Law360, New York ( January 6, 2016, 12:55 PM EST) -- On Oct. 14, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed, in the reported decision America's Servicing Co. v. Schwartz-Tallard (In re Schwartz-Tallard), 803 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2015), a split in the circuits regarding the application of 11 U.S.C. §362(k). That section states that a debtor injured by a willful violation of the automatic stay "shall recover actual damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, and, in appropriate circumstances, may recover punitive damages" in a lawsuit against a third party. The Ninth Circuit stated that with one exception, courts have uniformly held that that section authorizes an award of all attorneys' fees reasonably incurred to remedy a stay violation, including fees incurred in prosecuting a damages action....