20

- 2187

- bk In re: Eileen Fogarty



## In the 

# United States Court of Appeals **For the Second Circuit**

______________ August Term, 2020 (Argued: June 24, 2021 Decided: Jul y 6, 2022 )

Docket No. 20

- 2187

______________ I N R E : E ILEEN F OGARTY ,
Debtor

.

______________
B AYVIEW L OAN S ERVICING LLC , Appellant ,

– v.
–
E ILEEN F OGARTY ,
Debtor

- Appellee ,
R. K ENNETH B ARNARD , T RUSTEE , U NITED S TATES T RUSTEE ,
Trustees

- Appellees

. *

______________

* The Clerk of Court is directed to amend the case caption to conform to the above.2 B e f o r e :

C ARNEY and B IANCO , C ircuit Judges , and G ARAUFIS , District Judge

. †

______________ Debtor

- Appellee Eileen Fogarty held a 99% interest in 72 Grandview LLC, which in turn owned a residential property that Fogarty occupied as her primary residence. Appellant Bayview Loan Servicing LLC initiated a foreclosure action in which b oth 72 Grandview LLC and Fogarty were named as defendants. After Bayview obtained a judgment that authorized it to proceed with a foreclosure sale, Fogarty filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and notified Bayview that, in her view, proceeding with the f oreclosu re s ale would violate the automatic stay that took effect when she filed her bankruptcy petition. See 11 U.S.C. § 362. Nonetheless, Bayview proceeded with the f oreclosure s ale without relief from the automatic stay from the bankruptcy court.
Fogarty then sought sanctions against Bayview, see id. § 362(k), arguing that Bayview willfully violated the automatic stay. The bankruptcy court denied Fogarty’s motion , but the district court reversed that decision and remanded for the calculation of fees and other d amages that would be charged as sanctions. Bayview now appeals. W e hold that two of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provisions, 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1) and (a) (2), are violated by an entity that proceeds with the foreclosure sale of a property when the debtor is a named party in the foreclosure proceedings, even if the debtor holds only a possessory interest in the property. Bayview willfully violated the automatic stay when it proceeded with the foreclosure sa le while knowing that Fogart y had filed a bankruptcy petition. We therefore affirm the district court’s order.

A FFIRMED AND R EMANDED

.

______________ J OHN E. B RIGANDI , Knuckles, Komosinski & Manfro, LLP, Upper Saddle River, NJ , for Bayview Loan Servicing LLC

.

† Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation.3 H EATH S. B ERGER ( Brad A. Schlossberg , on the brief ) , Berger, Fischoff, Shumer, Wexler & Goodman, LLP, Syosset, NY , for Eileen Fogarty

.

______________ C ARNEY , Circuit Judge :
Debtor

- Appellee Eileen Fogarty held a 99% interest in 72 Grandview LLC ( the

“ LLC”), a n entity that owned a property (the “Property”) that Fogarty occupied as her primary residence. In 2010, t he LLC stopped making payments on the M ortgage and
N ote secured by the Property , leading Appellant Bayview Loan Servicing LLC (“Bayview”) in 2011 to initiate a state court foreclosure action (the “Foreclosure Action”) as the owner and holder of the Note and Mortgage. Seeking a state court order
that would permit the sale, Bayview named b oth th e LLC and Fogarty as defendants in
the Foreclosure Action.
In January 2018, Bayview obtained a judgment in the Foreclosure Action, which
in effect authoriz ed Bayview to sell the Property under the supervision of a court

appointed referee

. The sale was sch eduled for April 2018

. Four days before the scheduled sale, Fogarty petition ed for bankruptcy in the Eastern District of New York under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. On the eve of the sale, her counsel notified Bayview of her petition and her position that proceed ing with the s ale would violate the
automatic stay triggered by her petition. See 11 U.S.C. § 362

. Bayview promptly

c ounter ed that , since the LLC alone owned the Property and the LLC had not filed for bankruptcy, no relevant stay was in effect

. It then proceeded as scheduled and the Property was sold to a third party

. Fogarty then sought sanctions against Bayview in the b ankruptcy c ourt , asserting Bayview ’s willful violat ion of the automatic stay

. S ee id. § 362 (k). The b ankruptcy c ourt ( Scarcella, J. ) denied Fogarty’s motion , but on appeal the district court (Gershon, J. ) reversed , finding that because Fogarty was a named defendant in the Foreclosure4 Action, the s ale violated the automatic stay . It further found the viola tion to be willful because Bayview knew of the petition when it proceeded

. It remanded to the bankruptcy court for assessment and award of actual damages and consideration of a punitive damages award. Bayview now appeals. As a matter of first impression, w e hold that two of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provisions, 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1) and (a) (2), are violated by the foreclosure sale of a property when the debtor is a named party in the foreclosure proceedings, even if the debtor ’s direct interest i n the property is only possessory

. Accordingly, we conclude that Bayview willfully violated the automatic stay when it completed the f oreclosure s ale while knowing that Fogarty , a named defendant in the
F oreclosure A ction, had filed a bankruptcy petition. Bayview could and should have sought relief in advance from the b ankruptcy c ourt. We AFFIRM the district court’s order and we REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

BACKGROUND
I. Factual background 1
At all relevant times, Fogarty resided at the Property, a house and land located at 72 Grandview Drive in Shirley, New York. The LLC was the sole owner of the Property, and Fogarty held a 99% interest in the LLC. 2 Bayview was the assignee of the LLC’s
N ote a nd the M ortgage on the Property

. The Note and Mortgage were executed on behalf of the LLC by an individual other than Fogarty . Fogarty was not a guarant or of
either the N ote or the M ortgage , and the parties agree that she could not be held personally liable for the LLC’s debts.

