March 28, 2019
On March 28, 2019, after two evidentiary hearings and detailed briefing, Wisler Pearlstine attorneys David Burkholder and Benjamin Andersen secured a six-figure payout and permission to continue pursuit of their clients’ judgment rights against a debtor in bankruptcy, overcoming the mandatory automatic stay typically enforced in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Relief from the automatic stay on behalf of an unsecured creditor, like Wisler Pearlstine’s clients in this case, is exceedingly rare, as the Court noted in its Opinion. The Wisler Pearlstine team proved the debtor’s bad faith in filing the bankruptcy, and further enabled the firm’s clients to pursue their rights against the debtor notwithstanding the normal “standstill” a good faith debtor enjoys in bankruptcy. The case is In re Schaffer, No. 18-18133, pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.