People Place Auto Hand Carwash, LLC - Page 8

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          bankruptcy but that is not itself a party to the bankruptcy.7  In           
          re Calhoun, 312 Bankr. 380 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa 2004).  That case,             
          however, did not involve the automatic stay provision of 11                 
          U.S.C. section 362(a)(8).                                                   
               We have discovered no authority addressing the question of             
          whether a Tax Court proceeding instituted by an LLC should be               
          viewed as “concerning” debtor members of the LLC within the                 
          meaning of 11 U.S.C. section 362(a)(8) so as to trigger the                 
          automatic stay.  For the reasons discussed below, we conclude               
          that the automatic stay protection of 11 U.S.C. section 362(a)(8)           
          does not extend to an LLC merely because the LLC’s members are              
          debtors in bankruptcy.                                                      
               Legislative history sheds little light on the meaning of               
          “concerning the debtor” as that phrase is used in 11 U.S.C.                 
          section 362(a)(8).  See Halpern v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. 895,               
          898-902 (1991) (reviewing the legislative history of the                    
          automatic stay provisions).  This Court has construed “concerning           
          the debtor” narrowly to mean that the automatic stay should not             
          apply unless the Tax Court proceeding possibly would affect the             
          tax liability of the debtor in bankruptcy.  1983 W. Reserve Oil &           

               7 Although the Bankruptcy Code does not expressly mention              
          LLCs, it is generally accepted that an LLC is a “person” that may           
          qualify for relief as a “debtor” under the Bankruptcy Code.  See            
          Gilliam v. Speier (In re KRSM Props., LLC), 318 Bankr. 712, 717             
          (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2004); In re Calhoun, 312 Bankr. 380, 383                  
          (Bankr. N.D. Iowa 2004); In re ICLNDS Notes Acquisition, LLC, 259           
          Bankr. 289 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2001).                                         





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