1 The facts bearing on the questions before us are not in d ispute.

2 The record does not reveal who or what entity owned the remaining 1%.5 I n January 2010, the LLC defaulted on the mortgage loan

. One year later , in early
2011 , Bayview sued the LLC in Suffolk County Supreme Court , in New York, citing the continuing default

. In its compl aint , Bayview named as defendants the LLC, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and John Does number ed one through fifty , but not Fogarty

. Bayview arranged to have the complaint served on Fogarty as the
P roperty’s occupant

. I n October 2014, Bayview requested that Fogarty , as “co

- tenant in possession of a portion of the mortgaged premises,” be substituted for John Doe #1 as a “party defendant ” in the action

. App’x at 113. I n the same submission, it moved for a default judgment

. Over three years later, i n early 2018, the state court issued a Judgment of
Foreclosure and Sale (the “Foreclosure Judgment”) in favor of Bayview , naming the LLC, Fogarty, and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance as defendants in the case caption , and setting the general terms of the foreclosure sale. 3 Bayview then scheduled a public auction of the Property for 9: 45 a.m. on April 17, 2018 (the “Sale”)

. On April 13, f our days before the scheduled S ale, Fogarty filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of
New York

. 4 In her Chapter 7 petition, Fogarty stated that she resided at the Property. On April 16, on the eve of the S ale , counsel fo r Fogarty contacted counsel for Bayview by phone , and in a confirmat ion email that evening conveyed his firm’s opinion that “pursuant to 11 [ U.S.C. § ] 362 , the automatic stay is in effect” and that “continuation of the [Sale] will be in violation of the stay

. ” App’x at 135. The email

3 The judgment is dated January 22, 2018, but is marked as entered on February 14, 2018.

4 As mentioned above, Fogarty alone petitione d for bankruptcy protection ; t he LLC did n ot file a petition

.6 further stated that Fogarty would seek “costs, fees and sanctions for such violation of the stay” if the S ale proceeded the next day as planned

. Id.

Counsel for Bayview responded the next morning, minutes before the scheduled
Sale , dismissing Fogarty’s warning

. He explained his view that , because the LLC is a legal entity distinct from Fogarty, Fogarty’s bankruptcy petition “d[id] not stay acts against the LLC or assets of the LLC , ” such as the Property ; thus , the impending Sa le of the LLC’s property would not violate the stay triggered by Fogarty’s personal bankruptcy petition. Id. at 137. Bayview’s counsel also warned that “any motion for sanctions against my client or my firm will be met with a cross

- motion for sanctions against you, your firm and your client.” Id. Bayview proceeded with the Sale as scheduled

. The Property was sold to a third party

. The “Terms of Sale” document , dated April 17, in which the supervising referee set the particulars of the sale, was filed in the bankruptcy court not long after. The
document name d both the LLC and Fogarty as defendants in the caption

. It set the date for delivery of the ref eree’s deed as May 17.

II. Procedural history
A few weeks later, o n May 11, Fogarty moved for sanctions against Bayview in the bankruptcy court

. Invoking 11 U.S.C. § 362(k) , 5 she sought actual damages, costs , attorney ’ s fees, and punitive damages based on Bayview’s decision to proceed with the

s ale

. 6 Fogarty argued that conducting the sale constituted a willful violation of two of

5 Section 362(k) provides , in pertinent part, that “ an individual injured by any willful violation of a stay provided by this section shall recover actual damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, and, in appropriate circumstances, may recover punitive damages. ” 11 U.S.C. § 362(k) (1)

.

6 Fogarty also unsuccessfully sought an order from the b ankruptcy c ourt vacating the April 17 S ale , but she does not pursue that form of relief on appeal.7 the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provisions : Section 362(a) (1) , involving “the
commencement or continuation

. . . of a judi cial

. . . or other action or proceeding against the debtor,” and Section 362(a) (2) , involving “the enforcement, against the debtor or against property of the estate, of a judgment obtained before the
commencement of the case under [the Bankruptcy Code]

. ” Bayview opposed the
motion and cross
- moved for sanctions against Fogarty

. On May 15, the bankruptcy court held oral argument and denied both motions. 7 In a brief written order two weeks later , it emphasized that Fogarty could not be held personally liable for the LLC’s default on the N ote and M ortgage. In the bankruptcy court’s view, th e fact of her nonliability rendered the Foreclosure Action an action “solely in rem

. ” App’x at 218

. Accordingly , Bayview did not violate the automatic stay when it proceeded with the Sale

. 8 Fogarty timely appealed the b ankruptcy c ourt’s decision to the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of New York , and the district court reversed the
b ankruptcy c ourt’s order

. It identif ied two reasons for its ruling. First, because Fogarty was a named defendant in the F oreclosure A ction and that action was the basis for the
S ale , Bayview violated the stay by proceeding with the Sale

. Second, the S ale “significantly lessened the barriers to e victing [Fogarty] from the Property” under New
York law

. App’x at 87. Thus, it reasoned, the S ale interfered with Fogarty’s possessory interest in the Property

. Because that interest was part of Fogarty’s bankruptcy estate , it

was protected by the automati c stay.

7 Bayview does not here challeng e the bankruptcy court’s denial of its cross
- motion for sanctions

.

8 T he third

- party purchaser subsequently appeared in the bankruptcy court and successfully sought relief from the automatic stay , allowing him to pursue evict ion proceedings against Fogarty

. Th ose proceedings resulted in Fogarty ’s eviction from the Property.8 Finally, the district court determined that the stay violation was willful, explaining that the relevant inquiry for th at analysis is only whether Bayview intended
to take the action that violated the automatic stay

. Bayview indisputably intended t o do

so here, with full knowledge of the bankruptcy filing. 9 Accordingly, the district court
held , Fogarty is entitled to actual damages as a sanction against Bayview

. It remanded the case to the bankruptcy court to determine the appropriate amount of those damages
and also to consider wh ether punitive damages should be awarded. Bayview timely appealed

.
DISCUSSION On appeal from a district court ’s deci sion o n matters arisi ng from bankruptcy

court proceedings , “ we independently review the bankruptcy court ’ s decision, accepting the bankruptcy court ’ s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous and reviewing its conclusions of law de novo .” In re DiBattista , 33 F.4th 698 , 702 (2d Cir. 2022)

. 10 “A bankruptcy court’s decision on sanctions is reviewed for abuse of
discretion ,” a standard that is necessarily met by a ruling that rests on “ an erroneous view of the law or on a clearly erroneous assessment of the eviden ce.” Id. The correct scope of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provision s presents a n issue of law as to which the bankruptcy court ’s decision is subject to de novo review

. Picard v. Fairfield Greenwich Ltd. , 762 F.3d 199, 206 (2d Cir. 2014)

. 11

9 On appeal, Bayview does not challenge the district court’s conclusion with respect to willfulness.

10 Unless otherwise noted, in quoting caselaw this Opi nion omits all alterations, citations, footnotes, and internal quotation marks.

