Case Summary:
Judgment Creditor moves for modification of the automatic stay and abandonment of the estate's interest in a strip mall. Movant asserts that he holds a blanket lien in the Debtor's interest in the property under Chapter 816 of the Wisconsin Code by virtue of an order entered by the state court in supplemental proceedings. That order states that the strip mall shall be sold and the proceeds of sale up to a fixed amount shall be paid to the creditor in partial satisfaction of his judgment. The creditor further asserts that the property has been damaged by fire and is subject to an in rem foreclosure action for unpaid property taxes to argue that the property lacks equity and is not necessary for effective reorganization and the lack of adequate protection for his lien interest. The Debtor and the Unsecured Creditors Committee oppose the motion, arguing in part that the creditor does not have a lien in the property. The court finds that the creditor failed to demonstrate his lien in property held by the estate. As the Wisconsin Supreme Court discussed in Associated Bank N.A. v. Collier, 852 N.W.2d 443 (Wisc. 2014), supplemental proceedings do not give rise to a blanket lien on all of a judgment debtor's personal property. To obtain a lien on such property a creditor must docket its money judgment, identify the specific personal property and levy that property. Such levy can be accomplished by at least three different means, including "obtaining an order to apply specific personal property to the satisfaction of the judgment, which a creditor may do with the assistance of a supplemental receiver." Id. at 445. In this case, the parties stipulate that the interest in the strip mall is owned by a limited liability company in which the Debtor held a membership interest. Further, established caselaw holds that any ownership interest the estate may have in a debtor's membership in a limited liability company does not extend to the assets owned by the company. The creditor failed to demonstrate that the property referenced in the state court order is personal property now owned by the bankruptcy estate and that the automatic stay applies to that property. So finding, it is not necessary to determine whether the state court order created an effective judgment lien over the property. Accordingly, the motion to lift stay/ abandon interest in Wisconsin strip mall is DENIED.

Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 362(d) -- Relief from the Automatic Stay
11 U.S.C. § 362(g) -- Burden of Proof
11 U.S.C. § 554 -- Abandonment of Property of the Estate
Wis. Stat. Ann. § 816.08 -- Order to Apply Non-Exempt Property Toward Satisfaction of a Judgment

Key Terms:
Abandonment of Property of the Estate
Automatic Stay
Interest in Non-exempt Personal Property
Judgment Lien
Levy and Execution
Limited Partnership
Property of the Estate
Supplementary Proceedings