In re Hofheins
APPEAL
Unpublished
Creditor bank, with knowledge of chapter 12 debtors' pending bankruptcy, repossessed fence panels that were fixtures on debtors' property and were being used by the estate. The bankruptcy court awarded sanctions against bank for its violation of the automatic stay, in the amounts of $4,000 actual, and $10,000 punitive, damages. Bank appealed, and the district court affirmed, concluding that there was ample evidence before the bankruptcy court that justified imposition of sanctions, based on either 11 U.S.C. § 362(h) or 11 U.S.C. § 105(a). The district court determined that the bankruptcy court's finding that bank had willfully violated the stay was not clearly erroneous, and that the awards of actual and punitive damages were appropriate to the facts. The case was remanded for the bankruptcy court's consideration of whether debtors' appeal expenses should be added to the sanction awards.