Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Whether a creditor is aware of the bankruptcy or not; whether they are listed as a creditor or not, they are bound by the automatic stay. It is possible to violate the automatic stay, but not necessarily be liable for damages - if a creditor has no knowledge of a bankruptcy case being filed, obviously they are not aware of the stay, and will probably not be held liable for damages for violating the stay. However, if a creditor is actually aware of your bankruptcy filing, any violation on their part is going to be considered "willful."

All that being said, guess what - if you have not paid a post-filing deposit to the utility, then 21 days after the filing, they CAN shut off your utilities. Take a look at Section 366 of the Bankruptcy Code for more information. If you hired an attorney, he or she should have walked you through the process of establishing a post-filing deposit to avoid servicing disruption. If you did not hire an attorney, this is one of the reasons you should hire an attorney. I would suggest getting on the phone with the utility right now, and make arrangements for a bankruptcy deposit.

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