11 The parties did not raise any concerns about our appellate jurisdiction in their briefing or at oral argument. Nonetheless, we are “duty bound to examine this issue” nostra s ponte

. In re9 On such review , we hold that the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provisions relied on by Fogarty , 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1) and (a) (2), are violated by the foreclosure sale of a property when the debtor is a named party in the foreclosure proceedings, even if the debtor holds only a possessory interest in the property. Accordingly, we conclude that Bayview willfully violated the autom atic stay when it completed the Sale while knowing that Fogarty, a named party in the Foreclosure Action, had filed a bankruptcy petition. Because Bayview willfully violated the automatic stay, Fogarty is entitled to
sanctions

. See 11 U.S.C. § 362 (k). In c oncluding otherwise, the bankruptcy court made

Prudential Lines, Inc. , 59 F.3d 327, 331 (2d Cir. 1995). District courts have jurisdiction over appeals from the final order of a bankruptcy court, see 28 U.S.C. § 158(a), and our court has jurisdiction over appeals of “all final decisions, ju dgments, orders, and decrees” of the district courts in their consideration of bankruptcy appeals, 28 U.S.C. § 158(d). In general, “[f]inality in the bankruptcy context is determined by a less rigid standard than that applicable to other proceedings.” In r e Chateaugay Corp. , 922 F.2d 86, 90 (2d Cir. 1990). We have recognized, however, that “even in cases where the underlying bankruptcy court decision is final and appealable, the district court’s disposition may independently render the matter nonappealable” if it remands for “significant further proceedings” in the bankruptcy court. Prudential Lines , 59 F.3d at 331. Here, there is no question that the bankruptcy court’s order denying Fogarty’s motion for sanctions was a final order appealable to the district court. As to the finality of the district court’s order, our court has not addressed in a precedential opinion whether a district court’s order awarding sanctions and remanding for a determination of damages pursuant to Section 362(k) requires “significant further proceedings” in the bankruptcy court. But see In re DiPietro , No. 20

- 3629, 2022 WL 880485, at *1

– 2 (2d Cir. Mar. 25, 2022) (summary order) (suggesting, in dicta, that a district court’s remand on a bankruptcy court’s co ntempt order did not effect a final disposition for purposes of appellate jurisdiction). To the extent that this unresolved issue creates any uncertainty about our appellate jurisdiction under Section 158(d), we need not resolve it in this case because, “a s we have repeatedly explained in different statutory contexts, so long as we are satisfied that we have Article III jurisdiction, we have discretion to decline to resolve difficult jurisdictional questions.” Miller v. Metro. Life Ins. Co. , 979 F.3d 118, 1 23 (2d Cir. 2020); see Butcher v. Wendt , 975 F.3d 236, 242

– 44 (2d Cir. 2020) (detailing our court’s practice of exercising hypothetical jurisdiction). Here, where there is no doubt that we have Article III jurisdiction , where the statutory jurisdictional i ssue is novel and not addressed by the parties , and where the merits turn on a straightforward textual analysis, we will exercise our discretion to assume hypothetical jurisdiction and proceed to resolve the appeal on the merits.10 an error of law, and therefore exceeded the permissible bounds of its discretion. We thus affirm the order of the district court.

I. Section 362’s automatic stay applies to the Sale The Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provision s , set forth in Section 362,

“ protect [] bankruptcy estates by restraining any formal or informal action or legal proceeding that might dissipate estate assets or interfere with the trustee’s orderly
administration of the estate.” Pi card , 762 F.3d at 207 ; see 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 362.03 (16th e d. 20 22 ) (describing the automatic stay as “extremely broad in scope” and “appl[y ing ] to almost any type of formal or informal action taken against the debtor or the property of the [ debtor’s] estate” ). The automatic stay is “ one of the fundamental debtor protections provided by the bankruptcy laws, designed to relieve the financial
press ures that drove debtors into bankruptcy.” Eastern Refractories Co. v. Forty Eight Insulations Inc. , 157 F.3d 169, 172 (2d Cir. 1998)

. Because “ the automatic stay is imposed by Congressional mandate and not by court order ,” no court action is needed for the stay to become effective. In re Colonial Realty Co. , 980 F.2d 125, 137 (2d Cir. 1992)

. A. Under the plain text of Section 362, the Sale violated the automatic stay
I t is undisputed that , under Section 362 , Fogarty’s bankruptcy filing on April 13 , 2018 , trig gered an automatic stay

. And , as Bayview concedes , Fogarty’s possessory interest as a tenant of the Property was part of her bankruptcy estate and protected by
the automatic stay. See In re 48th St. Steakhouse, Inc. , 835 F.2d 427, 430 (2d Cir. 1987) (“[A] mere possessory interest in real property, without any accompanying legal interest, is sufficient to trigger the protection of the automatic stay. ”). Instead, t he parties’ dispute
concerns whether , properly applied, the automatic stay that was trigg ered by Fogarty’s bankruptcy filing should have blocked the S ale.11 To resolve this dispute, we look first to the plain text of Section 362

. See Springfield Hosp., Inc. v. Guzman , 28 F.4th 403, 418 (2d Cir. 2022)

