debts.
- A legal action concerning repossession-related collection activities.
- A legal action concerning your alleged breach of contract.
- A legal action concerning your alleged deceptive trade practices.
- A legal action concerning your alleged fault in a personal injury accident.
What types of lawsuits does bankruptcy not protect me from?
On the other hand, the Kentucky bankruptcy judge does not have the authority to seize legal actions having to do with anything else besides money collection. That is, criminal cases, family law cases, eviction cases, or code enforcement cases against you may run their course as normal.
On the bright side, you may even have the chance to declare bankruptcy almost immediately after receiving an unfavorable judgment in your lawsuit. With this, the bankruptcy judge may help you by temporarily halting collection activities for what you owe in damages.
What happens to my bankruptcy case if I am pursuing legal action?
Instead of having a lawsuit filed against you, say that you are the plaintiff who took legal action against someone else. Well, you must understand that when the Kentucky bankruptcy judge orders an automatic stay, it does not apply to the collection activities you are conducting against another party. This is to say that your lawsuit may proceed as scheduled.
However, you must understand what may happen if you win your lawsuit and get awarded financial compensation. With this, you may have to include this payout in the assets you must list at the onset of your bankruptcy proceedings. In turn, you may unfortunately lose this payout in the process.
You must not enter your bankruptcy proceedings without retaining the strong legal representation of a competent Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer. So please contact our firm, Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center, today.
