Discharge/Dischargeability

Benchnotes September 2021

Sept 2021

A Motion to Dismiss as of Right Doesn’t Bar the Court from Dismissing with Prejudice

Ninth Circuit BAP doesn’t require a formal motion to dismiss with prejudice when a debtor files a voluntary motion to dismiss as of right under Section 1307(b).

Recent Developments Relating to the Automatic Stay and Discharge (and Post-Discharge) Violations

Circuits Split on Allowing Debtors to Cure Chapter 13 Plan Defaults After Five Years

Tenth Circuit splits with the Third and Seventh Circuits on allowing a debtor to cure defaults after a five-year plan has ended.

General Default Judgment Didn’t Satisfy Requirements of Issue Preclusion, Circuit Says

If the complaint was properly plead, a general default judgment might invoke issue preclusion to bar discharge of a debt.

All Private Student Loans Are Not Excepted from Discharge, Second Circuit Holds

No circuit split: The Second Circuit agrees with the Fifth and Tenth Circuits that only a subset of private student loans is automatically nondischargeable.

Maryland Decision Shows the Hardship Imposed on Debtors by Student Loans

Judge Harner does the best she can to ease the burden imposed on a debtor by student loans.