. As relevant here, under Section 362(a), the filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition “operates as a stay ” of:
(1) the commencement or continuation, including the issuance or employment of process, of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding against the debtor that was or could hav e been commenced before the commencement of the case under this title, or to recover a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case under this title; [and] (2) the enforcement, against the debtor or against property of the estate , of a judgment obtained before the commencement of the case under this title [.] 11 U.S.C. § 362 (a)(1)

– (2). 12

S tarting with Section 362(a)(1), we agree with Fogarty that the Sale represented a

“ continuation

. . . of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding against the
debtor .” Id. § 362 (a)(1). Fogarty was a named defendant in the Foreclosure Action. Section 362(a)(1) provides that actions “ against the debtor ” or “ to recover a claim against the debtor ” are subject to the automatic stay. Id

. As we have explained, “[t]he latter category ”

— to recover a claim against the debtor

— “ must encompass cases in which the debtor is not a defendant; it would otherwise be totally duplicative of the former category and pure surplusa ge.” Colonial Realty , 980 F.2d at 131. By contrast, the former category

— actions “against the debtor”

— must encompass actions in which the debtor is a named defendant, as Fogarty was in the Foreclosure Action. As a result, we can only conclude that the Forec losure Action was “ against the debtor ” and therefore

12 Section 362(a) operates as a stay in additional circumstances that the parties have not raised in their briefing and that we need not address in this Opinion. See 11 U.S.C. § 362 (a)(3)

– (8). The Code also specifie s certain exceptions to the automatic stay

. S ee id. § 362 (b). These are not at issue here

.12 covered by Section 362(a)(1). Cf. In re Comcoach Corp. , 698 F.2d 571, 574 (2d Cir. 1983) (“Until the debtor is named as a party

- defendant the action does not affect the bankrupt estate.”).

The Foreclosure Judgment entered against the LLC and Fogarty set forth the
terms and conditions of the Sale , and Fogarty remained a defendant in the Foreclosure Action through the Sale , as the caption on the document entitled “ Terms of Sale ” correctly reflects

. It follows that the Sale amounted to the “continuation” of an action against Fogarty that was commenced before her bankruptcy filing and was subject to the automatic stay established by Section 362(a)(1)

. See In re Ebadi , 448 B.R. 308, 314 (Bankr. E.D.N. Y. 2011) (“ Prior to the time Debtor commenced this case, LP had already obtained a Foreclosure Judgment in which Debtor was a named defendant. LP continued the Foreclosure Action by conducting the Foreclosure Sale. This constitutes
both a continuation of a judicial action against the debtor and a continuation of a judicial action to recover a claim against the debtor, both violations of the plain language of Section 362(a)(1) of the Code.”). The same conclusion follows with respect to Section 362(a)(2). Bec ause the Foreclosure Judgment against the LLC and Fogarty was entered on February 14, 2018, it

was “obtained before the commencement of” Fogarty’s bankruptcy proceeding on April
1 3

. 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(2) . The Sale “enforce[d]” a judgment “against the debtor , ” id. , because , through the sale proceedings, the court

- appointed refere e sold the Property as authorized by the Foreclosure Judgment, and that judgment bound both Fogarty and
the LLC as named defendant s. Fogarty remained a defendant in that proceed ing at least through the Sale

. The Sale therefore violated the plain terms of the stay imposed by
Section 362(a)(2)

. Bayview has not identified any authority

— and we are not aware of any

— in which a court has found that the automatic stay does not apply to a proceeding in which13 the debtor is a named defendant. Such an interpretation would cut against the plain text of Section s 362 (a)(1) and (a) (2)

. As the Supreme Court instruct s, “ when the statute ’ s language is plain, the sole function of the courts

— at least where the disposition required by the text is not absurd

— is to enforce it according to its terms. ” Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Union Planters Bank, N.A. , 530 U.S. 1, 6 (2000) ; see Conn

. Nat. Bank
v. Germain , 503 U.S. 249, 254 (1992) (“When the words of a statute are unambiguous,
then

. . . [the] judicial inquiry is complete.”). Here, that language demands a bright

- line rule that, so long as the debtor is a named party in a proceeding or action, the automatic stay applies to the continuation of t hat proceeding, and to the enforcement of , a judgment rendered in that proceeding.

B. Our interpretation does not implicate the canon against surplusage Bayview resists this conclusion . It argues that we may not find that the Sale represents both a “continuat ion” of the Foreclosure Action under Section 362(a)(1) and “enforcement” of the Foreclosure Judgment under Section 362(a)(2), contending that such an interpretation would render Section 362(a)(2) superfluous. We find this argument unpersuasive

. When constr uing the Bankruptcy Code, or indeed any statutory scheme, we
must be mindful that “[t]he canon against surplusage is strongest when an interpretation would render superfluous another part of the same statutory scheme.” City of Chicago v. Fulton , 141 S. Ct. 585, 591 (2021). But ou r interpretation s of the terms “continuation” and “enforcement” does not render Section 362(a)(2) duplicative of subsection (a)(1) or otherwise superfluous ; rather, “ every clause and word” of each of the provision s retai n s meaning under our interpretation. Duncan v. Walker , 533 U.S. 167, 174 (2001).14 To explain why, we offer a simple example. C onsider a scenario in which a creditor obtains a pre

- petition judgment in Connecticut, and then, post

- petition, seeks
to enforce t he judgment in New York through a new proceeding

. Under our interpretation, t he New York enforcement action would not constitute a
“continuation

. . . of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding against the debtor,” so S ection 362(a) (1) wo uld not apply. But the hypothetical New York
enforcement action would nonetheless fall within the scope of Section 362( a ) (2), and so the automatic stay would apply under that provision. As this example demonstrates, our interpretation does not implicate the canon against surplusage because each subsection of the statute retains independent meaning. To be sure, there may be circumstances in which Section 362’s subsections overlap and
both appl y

. An enforcement action may be a “continuation” of a proceeding in some cases, such as this one, where enforcement takes place through the same proceeding that produced the underlying judgment

