Bill on Bankruptcy: What's in the $83M ResCap Examiner's Report?
Todd Christenson filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in November 2010. In February 2011, a federal bankruptcy court in Minnesota discharged Christenson’s debts and, later the same year, closed the case. But almost 15 years...more
We have written in the past about exceptions to the general rule regarding a debtor’s ability to discharge debt in bankruptcy and achieve a “fresh start.” In a recent decision of interest, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth...more
Earlier this year, a district court for the Middle District of Florida upheld a jury award of $225,000 in punitive damages in a debt collection case finding the defendant’s conduct “reprehensible” based on the physical harm...more
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 523(a)(2)(A) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code precludes a debtor from discharging a debt obtained by fraud, regardless of the debtor's own culpability. ...more
In bankruptcy, certain specified types of debts are forgiven or “discharged”, releasing the debtor from personal liability for those debts. Debt discharges are permanent, and when granted, the debtor is no longer required to...more
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued a decision that all business owners should be aware of. The Supreme Court resolved a Circuit split over whether a debtor can discharge a debt incurred by a fraud committed by the...more
On February 22, 2023, in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. __ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a debtor who is liable for her partner’s fraud cannot discharge that debt in bankruptcy, regardless of her own...more
In a unanimous decision handed down on Feb. 22, 2023, the Supreme Court reinforced one of the Bankruptcy Code’s important creditor protections. In Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, 598 U.S. ___ (2023), the Court confirmed,...more
In Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. __ (2023), the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, determined that a debtor could not discharge a judgment debt because the “debt...more
A debt “for money, property, services, or an extension [. . .] of credit, to the extent obtained by [. . .] actual fraud,” is not dischargeable in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Courts have questioned whether this applied if...more
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that § 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code precludes a debtor from discharging a debt obtained by fraud, regardless of the debtor’s own culpability. In Bartenwerfer v. Buckley,...more
This adversary proceeding in Rennaker v. Davis, Case No. 20-04065 (Bankr. N.D. Tex., Nov. 9, 2021), involves a litany of non-dischargeability allegations – both under 11 U.S.C. §523 and §727. Judge Mark Mullin’s opinion...more
In Hilal K. Homaidan v. Sallie Mae, Inc., Navient Solutions, LLC, Navient Credit Finance Corporation, Case No. 20-1981 (2d Cir. 2021), the Second Circuit affirmed the opinion of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...more
On July 15, 2021, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Homaidan v. Sallie Mae, Inc., et al. that the private student loans at issue were not subject to the discharge exemption in...more
Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases are straight liquidations sought by debtors who wish to have most or all of their debts discharged. In Chapter 7 cases, the Chapter 7 trustee obtains control over the debtor’s assets and evaluates...more
Much of the bankruptcy chatter arising from the pandemic world in which we find ourselves is now focusing on the cascade of new bankruptcy cases that are predicted to arrive soon. We have already seen the effects of closed...more
In a unanimous, and perhaps unsurprising, decision, the Supreme Court determined that a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating the discharge injunction if there is “no fair ground of doubt” as to whether the...more
Bankruptcy is meant to provide a fresh start for the honest but unfortunate debtor. A debtor who files Chapter 7 does so with the presumption that all his or her debts will be forgiven or "discharged." But what about the...more
If the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) fines an employer for unlawfully firing workers who tried to unionize, can the employer discharge the fine in bankruptcy, or will the exception to discharge found in Bankruptcy...more
On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, 138 S. Ct. 1752, 2018 WL 2465174 (U.S. June 4, 2018), that an individual debtor's false statement about a single asset, as...more
Section 523(a)(2)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a discharge under the Bankruptcy Code does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or refinancing of...more
In my last article, I discussed how the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a Chapter 7 debtor’s discharge because the debtor intentionally lowballed the value of his interest in a real estate investment...more
The Supreme Court held that a statement about a single asset can be a “statement respecting the debtor’s financial condition” for purposes of determining the application of the exception to discharge set forth in Section...more
The recent decision from the United States Supreme Court in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling (“Lamar”), further restricts a creditor’s ability to pursue future recovery on its debt through a nondischargeability action...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit—which covers North Carolina—recently decided a case that will have bankruptcy debtors thinking twice about how they complete their bankruptcy Petition and Schedules....more