Kalb v. Feuerstein
United States Supreme Court
308 U.S. 433 (1940)
Feuerstein (defendant) foreclosed on Ernest Kalb's (plaintiff) Wisconsin farm in county court, which entered a foreclosure judgment and had the sheriff sell the property to Feuerstein. While Kalb's separately filed federal bankruptcy petition was still pending, the Wisconsin county court went ahead and confirmed the sheriff's sale anyway, and Kalb never sought a stay from any court. The sheriff later evicted Kalb from the farm, and Kalb then sued in state court to cancel the foreclosure sale and remove Feuerstein from the property. The trial court dismissed for failure to state a claim, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed, reasoning that a bankruptcy petition doesn't automatically stay a pending state foreclosure. Kalb sought review in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Whether a state court order entered in excess of the court's jurisdiction is void and therefore subject to collateral attack in a later proceeding.