benefit of the bankruptcy estate.’ ” Vasile v. Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., 20 F.Supp.2d 465, 499 (E.D.N.Y.1998) (quoting Carley Capital Grp. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 889 F.2d 1126, 1127 (D.C.Cir.1989) (per curiam)). “Thus § 362(a) does not ‘prevent entities against whom the debtor proceeds in an offensive posture — for example, by initiating a judicial or adversarial proceeding — from protecting their legal rights.’ ” Dean Witter, 20 F.Supp.2d at 499 (quoting In re Financial News Network Inc., 158 B.R. 570, 573 (S.D.N.Y.1993)). Nevertheless, as several courts have recognized, counterclaims against a debtor in a lawsuit initiated by the debtor are stayed by the filing of a bankruptcy petition. See Educ. Res. Inst., Inc. v. Concannon, 69 A.D.3d 539, 896 N.Y.S.2d 306 (1st Dep’t 2010) (<HOLDING>); Derringer v. Fitch, No. Civ.-03-149, 2005 WL
holding judgment in violation of automatic stay void holding that the protections of the automatic stay apply only to actions against the debtor holding that although the automatic stay only applies to proceedings against the debtor  counterclaims seeking affirmative relief against a debtor implicate the automatic stay holding that the automatic stay applies to the debt ors appeal of an order entered in action brought against the debtor in the lower court holding that the automatic stay did not bar the filing of a proof of claim where the debtor actively litigated a separate action during the pending bankruptcy proceeding because to permit the automatic stay provision to be used as a trump card played after an unfavorable result was reached  would be inconsistent with the underlying purpose of the automatic stay