May v. May, 2012 Ohio 2348

Dennis May filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy (case no. 1:10-bk-16275) and was discharged on February 22, 2011.
Amy May filed for divorce on July 30, 2009 in Adams County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division.
Dennis notified the court on September 15, 2010 of the bankruptcy stay under 11 U.S.C. §362.
A February 4, 2011 hearing addressed divorce issues and potential property/debt matters; bankruptcy status was discussed.
The magistrate issued a March 24, 2011 decision; Dennis objected April 14, 2011, which the trial court treated as untimely; the court adopted the magistrate’s decision the same day.
The appellate court held the February 4, 2011 evidentiary hearing violated the automatic stay, vacated the judgment, and remanded for a de novo final divorce hearing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the automatic stay barred the February 4, 2011 hearing.	May contends the bankruptcy stay barred divorce proceedings.	Dennis attempted to bring the stay to attention; the stay should halt divorce proceedings.	Yes; the stay was violated and the hearing void.
Whether the resulting divorce judgment is void or voidable due to the stay violation.	The judgment rests on a stay-violating proceeding.	The court should rectify the irregularity arising from the stay violation.	Voidable, not void; remand for de novo final divorce hearing.

Milton Banking Co. v. Dulaney, 2010-Ohio-1907 (4th Dist. 2010) (automatic stay applies to divorce proceedings; stay violations render actions voidable)
State ex rel. Miley v. Parrott, 77 Ohio St.3d 64 (1996) (automatic stay in bankruptcy context; marital property distribution stayed)
Sitzman v. Sitzman, 2006-Ohio-3279 (5th Dist. 2006) (stay-related issues in divorce proceedings)
Chao v. Hosp. Staffing Servs., Inc., 270 F.3d 374 (6th Cir. 2001) (interpretation of automatic stay in bankruptcy)
JDI Murray Hill, L.L.C. v. Flynn Properties, L.L.C., 2011-Ohio-301 (8th Dist. 2011) (equitable exceptions to automatic stay in divorce context)