Summary and Commentary (In re Gilbert, W.D.N.C. 2025)
Russell Wade Gilbert filed his third Chapter 13 case in just over fourteen months, all pro se and without an attorney. His first case (June 2024) was dismissed for failure to propose a feasible plan, make initial payments, and file required tax returns. His second case (November 2024) was dismissed in July 2025 for defaulting on plan payments. Just six weeks later, he filed the present case in August 2025.
Under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(4), when a debtor has had two or more bankruptcy cases dismissed within the preceding year, no automatic stay goes into effect in the new filing. Instead, the debtor must request that the court impose a stay, and only after notice and hearing can the court do so if the debtor shows the case was filed in good faith. Judge Ashley Austin Edwards’ show cause order specifically noted that, because Gilbert had two prior dismissals in the past year, “the automatic stay is not in effect in this case”.
The claims filed in his prior case were modest. The IRS and N.C. Department of Revenue were owed less than $1,000 in total. The only significant creditor was the Kania Law Firm, holding a $9,776.83 secured claim for attorney’s fees and costs from a tax foreclosure proceeding.
That raises the practical question: is a hearing even necessary here? Since no stay exists, both Kania (as foreclosure counsel), the IRS, and NCDOR are free to pursue collection and enforcement remedies immediately, without needing relief from stay. Unless Gilbert requests and persuades the Court to impose a stay under § 362(c)(4)(B), the creditors are not restricted.
Commentary:
This case highlights how serial pro se filings often operate less as genuine efforts to reorganize than as attempts to forestall inevitable foreclosure or collection.
The Bankruptcy Code already provides a built-in safeguard against abuse—§ 362(c)(4) strips repeat filers of the automatic stay. Here, where the debtor owes only small amounts to taxing authorities and the bulk of the claim lies with foreclosure counsel, the practical effect of the third filing is minimal. Creditors can simply proceed as if no bankruptcy had been filed at all. The Court has nonetheless scheduled what appears to be an unnecessary show cause hearing, since absent a motion for stay protection by the debtor, the outcome seems foreordained: dismissal or at best, a stern warning that without good faith (and without counsel), Chapter 13 offers no refuge.
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