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Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: CONNECTICUT

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Wages: Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 52-352b(4), 52-361a, 52-367b.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: MAINE

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, § 4426.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not specified. Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, § 4426: “[A] debtor may exempt from property of the debtor’s estate under [Title 11], only that property exempt under [11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(2)(A) and (B)].”

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: WISCONSIN

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Probably not. Wis. Stat. § 815.18(5) provides: “A resident is entitled to the exemptions provided by this section. A non-resident is entitled to the exemptions provided by the law of the jurisdiction of his or her residence.”

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: ALABAMA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Ala. Code § 6-10-11.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not specified, but probably yes. Ala. Code § 6-10-11: “In cases instituted under [Title 11] there shall be exempt . . . only that property . . . exempt under the laws of Alabama and under [federal laws other than § 522(d)].” See In re Walley, 9 B.R. 55 (Bankr. S.D. Ala. 1981) (opt-out statute applies only to Alabama residents).

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: NEW YORK

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No. Although N.Y. Debt. & Cred. Law § 284 (McKinney) provides that debtors domiciled in New York are not permitted to use the federal exemptions under section 522(d) of the Bankruptcy Code, and this provision has not been repealed, a more recent statute, N.Y. Debt. & Cred. Law § 285 (McKinney), provides that an individual debtor in a bankruptcy case may opt to use the exemptions provided under section 522(d) of the Bankruptcy Code in lieu of New York exemptions.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: UTAH

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-5-513 (West).

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Yes. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-5-513 (West): “An individual may not exempt from the property of the estate in any bankruptcy proceeding property specified in [§ 522(d) unless the individual is a non-resident of this state and has been for the 180 days preceding the bankruptcy.”

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: MONTANA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Mont. Code Ann. § 31-2-106.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not specified. Mont. Code Ann. § 31-2-106: “An individual may not exempt from the property of the estate in any bankruptcy proceeding the property specified in [§ 522(d)].”

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: DELAWARE

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, § 4914.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Yes. Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, § 4914: “[A]n individual debtor domiciled in Delaware is not authorized or entitled to elect the Federal exemptions . . . [in § 522(d)] and may exempt only that property from the estate as set forth is subsection (b) of this section.”

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: PUERTO RICO

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Wages: P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 32, § 1130.

Scope: Earnings for personal services within 30 days before levy of execution. P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 32, § 1130(7).

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: MARYLAND

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-504 (West).

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not specified, but probably not. Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-504 (West): “In any bankruptcy proceeding, a debtor is not entitled to the federal exemptions provided by § 522(d) of the federal Bankruptcy Code.” See In re Brooks, 393 B.R. 80 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. 2008) (Maryland opt-out statute is not limited to domiciliaries).

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: ALASKA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No. See In re Tinkess, 459 B.R. 76 (Bankr. D. Alaska 2008) (finding that Alaska Stat. § 09.38.055 lacks sufficient specificity to operate as an opt-out statute).

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: No. Alaska Stat. § 09.38.010 limited to “property in this state.”

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: NORTH CAROLINA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1C-1601(f).

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Yes. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1C-1601(f): “The exemptions provided in [§ 522(d)], are not applicable to residents of this State. The exemptions provided by this Article and by other statutory or common law of this State shall apply for purposes of [§ 522(b)].”

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: INDIANA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? Yes. Ind. Code § 34-55-10-1.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Yes. Ind. Code § 34-55-10-1: “an individual debtor domiciled in Indiana is not entitled to use . . . [§ 522(d) exemptions].”

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: VERMONT

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Yes. See In re Oliver, 182 B.R. 699 (Bankr. D. Vt. 1995) (debtor may use Vermont homestead to exempt proceeds of sale of property in another state).

Personal property: Uncertain.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Yes (with limitations). D.C. Code § 15-501(a) provides that specified property of a head of family or householder, who resides in the District of Columbia or who earns the major portion of his livelihood there, is exempt “regardless of his place of residence.”

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: VIRGIN ISLANDS

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Wages: V.I. Code Ann. tit. 5, §§ 521, 522.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: MICHIGAN

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: Uncertain.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Wages: Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5311.

Scope: Wages.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: HAWAII

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: No. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 651-92(a)(1) applies to one parcel of real property “in the state of Hawaii.”

Personal property: Uncertain.

Wages: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 652-1(a), (b), 651-121, 653-3.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: PENNSYLVANIA

Has state opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions? No.

Is opt out limited to residents or domiciliaries of the state? Not applicable.

Do state’s exemptions have extraterritorial application?

Homestead: No exemption.

Personal property: Uncertain.

Wages: 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3703; 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8127.

Scope: Wages, salaries and commissions of individuals. 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8127.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 14.10.1.1 Types of Injunctive Relief and Their Uses

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 provides for injunctive relief at the court’s discretion. As the Supreme Court has stated, “[t]he basis for injunctive relief in the federal courts has always been irreparable injury and the inadequacy of legal remedies.”1298 Injunctive relief is a virtual staple of public interest litigation.

In housing cases, tenants have obtained injunctive relief to: