The automatic stay, set forth in Bankruptcy Code § 362, is a self-executing statutory injunction that takes effect immediately when a bankruptcy petition is filed. With exceptions, the automatic stay prohibits acts to collect or enforce prepetition debt. The automatic stay gives the debtor a respite, however brief, from dunning, harassment, lawsuits, foreclosures, and other collection activity. Additionally, the automatic stay affords the bankruptcy court time to assert jurisdiction over the...