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March 27, 2020

Delaware District Court Upholds Discharge of Environmental Fines in Chapter 11
Environmental fines are discharged in chapter 11 because they do not result from pecuniary loss.
3rd Circuit, Delaware

March 24, 2020

Ninth Circuit BAP Applies Taggart to Violations of the Automatic Stay
Taggart left open the question of whether the ‘no objectively reasonable basis’ standard for discharge violations also applies to contempt of the automatic stay.
9th Circuit

March 23, 2020

Another Case Shows the Need to Provide Remedies for Discharge Violations
Discharge was violated, but sanctions are likely out of reach.
7th Circuit

March 19, 2020

Mortgage Servicer Hit with $300,000 in Actual and Punitive Damages for Stay Violation
The creditor was guilty of an automatic stay violation, but Taggart insulated the creditor from liability for a discharge violation for continuation of the same conduct.
9th Circuit, Nevada

March 18, 2020

Ninth Circuit Equivocates on ‘Collection Injunctions’ in Individual Chapter 11s
Dissenter in the Ninth Circuit says that utilizing provisions in the Bankruptcy Code is not bad faith barring confirmation.
9th Circuit

March 13, 2020

Ninth Circuit Takes a Hard Line Against Waiving Discharge Inadvertently
The Ninth Circuit may be backing off from Ybarra, a case that waives discharge for attorneys’ fees if the debtor ‘returns to the fray.’
9th Circuit

March 06, 2020

Must a Debtor Be Destitute Before Discharging Student Loans?
Unemployed for 16 months, surviving on food stamps, and living rent-free enabled a debtor to discharge student loans.
7th Circuit, Illinois, Illinois Northern District

March 03, 2020

Bankruptcy Discharge Cuts Off Future Liability on a Guaranty
Courts are split on whether a personal guaranty survives bankruptcy.
6th Circuit

March 02, 2020

Silence in the Face of a Duty to Disclose Is Not a ‘Statement,’ 9th Cir. BAP Holds
The Ninth Circuit BAP closed a loophole that would have allowed a recipient of public assistance benefits to discharge a debt for overpayment.
9th Circuit

February 27, 2020

Eleventh Circuit Opinion Shows Taggart’s Effect on Discharge Contempt Disputes
Taggart allows a court to deny a contempt motion without deciding whether the creditor’s action actually violated the discharge injunction.
11th Circuit