Barnes, J.
…
II. Jurisdiction
Next, Benson argues that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to order the payment of $75,000 for contempt when the bankruptcy court had previously stayed the proceedings. According to Benson, the contempt proceedings were “an attempt to circumvent the automatic bankruptcy stay . . . .” Appellant’s Br. p. 14. At the trial court level, Benson only briefly raised this issue during the September 2010 contempt hearing. He argued that, although the contempt issue and attorney fee remedy could go forward, the trial court “may not have subject matter jurisdiction over” the payment of $75,000 to the trial court clerk. Tr. Sept. 27, 2010 Hr. p. 11. The trial court rejected his argument. On appeal, Benson again argues that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to order the payment of the $75,000 because it was “property of the estate” subject to the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction. Appellant’s Reply Br. p. 7. Benson does not appear to dispute the trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction regarding the contempt proceedings and the award of attorney fees.
The filing of a bankruptcy petition operates as an automatic stay of “any act to obtain possession of property of the estate or of property from the estate or to exercise control over property of the estate . . . .” 11 U.S.C. § 362. The bankruptcy court has exclusive jurisdiction over property of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate. 28 U.S.C. § 1334(e)(1). “[C]ourts have uniformly held that when a party seeks to commence or continue proceedings in one court against a debtor or property that is protected by the stay automatically imposed upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition, the non-bankruptcy court properly responds to the filing by determining whether the automatic stay applies to (i.e., stays) the proceedings.” Chao v. Hosp. Staffing Services, Inc., 270 F.3d 374, 384 (6th Cir. 2001). “Assuming its jurisdiction is otherwise sound, the non-bankruptcy court may enter orders not inconsistent with the terms of the stay and any orders entered by the bankruptcy court respecting the stay.” Id. “If, for example, the suit before the [non-bankruptcy court] may proceed because an exception to the automatic stay authorizes prosecution of the suit, the [non-bankruptcy court] may enter needful orders not themselves inconsistent with the automatic stay.” Id. However, “[i]f the non-bankruptcy court’s initial jurisdictional determination is erroneous, the parties run the risk that the entire action later will be declared void ab initio.” Id. “If a state court and the bankruptcy court reach differing conclusions as to whether the automatic stay bars maintenance of a suit in the non-bankruptcy forum, the bankruptcy forum’s resolution has been held determinative, presumably pursuant to the Supremacy Clause.” Id.
According to Benson, the trial court could not order him to pay $75,000 because it was “property of the estate” subject to the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction. Appellant’s Reply Br. p. 7. We disagree. Benson improperly characterizes the $75,000 as proceeds from the Defendants‟ sale and property of the bankruptcy estate. The $75,000 that the trial court ordered Benson to pay was his personal money and was damages resulting from his contempt. Our supreme court has held that “[c]ontempt is for the benefit of the party who has been injured or damaged by the failure of another to conform to a court order issued for the private benefit of the aggrieved party.” Cowart v. White, 711 N.E.2d 523, 530 (Ind. 1999), clarified on reh’g, 716 N.E.2d 401 (Ind. 1999). “Once a party has been found in contempt, monetary damages may be awarded to compensate the other party for injuries incurred as a result of the contempt.” Id. at 532. The damages resulted because Benson distributed funds in violation of the trial court’s orders and was less than forthcoming in his accounting to the trial court. As a result of Benson’s conduct, the funds from the sale that were subject to prejudgment attachment were unavailable to Co-Alliance. Benson cites no authority for the proposition that the trial court could not require him to pay $75,000 to the Morgan County Clerk as part of the monetary damages resulting from his contempt.
Co-Alliance cites Fox Valley Construction Workers Fringe Benefits Funds v. Pride of the Fox Masonry, 140 F.3d 661 (7th Cir. 1998), which we find relevant here. In Fox Valley, a retirement fund sued Pride of the Fox Masonry to recover delinquent contributions. Pride of the Fox’s president, Michael Hoge, and its attorney, Richard Balog, then engaged in a series of actions designed to delay the proceedings and transfer assets from Pride of the Fox. Pride of the Fox then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
The retirement fund then moved for sanctions against Hoge and Balog personally for their actions. The district court determined that it had jurisdiction over Hoge and Balog as non-bankrupt third parties and that the automatic stay did not protect them. Ultimately, the district court found that Hoge had violated a court order by transferring assets and ordered that he would be liable for the amount of assets if necessary. As for the attorney, Balog, the district court found that he had acted in bad faith and ordered him to pay the retirement fund’s attorney fees pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927.