. But the potential for partial overlap does not , on its own, render part of the statutory scheme wholly superfluou s. A nd so , contrary to Bayview’s objection, our interpretation is sound notwithstanding the canon Bayview
cites

. See Fulton , 141 S. Ct. at 591

. Indeed, a c ongressional desire for comprehens iveness may lead the drafters of legislation to craft provisions that intentionally overlap to some
extent in an attempt to avoid any inadvertent gaps

. T hat some overlap occurs on occasion does not require either striking or ignoring the scheme. 13

13 In this vein, we note that the Bankruptcy Code offers no indication that Congress intended the automatic stay provisions to be mutually exclusive. To the contrary, several provisions appear, on their face, to create the pote ntial for duplication in particular circumstances. For example, Section 362(a)(6) stays “ any act to collect, assess, or recover a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of” the bankruptcy case. 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)( 6 ). Similarly, Section 362(a)(1) stays “ the commencement or continuation, including the issuance or employment of process, of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding

. . . to recover15 C. Under S ection s 362(a)(1) and (a) (2), Fogarty’s precise role in the Foreclosure Action does not matter as long as she was a named defendant Bayview argues that, even though Fogarty was a named defendant in the Foreclosure Action, the nature of her involvement in t he Action means that the automatic stay did not apply to it or to the Sale . Specifically, Bayview presses the
view

— adopted by the bankruptcy court

— that the Foreclosure Action did not violate the automatic stay since it was an in rem proceeding and Fogarty was named as a defendant in the action only as an “interested party.” Bayview further advances the position that the Sale did not “affect” Fogarty’s bankruptcy estate, and that, as a result,
the Sale could not have violated the auto matic stay whether we look to Section 362(a)(1) or (a)(2). Appellant’s Reply Br. at 4. The argument is fundamentally flawed. Section 362(a) draws no textual
distinction between in rem and in personam proceedings in which the debtor is a named party, nor d oes it inquire into why the debtor was named as a defendant in an action or proceeding. Rather, under Section 362(a)’s plain text, any action or proceeding “against the debtor” is stayed, regardless of whether the debtor was purportedly named as merely an interested or nominal party or as some other kind of defendant. Cf. In re Granite Partners, L.P. , 194 B.R. 318, 335 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1996) (rejecting the argument
that a debtor

- defendant was “ named only for completeness” because “[t] he Bankruptcy
Code does not recognize a ‘ completeness ’ exception to the automatic stay ”).

a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of ” the bankrup tcy case. Id. § 362(a)( 1). Although these two provisions may naturally overlap in some circumstances, that overlap likely reflects Congress’s well

- understood intention for the automatic stay provisions to apply broadly and to ensure that the provisions cap ture a very wide range of potential actions against bankruptcy debtors and debtors’ estates. See, e.g. , Picard , 762 F.3d at 207; In re Panayotoff , 140 B.R. 509, 511 (Bankr. D. Minn. 1992) (“ The language of [Section 361(a)(1)] is about as clear as one could reasonably want, and about as broad as Congress could have provided .”); 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 362.03

.16 Bayview relies principally on In re Ebadi to support its argument. But Ebadi does not establish the rule that Bayview advances. Ebadi involved circumstances that bear some similarity to th ose presented here. The debtor there owned a company that, in turn, owned a property subject to a mortgage. See 448 B.R. at 312. The mortgagee obtained a foreclosure judgment on the property; the judgment named both the debtor and the debtor’s company. See i d. The debtor petitioned for bankruptcy mere hours
before the foreclosure sale was set to occur. See id. It so notified the mortgagee bank, but to no avail: the bank proceeded with the foreclosure sale. See id. The bankruptcy court first determined that the bank’s post

- petition foreclosure sale violated the automatic stay imposed by Section 362(a)(1). Consistent with our interpretation of the Bankruptcy Code here, the bankruptcy court rested its decision on the ground that the debtor was a named defendan t in the foreclosure action. See id. at
31 3

. The bankruptcy court also found that the foreclosure sale violated the automatic stay imposed by a separate provision

— Section 362(a)(6)

— because the debtor there was a guarantor of the mortgage debt. Id. at 314

– 15. 14 It then rejected the mortgagee’s argument that the foreclosure action wa s permissible despite the stay because it was an
in rem proceeding. In doing so, the court hazarded in passing that “ [a] n in rem action against property in which a debtor does not have an ownership interest would likely
not run afoul with [sic] the automat ic stay ,” since “such an action would likely be governed by the principle that a creditor can generally pursue non

- bankrupt obligors freely.” Id. at 318. That principle did not apply in Ebadi , however, the court wrote,
because the debtor both was named as a defendant and guaranteed the mortgage debt.

14 As noted above, Fogarty is not a guarantor of the LLC’s debt, and Section 362(a)(6) is not at issue here

.17 See id. The court further emphasized that the reason why the debtor was named in the foreclosure action did not matter to the stay analysis; simply put, because the debtor had been named, the foreclosing entity should have sought relief from the stay before proceeding with the sale, or removed the debtor as a party in the foreclosure action. See id. By failing to take either step, the foreclosing entity willfully violated the automatic stay. See id. at 320.

