IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
JEFFREY A. DICKERSON, No. 67768
INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS PRINCIPAL
OWNER OF THE LAW OFFICE OF
JEFFREY A. DICKERSON,
Appellant,
FILED
vs. JUL 1 1 2016
VICTOR P. REPUBLICAN°, JR., TRACIE K LINDEMAN
CLERK OF SUPREME COURT
Respondent. C'
DEPUT(?- ilt1:1Ktir
ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL
Appellant, who is proceeding in pro se, has filed a "Notice of
Automatic Stay of Appellate Proceedings," informing this court that he has
filed a petition in bankruptcy court. The filing of a bankruptcy petition
operates to stay, automatically, the "continuation" of any
"judicial. .. action. . . against the debtor." 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1). An
appeal, for purposes of the automatic stay, is considered a continuation of
the action in the trial court. Consequently, an appeal is automatically
stayed if the debtor was the defendant in the underlying trial court action.
See Ingersoll-Rand Fin. Corp. v. Miller Mining Co., Inc., 817 F.2d 1424
(9th Cir. 1987). It appears that appellant was a defendant below.
Therefore, this appeal is stayed pursuant to the automatic stay provisions
of federal bankruptcy law.
Given the applicability of the automatic stay, this appeal may
linger indefinitely on this court's docket pending final resolution of the
bankruptcy proceedings. Accordingly, we conclude that judicial efficiency
will be best served if this appeal is dismissed without prejudice. Because
a dismissal without prejudice will not require this court to reach the
merits of this appeal and is not inconsistent with the primary purposes of
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the bankruptcy stay—to provide protection for debtors and creditors—we
further conclude that such dismissal will not violate the bankruptcy stay.'
See Indep. Union of Flight Attendants v. Pan Am. World Airways, Inc., 966
F.2d 457, 459 (9th Cir. 1992) (holding that the automatic stay does not
preclude dismissal of an appeal so long as dismissal is "consistent with the
purpose of [11 U.S.C. §362(a)"]; Dean v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 72 F.3d
754, 755 (9th Cir. 1995) (holding that a post-bankruptcy petition dismissal
will violate the automatic stay "where a decision to dismiss requires the
court to first consider other issues presented by or related to the
underlying case").
Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal. This dismissal is without
prejudice to appellant's right to move for reinstatement of this appeal
upon either the lifting of the bankruptcy stay or final resolution of the
bankruptcy proceedings, if appellant deems such a motion appropriate at
that time.
It is so ORDERED.
Cherryc_istA7 , J.
Douglas Gibbon's
'The automatic stay provides a debtor "with protection against
hungry creditors" and gives it a "breathing spell from its creditors" by
stopping all collection efforts. Dean v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 72 F.3d
754, 755 (9th Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks omitted). Further, it
"assures creditors that the debtor's other creditors are not racing to
various courthouses to pursue independent remedies to drain the debtor's
assets." Id. at 755-56.
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cc: Hon. Jerome M. Polaha, District Judge
Jonathan L. Andrews, Settlement Judge
Jeffrey A. Dickerson
Downey Brand LLP
Washoe District Court Clerk
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