Tenant’s Filing for Bankruptcy Precluded County from Proceeding with Efforts to Collect on a Property Tax Lien

The Fourth Department determined the county properly concluded it could not proceed to collect on a tax lien after the tenant in the relevant property filed for bankruptcy:

The Village contends that the County used an improper basis for its determination to withdraw the properties from the in rem foreclosure proceeding and to cancel the tax liens, i.e., the bankruptcy proceeding filed by plaintiff’s tenant. Although the County does not explicitly respond to the Village’s contention that the bankruptcy petition of plaintiff’s tenant did not operate to stay the in rem proceeding because plaintiff is the property owner, we nevertheless reject that contention. “[A] leasehold, like all other interests of the debtor, immediately becomes property of the [debtor’s] estate whenever bankruptcy relief is sought” … . Thus, the tenant’s petition operated as a stay to “enforce any lien against property of the estate” (11 USC § 362 [a] [4]). We therefore conclude that the County properly determined that the in rem foreclosure proceeding with respect to the subject parcels was stayed pursuant to RPTL 1140 (1), and properly withdrew those parcels from the proceeding. Herkimer County Indus Dev Agency v Village of Herkimer, 2015 NY Slip Op 00053, 4th Dept 1-2-15