A bankruptcy action can be considered “commenced” even when a debtor has failed to meet a requirement imposed by Congress that he first receive credit counseling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled yesterday.
Interpreting a “statutory tangle” of bankruptcy provisions, the circuit said the counseling requirement under 11 U.S.C. §109(h) is not jurisdictional in nature and a case can still be regarded as begun by the filing of a bankruptcy petition, which triggers an automatic stay.
