Automatic Stay
In United States bankruptcy law, an automatic stay is an automatic injunction that halts actions by creditors, with certain exceptions, to collect debts from a debtor who has declared bankruptcy. Under section 362 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, the stay begins at the moment the bankruptcy petition is filed. Secured creditors may, however, petition the bankruptcy court for relief from the automatic stay upon a showing of cause. Provisions A filed bankruptcy petition immediately operates as an automatic stay, holding in abeyance various forms of creditor action against the debtor. Automatic stay provisions work to protect the debtor against certain actions from the creditor, including: * beginning or continuing judicial proceedings against the debtor * actions to obtain debtor's property * actions to create, perfect or enforce a lien against a debtor's property * set-off of indebtedness owed to the debtor before commencement of the bankruptcy proceeding. A court ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor. Bankrupt is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, meaning the term ''bankruptcy'' is not a synonym for insolvency. Etymology The word ''bankruptcy'' is derived from Italian language, Italian , literally meaning . The term is often described as having originated in Renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment. However, the existence of such a ritual is doubted. History In Ancient Greece, bankruptcy did not exist. If a man owed and he could not pay, he and his wife, children or servants were forced into "debt slavery" until the creditor recouped losses through their Manual labour, physical labour. Many city-states in ancient Greece lim ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable remedy of the "interdict". "When a court employs the extraordinary remedy of injunction, it directs the conduct of a party, and does so with the backing of its full coercive powers."'' Nken v. Holder''556 U.S. 418, 428 (2009) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties, including possible monetary sanctions and even imprisonment. They can also be charged with contempt of court. Rationale The injunction is an equitable remedy that was created by the English courts of equity. Like other equitable remedies, it has traditionally been given when a wrong cannot be effectively remedied by an award of money damages. (The doctrine that reflects this is the req ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Creditor
A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption (usually enforced by contract) that the second party will return an equivalent property and service. The second party is frequently called a debtor or borrower. The first party is called the creditor, which is the lender of property, service, or money. Creditors can be broadly divided into two categories: secured and unsecured. *A secured creditor has a security or charge over some or all of the debtor's assets, to provide reassurance (thus to ''secure'' him) of ultimate repayment of the debt owed to him. This could be by way of, for example, a mortgage, where the property represents the security. *An unsecured creditor does not have a charge over the debtor's assets. The term cr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Debtor
A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this debt arrangement is a bank, the debtor is more often referred to as a borrower. If X borrowed money from their bank, X is the debtor and the bank is the creditor. If X puts money in the bank, X is the creditor and the bank is the debtor. It is not a crime to fail to pay a debt. Except in certain bankruptcy situations, debtors can choose to pay debts in any priority they choose. But if one fails to pay a debt, they have broken a contract or agreement between them and a creditor. Generally, most oral and written agreements for the repayment of consumer debt – debts for personal, family or household purposes secured primarily by a person's residence – are enforceable. For the most part, debts that are business-related must be made in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Bankruptcy Code
Title 11 of the United States Code, also known as the United States Bankruptcy Code, is the source of bankruptcy law in the United States Code. Chapters Title 11 is subdivided into nine chapters. It used to include more chapters, but some of them have since been repealed in their entirety. The nine chapters are: *Chapter 1: General Provisions *Chapter 3: Case Administration *Chapter 5: Creditors, the Debtor and the Estate *Chapter 7: Liquidation * Chapter 9: Adjustment of Debts of a Municipality *Chapter 11: Reorganization *Chapter 12: Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer or Fisherman with Regular Annual Income *Chapter 13: Adjustment of Debts of an Individual with Regular Income *Chapter 15: Ancillary and Other Cross-Border Cases References Further reading External linksUnited States Bankruptcy Codevia usbankruptcycode.orgU.S. Code Title 11 via United States Government Publishing OfficeU.S. Code Title 11 via Cornell University Cornell University is a Private u ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Secured Creditors
A secured creditor is a creditor with the benefit of a security interest over some or all of the assets of the debtor. In the event of the bankruptcy of the debtor, the secured creditor can enforce security against the assets of the debtor and avoid competing for a distribution on liquidation with the unsecured creditors. In most legal systems, secured creditors also have the option of releasing their security and proving in the liquidation, although, in practice, they would rarely do so. See also * Preferential creditor A preferential creditor (in some jurisdictions called a preferred creditor) is a creditor receiving a preferential right to payment upon the debtor's bankruptcy under applicable insolvency laws. In most legal systems, some creditors are given p ... References {{finance-stub Credit Bankruptcy Insolvency ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bankruptcy Court