The holding in Ebadi therefore lends no support to Bayview’s position in this appeal. Bayview’s contention that the Sale did not violate the stay on the ground that it “did not impact [Fogarty’s] estate” also lands wide of the mark. Appellant’s Br. at 19. We have long held that, even when the debtor is not a named party in an action, “[i] f action taken against the non

- bankrupt party would inevitably have an adverse impact on property of the bankrupt estate, then such action should be barred by the automatic stay.” 48th St. Steakhouse , 835 F.2d at 431 ; see Queenie, Ltd. v. Nygard Int’l , 321 F.3d 282, 287 (2d Cir. 2003) (“ The automatic stay can apply to non

- debtors, but normally does so only when a claim against the non

- debtor will have an immediate adverse ec onomic consequence for the debtor ’ s estate .”). The application of the stay to actions against non

debtors is limited, however, to actions with “an adverse impact on a debtor that occurs by operation of law .” Picard , 762 F.3d at 208 . The automatic stay does not bar “actions taken against third parties that are only factually likely, as opposed to legally certain, to impact estate property.” Id. Bayview invokes these precedents in support of its proposition that any effect of the Sale on Fogarty’s possessory interest in the Property was “far from a legal certainty,” and therefore did not violate the stay. Appellant’s Br. at 19. But Bayview’s reliance on these precedents is misplaced: each involved actions taken against or ongoing proceedings against only thir d parties. In Picard , for example, the bankruptcy18 trustee sought to block “ the settlement of three lawsuits, none of which involved [the debtors] as a party.” 762 F.3d at 202 . In 48th Street Steakhouse , the debtor

— a sublessor

— sought to prevent the landlord from taking an action against its sublessee ( terminati ng the sublessee’s leasehold ) . 835 F.2d at 429. And in Queenie , we stayed an appeal as it related to the debtor and the debtor’s wholly owned corporation, but we allowed the appeal to proceed as to tho se defendants who were exposed to separate liabilities on the same judgment. 321 F.3d at 287

– 88 & n.4. Here, we need not resolve whether the Sale would have a “likely” or a “certain” effect on Fogarty’s estate. The inescapable fact is that Fogarty was a n amed party in the Foreclosure Action. And that fact subjected the Foreclosure Action to the automatic stay regardless of its precise effects, equitable or legal, on her estate, unlike in Picard and 48th Street Steakhouse . Fogarty remained a party to the Foreclosure Action when the Sale
occurred , and the Action was not stayed as to Fogarty while continuing against the LLC, in contrast to the appeal in Queenie

. To be sure, if Fogarty had been dismissed from the case as a defendant before the Sale occurred, then the situation would perhaps be closer to the scenario presented in Queenie , and, as Fogarty appears to recognize, the Sale might not have violated the automatic stay. See Ebadi , 448 B.R. at 316 (“ The stay violation in this case is predicated

on [the foreclosing party’s] actions taken in furtherance of the Foreclosure Judgment against, inter alia , Debtor himself. Had [the foreclosing party] dismissed Debtor from the Foreclosure Action and removed Debtor from the Foreclosure Judgment prior to the sale g oing forward, the case would likely have been sufficiently analogous to collecting
from a non

- filing co

- obligor such that [the foreclosing party] would likely not have been stayed from collecting from [the mortgagor]

. ”). But that dismissal did not occur. O n the circumstances presented here, where Fogarty remained a named defendant in the Foreclosure Action, the Sale violated the automatic stay.19 In short, we reject Bayview’s contention that, even if the debtor is a named party, the precise contours of and re asons for the debtor’s status in an action or proceeding affect whether the automatic stay imposed by Section 362(a)(1) or (a) (2) applies. Instead, our holding effects a bright

- line rule: if the debtor is a named party in a proceeding or action, then the a utomatic stay imposed by those subsections applies to the continuation of such a proceeding or action, under Section 362(a)(1), and to the enforcement of a n earlier judgment in that proceeding or action , under Section 362(a)(2)

. 15 Fogarty’s bankruptcy fili ng triggered the automatic stay established by Section 362 , and Bayview violated that stay when it proceeded with the Sale. Once the stay was in place, Bayview’s recourse, if it wanted to proceed with the Sale, was to follow the Bankruptcy Code’s procedur es for seeking relief in the bankruptcy court. See 11 U.S.C. § 362( d )

. Bankruptcy courts may “ take measures that grant relief from the automatic stay, including ‘ terminating, annulling, modifying, or conditioning ’ the stay, ” and they “ have the plastic powers to modify or condition an automatic stay so as to fashion the appropriate scope of relief .” Eastern Refractories , 157
F.3d at 172 (quoting 11 U.S.C. § 362(d) )

. A party “ is required to move for stay relief if it
wishes to enforce its rights against a Debtor protected by the United States Code and the federal bankruptcy laws, and it cannot bypass [the bankruptcy court’s] jurisdiction merely because in their opinion cause exists to lift the stay. ” In re Dominguez , 312 B.R. 499, 507 (Ban kr. S.D.N.Y. 2004)

. Bayview did not seek and obtain relief from the stay. Instead, it simply proceeded with the Sale , despite its knowledge of Fogarty’s bankruptcy filing and of

15 In light of this conclusion, we need not resolve the parties’ dispute regarding whether the Sale affected Fogarty’s possessory interest in the Property under New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law.20 Fogarty’s intention to seek sanctions

. Because Bay view willfully violated the automatic stay, Fogarty is entitled to sanctions under Section 362(k). 16 In concluding otherwise, the bankruptcy court relied on an error of law, and therefore exceeded the permissible
bounds of its discretion

.
II. Bayview’s remaining arguments are unpersuasive Bayview presses several additional arguments to counter our straightforward textual interpretation, but its arguments are not convincing

. A. The m inisterial act exception does not apply Bayview submits that the Sale was merely a “ministerial act ” and that , accordingly, it could not have violated the automatic stay

. Appellant’s Br. at 19. This argument too is without merit.

The “m inisterial act ” exception represent s a n exceedingly narrow category of
actions that avoid the automatic stay. As we have explained, “ mere ministerial acts performed by the clerk following the completion of the judicial function ” are not “ the
continuation of a judicial proceeding within the meaning of s ection 362(a)(1). ” Rexnord Holdings, Inc. v. Bidermann , 21 F.3d 522, 528 (2d Cir. 1994). An example of this type of action would be the “entry of a judgment on the court docket” by a court clerk. Id. Similarly, “the delivery of the deed” to a property that has already been s old in
foreclosure is properly treated as a “ ministerial act ” for automatic stay purposes, I n re Rodgers , 333 F.3d 64, 69 (2d Cir. 2003) , as is the “issuance of the writ of possession after

16 Bayview does not challenge the district court’s holding that Bayview’s knowledge of Fogarty’s bankruptcy petition means that it willfully violated the automatic stay. See In re Weber , 719 F.3d 72, 82 (2d Cir. 2013) (“ A creditor willfully violates section 362 when it knows of the filing of the petition (and hen ce of the automatic stay), and has the general intent simply to perform the act found to violate section 362; no specific intent to violate section 362 is necessary. ”) , abrogated on other grounds by Fulton , 141 S. Ct. 585

.21 strict foreclosure,” In re Canney , 284 F.3d 362, 375 (2d Cir. 2002 ). In each of these examples , we deemed the act “ ministerial ” and not barred by the stay because the
action with material legal effect had already been reduced to judgment ; all that
remained to do were minor administrative tasks flowing directly from the j udgment. See In re Soares , 107 F.3d 969, 974 (1st Cir. 1997) (“A ministerial act is one that is essentially clerical in nature.”). By contrast, u nder our precedents, a f oreclosure s ale is not a ministerial act because it affects ownership and possessory interest s and requires the exercise of discretion (by the referee in particular)

. See Rodgers , 333 F.3d at 69. For example, in Fogarty’s case , her LLC possessed an ownership interest in the Property before the S ale ; after the Sale, it did not. Likewise, the Foreclosure Judgment stated that the court “ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED, that the purchaser or purchasers of such foreclosure sale be let into possession on production of the referee’s deed or deeds

. ” App’x at 129. Thus, a third

- party purchaser gained ownership and possessory rights through the Sale. Accordingly, we reject Bayview’s ministerial act argument.

B. Bayview was entitled to seek relief from the stay As noted above, if Bayview wanted to proceed with the Sale after Fogarty filed her bankruptcy petition , its proper course of action was to seek and obtain relief from the automatic stay pursuant to Section 362(d) . That provision empowers the bankruptcy22 court to grant relief from a stay “[o] n request of a party in interest and after notice and a hearing .” 17 11 U.S.C. § 362(d). Bayview responds that this path was illusory: it would not have been allowed to seek relief from the stay, it says, reasoning that it was not Fogarty’s direct creditor a nd therefore, under our 198 3 decision in In re Comcoach , it would not be considered a qualifying “ party in interest ” under Section 362(d)

. The proper context for Bayview to have press ed this argument was in the bankruptcy court upon request ing relief from the stay , and before proceeding with the
Sale. 18 Instead, it went forward with the Sale based on its unilateral (and erroneous) understanding that the stay did not apply to the Sale and that, even if the stay did apply , it was not entitled to seek relief. Bayview’s apparent misunderstanding of the
law cannot now excuse its failure to seek relief. Nonetheless, because we fault Bayview for not seeking and obtaining such relief , and in light of some confusion associated with

ou r decision in Comcoach , 19 we address Bayview’s argument and explain why it misunderstands our precedent.

17 Section 362(d) provides, as rel evant here: On request of a party in interest and after notice and a hearing, the court shall grant relief from the stay provided under subsection (a) of this section, such as by terminating, annulling, modifying, or conditioning such stay

-- (1) for cause, including the lack of adequate protection of an interest in property of such party in interest [.]
11 U.S.C. § 362 (d)(1).

18 Not only did Bayview fail to seek relief from the bankruptcy court, but Bayview did not cite Comcoach or assert an inability t o seek relief in its response to Fogarty’s counsel before the Sale, its briefing before the bankruptcy court or the district court, or its opening brief on appeal.

19 See, e.g. , 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 362.0 7 n.8 (observing that “[l] ower courts in the Second Circuit have struggled with Comcoach , and have given a narrow reading, tailored to its facts ”).23 In Comcoach , Roslyn Savings Bank initiated foreclosure proceedings against its mortgag or . 698 F.2d at 572. Comcoach was the tenant in possession of the mortgaged premises , but was “neither named as a party

- defendant nor served with process” in the
foreclosure action. Id. Comcoach filed for bankruptcy

. Roslyn then brought a federal court action seeking relief under Section 362(d) that would “ enable it to name Comcoach as a party

defendant in the pending state foreclosure action. ” Id. at 573. We concluded that Roslyn was not entitled to seek relief from the stay because it was not a “ party in interest ” in the bankruptcy proceeding under Section 362(d)

. Id.

Crucial to our conclusion was the fact that , contrary to Roslyn’s argument, the
state foreclosure action was not subject to the stay triggered by Comcoach’s bankruptcy filing : Comcoach was not named as a defendant in that action

. Id. at 574. “ Until the debtor is named as a party

- defendant ,” we explained, “ the action does not affect the bankrupt estate

. ” Id. Roslyn had no direct claim against Comcoach , the debtor in the relevant bankruptcy proceeding

. Instead, Comcoach had a claim against the mortgagor, which in turn had rights against Comcoach as Comcoach’s landlord. See id. at 572. Roslyn’s rights against Comcoach were therefore entirely derivative of the mortgag or ’s rights

. As a result, we concluded that that Roslyn was not a “party in interest” and
could not invoke the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction under Section 362(d) to seek relief from the stay. Id. at 574. Furthermore, we highlighted that Roslyn would not be left
remed iless: it could seek appointment of a receiver in the (pending and unstayed ) state court action, and the receiver could then step into the shoes of the mortgagor and enforce the mortgagor’s rights against Comcoach. Id. at 574

– 75.

Comcoach is therefore inapposite here. Unlike the debtor in Comcoach , Fogarty was a named party defendant in the state foreclosure proceeding ; for the reasons
detailed above , the automatic stay applied to the Foreclosure Actio n
. In light of its24 position as an opposing party to Fogarty in the Foreclosure Action that was subject to the stay , Bayview is no mere “stranger” to Fogarty’s bankruptcy proceeding. Id. at 574. 20

Comcoach also includes language which, if divorced from its rightful context in the opinion , could be mis understood to limit who may seek relief from a stay as a “party in interest” to “ either a creditor or a debtor ” for the purpose s of Section 362(d)

. Id. at 573. But the context is crucial, as courts “ have long recognized that the meaning of
the term [ ‘ party in interest ’ ] must be determined on an ad hoc basis

. ” In re Teligent, Inc. , 640 F.3d 53, 60 (2d Cir. 2011). Comcoach should not be understood to preclude a party subject to a Section 362 stay from seeking relief from the stay in the bankruptcy court

. 21

20 Comcoach is further inapposite in that Bayview would have no recourse if it were not able to seek relief from the stay as a party in int erest since the Foreclosure Action is stayed , whereas Roslyn retained a pathway to seek relief under our disposition in Comcoach

.

21 Indeed, numerous courts have construed this language from Comcoach narrowly in an effort to avoid a “mechanical application” that would “ creat[e] ‘ an anomalous situation where a party is subject to the automatic stay but is unable to seek relief even if damage may result from its continuance .’ ” In re Brown Transp. Truckload, Inc. , 118 B.R. 889, 893 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 1990) (quoting 2 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 362.07 (15th e d. 1990) ) . For example, in In re Vill age Rathskeller, Inc. , the court found that Comcoach did not control because “ Comcoach was driven by two facts which are not present here, first, that the mortgagee was not stayed from foreclosing because the debtor was not a party to the action and, second, that the mortgagee had an available remedy to seek payment of rent from the debtor, appointment of a receiver in the unstayed foreclosure action. ” 147 B.R. 665 , 669 ( Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1992)

. Likewise, shortly after Comcoach was decided, a district court held that “ [s] ince if [the appellant] cannot seek relief from the stay no one can do so on its behalf, we would be reluctant to deny [the appellant] standing as a party in interest unless compelled by the Comcoach decision to do so

. . . . [W]e feel no such compulsion.” In re Johns

- Manville Corp. , 31 B.R. 965, 972 (S.D.N.Y. 1983)

. Various courts outside this circuit have also distinguished or criticized the relevant langu age from Comcoach

. See, e.g. , In re Bushnell , 469 B.R. 306, 309 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2012) ; In re Horton , 595 B.R. 1, 4 (Bankr. D.D.C. 2019) ; In re Sweports, Ltd. , 476 B.R. 540, 54 3

– 44 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2012) ; In re Woodberry , 383 B.R. 373, 379 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2008) ; In re Schlupp , No. 05

- 16879DWS, 2005 WL 2483209, at *4 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. Sept. 2, 2005)

. These decisions underscore why Bayview could have and should have sought relief from the stay in the bankruptcy court, rather than rely on its view that i t would not have been allowed to do so.25 Rather, the governing principle to be drawn from Comcoach is that , “[t] o the extent that the rights of a party in interest are asserted, those rights must be asserted by the party in interest, not someone else .” In re Refco Inc. , 505 F.3d 109, 117 (2d Cir. 2007)

. Here, unlike the mortgagee in Comcoach , Bayview seeks to assert its own rights as a party in interest. We are therefore confident that, as a direct adversary of the debtor in an action that was subject to the automatic stay, Bayview would have qual ified as a party in interest under Section 362(d). It could have

— and should have

— sought relief from the automatic stay before proceeding with the Sale.

C. Bayview’s appeal to equity is unavailing Finally, in its challenge to the sanctions order, Bayview cite s the bankruptcy court’s obligation to reach equitable solutions as supportive of that court’s denial of
sanctions

. W e should let the bankruptcy court’s decision stand , it submits, on the ground s that there is “no compelling interest in applying the automa tic stay to a foreclosure sale of property owned by the LLC , ” Appellant’s Br. at 18 , and that enforcing the stay in the circumstances presented here “serves no purpose under the Bankruptcy Code , ” Appellant’s Reply Br. at 5. This argument is misguided

. To be sure, i t is well established that b ankruptcy

courts “are courts of equity and apply the principles and rules of equity jurisprudence.” Young v. United States , 535 U.S. 43, 50 (2002) ; see also United States v. Energy Res. Co. , 495 U.S. 545, 549 (1990) (“[B] ankruptcy courts, as courts of equity, have broad authority to modify creditor

- debtor relationships. ”). But equitable principles do not allow bankruptcy courts

— or this court

— to contradict the plain text of the automatic stay provision s tha t Congress enacted. See Lamie v. U.S. Trustee , 540 U.S. 526, 538 (2004) ( “Our unwillingness to soften the import of Congress’ chosen words even if we believe the words lead to a harsh outcome is longstanding. It results from deference to the supremacy of t he Legislature, as well as recognition that Congressmen typically vote on26 the language of a bill.” ). Section 362(a) does not incorporate as a consideration whether applying the automatic stay serves a compelling interest or purpose in particular
circumstan ces. Instead, as we have described, it sets a bright

- line rule that represents

“ one of the fundamental debtor protections provided by the bankruptcy laws, designed to relieve the financial pressures that drove debtors into bankruptcy.” Eastern Refractories , 157 F.3d at 172

. We recognize that our holding may be viewed as formalistic. The form, sequence,
and tim ing of the events that occurred here give the reasonable impression that, although her Chapter 7 petition may well have been filed in good faith, Fog arty sought

to avoid the already long

- delayed effect of the LLC’s default on her possessory interest in the Property with her last

- minute filing, risking inconvenience and disruption to the

court

- ordered Sale

. But courts and parties alike must respect and follow the procedures
that Congress set forth in the Bankruptcy Code. T o the extent that the effects of the automatic stay effect s may be inequitable, Congress has provided a means of addressing that concern th rough Section 362(d)’s provision for relief from the stay. See id. (Section 362(d) provides bankruptcy courts with “plastic powers to modify or condition an automatic stay so as to fashion the appropriate scope of relief.” ). Here, Bayview di d not avail its elf of that means. A ccordingly , we must conclude that Bayview violated the automatic stay when it proceeded with the Sale after Fogarty filed her bankruptcy petition.

CONCLUSION
We have considered all of Bayview’s remaining arguments and find in them no basis for reversal. For the reasons set forth above, the July 1, 2020 order of the district
court is AFFIRMED and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.