White v. White

851 F.2d 170 (6th Cir. 1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

W instituted divorce proceedings against H. The divorce court ordered him to make temporary alimony payments of $800 weekly. When H made no payments under this order, W moved for the appointment of a receiver for H's property. H then instituted Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy trustee was appointed to manage the financial affairs of the bankruptcy estate. The effect of H's bankruptcy petition was to halt the divorce proceedings because of the automatic stay provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 362. W moved to lift the stay in order to allow the divorce action to proceed. She seeks permission for the state court to make an appropriate division of the marital estate, which, of course, also constitutes H's bankruptcy estate. The bankruptcy court granted her motion and lifted the stay so that divorce proceedings, including an apportionment of the marital estate, could be accomplished. The court stated the case could be disposed of in an orderly fashion by first allowing the state court to determine, under state law, how the property should be appropriately divided between H and W. H appealed and the district court affirmed. H appealed. H argues that the jurisdiction granted the bankruptcy court in 28 U.S.C. § 1334(d) is exclusive and may not be given up in favor of a state court proceeding for any reason.