My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: Florida (Middle District)
I filed Chapter 7 in October of 2009. I was intending on returning the house to the bank. My mortgage holder had an attorney who made an appearance, and asked for relief from the Automatic Stay, in order to foreclose. It was granted in December of 2009. My debts were discharged in February of 2010.
During the course of the foreclosure, it turned out that the bank was no longer the owner and holder of the note, and the foreclosure was dismissed. I filed a motion for sanctions with the Bankruptcy court, since they had lied and told the judge that they were the owner and holder of the note and mortgage. We settled out of court for 5 figures in February of 2011.
In the fall of 2012, the same bank began trying to collect from me. They began sending me letters informing me of my balance, calling me, and leaving notes on my door to call them. When I would call, they would state, "Your balance is $xx,xxx. When can we expect payment?" When I would remind them of the bankruptcy, they would tell me that they had no record of it. I told them that their records weren't my problem. After putting up with this for several months, I retain a new attorney, and we filed a motion for sanctions for violating the discharge injunction. We asked for actual damages.
There was a final evidentiary hearing in May that the bank did not show up for, and the court made the following findings:
-Debtor filed Chapter 7 in October 2009.
- Creditor received notice of the filing
- Debtor's debts were discharged in February 2010
- Creditor engaged in efforts to collect from Debtor debts which were discharged for a two-year period of time, including telephone calls, personal visits to Debtor’s residence, written demands for payment, and by misreporting the status of these debts to credit reporting agencies.
- Debtor has been damaged by creditor's actions
- Creditor's actions were willful and intentional
The court found them in contempt, and awarded me $13,000, plus attorney's fees. The order also specified that any further contact with me would result in severe penalties. The creditor paid me in September.
However, since the hearing in May, they have not stopped sending me demands for payment, and leaving notes on my door. They have sent me 6 letters, and left a note on my door each and every month since then, always during the last week of the month. We filed another motion for sanctions in December. This time, not only did we ask for actual damages, but we asked for punitive damages. My hearing is set for March, and I won't see my attorney until 2 weeks before the hearing.
Now we get to my question:
How mad is the judge going to be, and how much cash would be customary for this sort of thing? I would assume that the judge will award more than last time, seeing as how they ignored the court last time. Then there is the matter of punitive damages.
I am just wondering. It seems to me that I should at least get what I got last time.

