Opinion
No. 08-42075.
July 9, 2008
NOT FOR PUBLICATION POST ON COURT'S WEBSITE ORDER re SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT
THIS ORDER IS NOT APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION AND MAY NOT BE CITED EXCEPT WHEN RELEVANT UNDER THE DOCTRINE OF LAW OF THE CASE OR THE RULES OF RES JUDICATA AND CLAIM PRECLUSION.
Petitioning creditor LL Mills filed an involuntary petition against Katrina Raetzer, seeking an order for Chapter 7 relief under § 303 of the Bankruptcy Code on 7 May 2008. According to petitioning creditor's proof of service, the petition was served by mail on the putative debtor 14 May 2008. No answer has been filed.
Absent contrary indication, all "Code," chapter, and section references are to the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101- 1330 as amended by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ("BAPCPA"), Pub.L. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23. "Rule" references are to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and "LBR" references are to the Local Bankruptcy Rules of this district.
An involuntary petition must be served in accordance with Rule 7004, Rule 1010, and a contested involuntary petition is a contested matter governed by Rule 9014. See Rule 1018; In re Western Land Bank, Inc., 116 B.R. 721, 724-25 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1990). An order for involuntary relief is treated as a judgment.See In re Blutrich Herman Miller, 227 B.R. 53 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1998). Thus, compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 App. U.S.C. § 521 et seq., would seem to be required for proper service.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED: The petition WILL BE DISMISSED unless, within ten (10) days, petitioning creditor files either:
1. a sufficient affidavit (or declaration), as required by 50 App. U.S.C. § 521(b); or
2. a memorandum explaining why the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is not applicable, in which event I will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on 22 July 2008, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Courtroom I, 1717 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, Washington, and any other party may file a response not later than 17 July 2008.