Bunton v. Colonial Gardens, 661 B.R. 249

Debtors, Jesse Lee Bunton and Kristi Leann Hoard, owned a manufactured home on a lot leased from Colonial Gardens, LLC.
Colonial Gardens obtained a state court eviction judgment for nonpayment of rent prior to the debtors filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
After filing bankruptcy, Colonial Gardens attempted to enforce the eviction, believing the automatic stay did not apply due to § 362(b)(22).
Debtors brought an adversary proceeding for injunctive relief and damages, alleging a stay violation, and a temporary injunction was issued.
Colonial Gardens moved for a definitive ruling that § 362(b)(22) applied, while the temporary injunction prevented eviction.
The dispute focused on whether § 362(b)(22) excepted the landlord’s eviction actions from the automatic stay in the context of a leased manufactured home lot.

Issue	Plaintiffs' Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Applicability of § 362(b)(22) exception to automatic stay for manufactured home lot	Debtors argue they reside in the home, not the lot; thus, the eviction is not from "residential property" as intended by § 362(b)(22)	Colonial Gardens asserts all requirements of § 362(b)(22) are met: prepetition judgment for possession, residential property, debtor as tenant	Court holds § 362(b)(22) applies; debtors reside in both the home and the lot, so the exception allows eviction to proceed

(No official reporter cases cited; all authorities referenced in the opinion were either unpublished or statutory.)