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Dischargeable Debts Debtors

Bowditch & Dewey

Broke and Broken Hearted – The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Divorce

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Bankruptcy is the process where someone who is unable to pay their debts files a petition to discharge (eliminate) those debts or restructure the debt with a payment plan. But what happens if a bankruptcy petition is filed by...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Court Must Sign Off on Post-Petition Settlement to Survive Discharge

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

Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP

Fourth Circuit Holds That Settlement of Nondischargeable Debt and Resulting Interest and Fees Owed Thereunder Are Both...

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

Troutman Pepper Locke

$225,000 Punitive Damages Award Upheld Where Creditor Repeatedly Contacted Customer After Being Notified of Attorney...

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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

Kerr Russell

U.S. Supreme Court to Address Permissibility of Non-Consensual Third-Party Releases in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Plans

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As the calendar turns to autumn, the United States Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) is commencing its new term and preparing to address a monumental issue that will impact chapter 11 law and the mass tort system: the permissibility...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Second Circuit Strikes Down Attempted Bankruptcy Contempt Proceedings In Class Context

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In a recent decision, Bruce v. Citigroup, Inc., et al., the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified the limits of bankruptcy court jurisdiction over class actions. Specifically, the court rejected a...more

Mintz - Bankruptcy & Restructuring Viewpoints

SCOTUS Bankruptcy Decision Roundup

On average, the Supreme Court hears a single bankruptcy case each term. But during the October 2022 term, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable four decisions in bankruptcy cases. These decisions, which are summarized below,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

High Court Bankruptcy Ruling Is a Warning to Joint Obligors

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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

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Section 727 & Section 523 Complaints: Objecting to the Discharge of a Debt

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

Dechert LLP

Maybe You are Entitled to a Cure Payment, or Maybe Not?

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The Second Circuit recently held that a non-party to an assumed executory contract is not entitled to a cure payment (although it may be so entitled if is a third-party beneficiary of the contract). The result would have...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

No Discharge for Bonnie, No Discharge for Clyde.

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The Bankruptcy Code generally allows a debtor to wipe out all pre-bankruptcy debts and get a fresh start in life.  But not all debts are equal.  Some debts can't be discharged, meaning they survive bankruptcy, and the...more

Miller Nash LLP

Supreme Court Limits the Ability to Discharge Debts Obtained by Fraud

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The discharge provided in bankruptcy is fundamental, allowing the “honest but unfortunate” debtor a fresh start. There are various exceptions to the discharge found in Sections 523 and 727 of the Bankruptcy Code—designed to...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Decision Expanding Exception to Debtor's Discharge for Fraud of Another

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision yesterday holding that a debtor may be barred from discharging a debt for money obtained by the fraud of a partner....more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Supreme Court Confirms Nondischargeability of Debts Obtained by Fraud

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

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

U.S. Supreme Court Determines a Fraudulent Debt Cannot Be Discharged, Regardless of Debtor’s Culpability

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on

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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Supreme Court Update - February 23, 2023

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Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued three decisions: Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908: This case analyzed the U.S. Bankruptcy Code’s prohibition of the discharge of debts that were incurred through...more

Miller Canfield

Innocence Is No Defense: Debt Obtained by Fraud Is Nondischargable

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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

Troutman Pepper Locke

Supreme Court Holds Debtor Who is Liable for Fraud Cannot Discharge That Debt in Bankruptcy

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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

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Supreme Court Decides Bartenwerfer v. Buckley

On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, affirming the Ninth Circuit and holding that 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), which bars debtors from discharging any debt obtained by fraud,...more

Epstein Becker & Green

High-Earning Worker Entitled to Overtime Pay, Death-Row Inmate Can Challenge Punishment, and Bankruptcy Can’t Discharge Fraudulent...

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The Court has broken the logjam of pending opinions, rendering three decisions today, one of which, dealing with the issue of when overtime pay is mandated under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), might have a broader...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Bankruptcy Court Sanctions Collections Firm for Attempting to Collect Discharged Debt

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On January 19, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia entered an order sanctioning a collections law firm for violating the bankruptcy discharge injunction. The court in Skaggs v. Gooch (In re...more

Kerr Russell

Third-Party Releases In Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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Historically, a business (known as a debtor) filed for chapter 11 to restructure its debts owed to creditors through a plan of reorganization. The debtor would receive a discharge of any debts not required to be repaid under...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Corporate Bad Behavior Is Not Dischargeable Under Subchapter V

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If a business engages in bad behavior like intentional interference with contract and tortious interference with business relations, then it may not use Subchapter V of Chapter 11 to discharge debts based on that bad...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Does the Bankruptcy Code Allow for Partial Discharge of Student Loans?

Section 523(a)(8) of the Bankruptcy Code excepts from discharge in bankruptcy certain student loans, “unless excepting such debt from discharge under this paragraph would impose an undue hardship.” By its terms, section...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Old Myths Die Hard: District Court Reverses Bankruptcy Court’s Discharge of Student Loan Debt Under Brunner

A district court judge recently reversed and remanded a well-known bankruptcy decision discharging a significant student loan debt. In the Southern District of New York, Judge Philip Halpern, reviewing the bankruptcy court’s...more

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