United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy courts function as units of the district courts and have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal district courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases arising under the bankruptcy code, (see ), and bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court. Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters. Technically, the United States district courts have subject matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters (see ). However, each such district court may, by order, "refer" bankruptcy matters to the bankruptcy court (see ). As a practical matter, most district courts have a standing "reference" order to that effect, so that all bankruptcy cases in that district are handled, at least ini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legal Case
Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' includes proceedings brought by or at the instigation of a public authority, and an appeal against the decision of a court or tribunal". Legal proceedings are generally characterized by an orderly process in which participants or their representatives are able to present evidence in support of their claims, and to argue in favor of particular interpretations of the law, after which a judge, jury, or other trier of fact makes a determination of the factual and legal issues. * Activities needed to have a court deem legal process to have been provided, such as through service of process. * Conduct of a trial, whether a lawsuit or civil trial, or a criminal trial. * Issuance and enforcement of court orders, including those imposing forecl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lien
A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the person who has the benefit of the lien is referred to as the ''lienor'' or ''lien holder''. The etymological root is Anglo-French ''lien'' or ''loyen'', meaning "bond", "restraint", from the Latin ''ligamen'', from ''ligare'' "to bind". In the United States, the term lien generally refers to a wide range of encumbrances and would include other forms of Mortgage law, mortgage or charge. In the US, a lien characteristically refers to ''Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory'' security interests (see generally: ). In other common-law countries, the term lien refers to a very specific type of security interest, being a passive right to retain (but not sell) property until the debt or other obligation is discharged. In contrast to the usag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Set-off (law)
In law, set-off or netting is a legal technique applied between persons or businesses with mutual rights and liabilities, replacing gross positions with net positions. It permits the rights to be used to discharge the liabilities where cross claims exist between a plaintiff and a respondent, the result being that the gross claims of mutual debt produce a single net claim. The net claim is known as a net position. In other words, a set-off is the right of a debtor to balance mutual debts with a creditor. Any balance remaining due either of the parties is still owed, but the mutual debts have been set off. The power of net positions lies in reducing credit exposure, and also offers regulatory capital requirement and settlement advantages, which contribute to market stability. Difference between set-off and netting Whilst netting and set-off are often used interchangeably, a legal distinction is made between ''netting'', which describes the procedure for and outcome of implem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Security Interest
In finance, a security interest is a legal right granted by a debtor to a creditor over the debtor's property (usually referred to as the '' collateral'') which enables the creditor to have recourse to the property if the debtor defaults in making payment or otherwise performing the secured obligations. One of the most common examples of a security interest is a mortgage: a person is loaned money from a bank to buy a house, and they grant a mortgage over the house so that if they default in repaying the loan, the bank can sell the house and apply the proceeds to the outstanding loan. Although most security interests are created by agreement between the parties, it is also possible for a security interest to arise by operation of law. For example, in many jurisdictions a mechanic who repairs a car benefits from a lien over the car for the cost of repairs. This lien arises by operation of law in the absence of any agreement between the parties. Most security interests are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives, and an Upper house, upper body, the United States Senate, U.S. Senate. They both meet in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Members of Congress are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a Governor (United States), governor's appointment. Congress has a total of 535 voting members, a figure which includes 100 United States senators, senators and 435 List of current members of the United States House of Representatives, representatives; the House of Representatives has 6 additional Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives, non-voting members. The vice president of the United States, as President of the Senate, has a vote in the Senate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |