(Copied from Lawyers Weekly, This Week's Decisions, March 2, 2020)
Where defendants violated the automatic stay by evicting a debtor on July 11, 2018, the defendants should be held liable to the debtor in the amount of $1,500 for actual damages and $1,000 in punitive damages.
"...Despite the lengthy list of alleged damages contained in the Debtor's pretrial memorandum, the Debtor only testified to and offered documentary evidence of the following alleged damages: (1) costs of storage for items not removed from the Property; (2) costs for packing and moving; (3) estimated costs for repair of the Property; (4) damage to personal belongings as a result of long term storage; (5) costs for office space rental and internet; (6) loss of her beehives; (7) loss of income as a beehive extractor; (8) the cost for a massage received in February 2019; (9) costs for cleaning the Property; (10) loss of her chickens; and (11) emotional distress. ...
"... The Court believes some award of punitive damages is appropriate in the case. Although (defendant Martin Amaya) Barraza credibly testified on behalf of the Defendants that they relied on the advice of counsel in proceeding with the July 11 eviction, ...the egregiousness of the stay violation warrants some measure of punitive damages. ...
"... The Defendants' reliance on counsel may be relevant to a determination of the amount of punitive damages to be assessed, but it does not persuade the Court that none should be awarded. ..."