On appeal, Balog argued that, as a result of the automatic stay, the district court had no jurisdiction to consider the sanctions against him. The Seventh Circuit held:
The automatic stay is indeed a powerful tool of the bankruptcy courts. On the filing of a bankruptcy petition, the stay automatically stops any other proceedings against the debtor. “The purpose of this section . . . is to protect the debtor from an uncontrollable scramble for its assets in a number of uncoordinated proceedings in different courts, to preclude one creditor from pursuing a remedy to the disadvantage of other creditors . . . .” A.H. Robins Co. v. Piccinin (In re A.H. Robins Co.), 788 F.2d 994, 998 (4th Cir. 1986). The stay, however, protects only the debtor, unless the debtor and some third party have such a similarity of interests that failure to protect the third party will mean that the assets of the debtor itself will fall into jeopardy. See id. at 999, 1001. The automatic stay does not touch proceedings to enforce a court order against non-bankrupt third parties. See Supporters to Oppose Pollution v. Heritage Group, 973 F.2d 1320, 1328 (7th Cir. 1992). The question here is whether the stay extends to Balog personally, and we quickly dispose of any argument that the automatic stay deprived the district court of jurisdiction to sanction him. Balog has no financial or ownership relationship with Pride of the Fox. He merely serves as the registered agent and attorney for that corporation. Balog’s specious argument that the automatic stay protects his personal assets hardly merits the brief discussion we have given it.
Fox Valley, 140 F.3d at 666. Balog also argued that the sanctions against him were unwarranted and excessive. The Seventh Circuit concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it determined that Balog had “multiplied” the proceedings and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in calculating the costs caused by Balog’s “vexatious behavior” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927. Id. at 666-67.
Benson argues that Fox Valley is distinguishable because of a similarity of interests between the debtors and Benson. Benson argues that he “had a sufficient financial nexus to the debtors’ assets” because the “debtors’ assets were in his trust account.” Appellant’s Reply Br. p. 8. The court in Fox Valley held that a third party would be protected by the automatic stay if there existed such “a similarity of interests that failure to protect the third party will mean that the assets of the debtor itself will fall into jeopardy.” Fox Valley, 140 F.3d at 666. The assets of the debtors are not at issue here. The assets of the debtors had already been fully distributed from Benson’s escrow account, and as in Fox Valley, Benson is seeking application of the automatic stay to protect his own personal assets, not those of the debtors. Ultimately, funds were returned to the bankruptcy estate here, and assets of the debtor were not jeopardized in any way.
Benson also argues that, in Fox Valley, the attorney “was not found personally liable for the corporation’s assets improperly transferred to the newly formed corporation.” Appellant’s Reply Br. p. 9. The Seventh Circuit awarded damages based on 28 U.S.C. § 1927, which provides:
Any attorney or other person admitted to conduct cases in any court of the United States or any Territory thereof who so multiplies the proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously may be required by the court to satisfy personally the excess costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred because of such conduct.
Here, on the other hand, the damages were based on Benson’s contempt.
“Once a party has been found in contempt of court, monetary damages may be awarded to compensate the other party for injuries incurred as a result of the contempt.” City of Gary v. Major, 822 N.E.2d 165, 172 (Ind. 2005). “In determining an amount of damages the trial court may take into account ‘the inconvenience and frustration suffered by the aggrieved party. . . .’” Id. (quoting Thomas v. Woollen, 255 Ind. 612, 266 N.E.2d 20, 22 (1971)). “The determination of damages in a contempt proceeding is within the trial court’s discretion, and we will reverse an award of damages only if there is no evidence to support the award.” Id. The award of $75,000 was within the trial court’s discretion and the evidence supported the award. As Fox Valley concerned an award pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927, not an award under the contempt statutes, nothing in Fox Valley prevented the trial court from ordering Benson to pay $75,000 to the Morgan County Clerk.
Finally, Benson relies on the bankruptcy court’s January 2011 order granting the Defendants’ motion to apply the automatic stay to the second contempt proceeding, which was filed against Benson in December 2010. Benson was found in contempt in the first contempt proceedings in September 2010, and this is the order now on appeal. We were provided with no pleadings, other than the order, related to the bankruptcy court’s order, and we cannot say that the bankruptcy court’s determination on the later contempt filings is relevant to the issues on appeal now. We are unaware of any bankruptcy court ruling regarding the first contempt proceedings.
We conclude that the trial court properly rejected Benson’s jurisdiction argument regarding the payment of the $75,000 to the Morgan County Clerk. The trial court had authority to enforce obedience of its lawful orders and to impose sanctions on attorneys violating such orders. See Noble County v. Rogers, 745 N.E.2d 194, 198-99 (Ind. 2001). The funds at issue here were not subject to the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction.
Conclusion
The trial court properly denied Benson’s motion to dismiss the contempt proceedings because the original motion was unverified. The trial court also properly rejected Benson’s argument that it did not have jurisdiction to order him to pay $75,000 to the Morgan County Clerk. We affirm.
Affirmed.
RILEY, J., and DARDEN, J., concur.