Discharge/Dischargeability

First Circuit Reverses the BAP for Fact-Finding on Appeal

First Circuit requires detailed fact-finding by the bankruptcy court on the credibility of witnesses and the elements of nondischargeability for false representations.

Student Loan Update and the State of Higher Education Across Jurisdictions

Circuit Split Widens over Discharging Taxes on Late-Filed Returns

The Supreme Court has ducked the split twice in recent years but should tackle the question this time around.

Technicalities Insulated a Lawyer from Liability for Misusing an IOLA

A creditor lost a dischargeability suit by failing to call the right witnesses to prove that a lawyer’s trust account was used to hide assets.

Debt of $46,000 Discharged Despite a Flagrantly False Loan Application

Even though the debtor defaulted, Judge Christopher Klein held a trial and ruled that the lender had not relied on a false loan application.

Consumer Bankruptcy Legal Update (2020 Paskay Seminar)

Courts Interpret Brunner Too Harshly, Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris Says

A debtor with a law degree but only $37,500 in gross annual income was permitted to discharge more than $220,000 in student loans.

Holding a Contempt Hearing May Be Ok, but the Remedy Might Violate Automatic Stay

A contempt hearing fell under the ‘criminal’ exception to the automatic stay, but jailing a debtor to coerce payment of a prepetition debt violated the stay, Judge Grossman ruled.