Langston v. Internal Revenue Serv. (In re Langston)

René Lastreto II, Judge

INTRODUCTION

Even the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS" or "Defendant") must obey the bankruptcy code's automatic stay. If the IRS willfully violates the stay, it is liable for an individual debtor's actual damages including costs and attorney's fees. The IRS, here, admittedly violated the automatic stay by offsetting taxes owed pre-petition with the debtors' annuity payments to be received post-petition. Before filing an administrative claim for relief with the IRS, the debtors filed an adversary proceeding. After a trial on the severed issue of actual damages, this court…