05 B 46676

The debtor objected to the claim of the Social Security Administration (SSA) that she owed it $38,878.40 for overpayment of disability benefits. The SSA's motion to dismiss the claim objection was granted because debtor did not exhaust her administrative remedies by first securing SSA's review of her position that she had not received more than she was entitled to. The Social Security Act allows review of SSA's final decisions via a civil action and deprives the courts of original jurisdiction of such matters. The court also found that even though the government violated the automatic stay by sending the debtor a demand letter after the bankruptcy petition was filed, it was questionable whether stay violation damages could be proven because the debtor pursued the government by filing its claim, objecting to it and seeking court review of the SSA's position.