Discharge/Dischargeability

A ‘Plausible’ Claim for a Discharge Violation Is No Longer Sufficient after Taggart

An Alabama case shows how Taggart heightened the pleading standards for a complaint alleging a violation of the discharge injunction.

In the More Lenient Eighth Circuit, Debtors Knock Off $130,000 in Student Loans

Judge Collins discharges all but $23,900 among nine student loans totaling $154,000.

How to Draft a Judgment to Be Nondischargeable in Bankruptcy

To be nondischargeable, a stipulated judgment must lay out facts showing the debt was incurred by false representation or actual fraud.

Is Under Oath Enough? Issues of Evidence Considered at Summary Judgment

Sept 2019

Overpaying a DSO Doesn’t Result in a Nondischargeable Debt, Seventh Circuit Holds

On an issue dividing the courts, the Seventh Circuit rules that an obligation to repay a domestic support obligation is a dischargeable debt, not a nondischargeable DSO.

Self-Inflicted Disability Won’t Make Student Loans Dischargeable, BAP Says

The BAP avoided making a rule that would have allowed convicted felons to discharge student loans more easily than debtors with clean records.

Second Circuit Opinion Raises Questions Left Open by Taggart v. Lorenzen

If a lower court buys an argument that’s clearly wrong, is the argument nonetheless ‘objectively reasonable?’ And does Taggart apply to an automatic stay violation?

Benchnotes August 2019

August 2019

Moving Beyond Medical Debt