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Bankruptcy Court Dischargeable Debts

Troutman Amin LLP

TCPA DEBT CAN’T BE DISCHARGED IN BK?: Court Rejects Diana Mey’s Effort to Deem TCPA Judgment Non-Dischargeable In Bankruptcy–But...

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One of the most unfair rules in American jurisprudence is the one holding individuals personally liable under the TCPA for actions they take as part of their employment. In almost every setting in the law if you do something...more

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

Rivkin Radler LLP

Supreme Court Rejects Purdue Pharma’s Bankruptcy Plan

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On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a $6 billion bankruptcy settlement in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L. P., No. 23-124, 2024 WL 3187799, at *11 (U.S. June 27, 2024). The Court found that the Bankruptcy Code does...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

Ward and Smith, P.A.

A Discharge Lesson Courtesy of the Worst Person in the World

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

Alex Jones, the despicable, chest-thumping, conspiracy-peddling radio host, for years, blabbered on his radio show that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. When the families of the murdered children sued him...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

PAGA Dischargeable in Bankruptcy?

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Portions of employer liability in California PAGA actions are dischargeable in bankruptcy under a bankruptcy court decision issued this summer. Specifically, employers’ liability for the 25% share of PAGA penalties to be...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

Ward and Smith, P.A.

No Discharge for Bonnie, No Discharge for Clyde.

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

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

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

U.S. Supreme Court: Debt Incurred by Partner’s Fraud is Non-Dischargeable in Bankruptcy

On February 22, 2023, in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. __ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a debtor who is liable for her partner’s fraud cannot discharge that debt in bankruptcy, regardless of her own...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

Epstein Becker & Green

Does the Left Hand Need to Know What the Right Is Doing: The Supreme Court Holds That Fraudulent Debts of One Partner Cannot Be...

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Selecting a business partner, much like selecting a spouse, involves a great deal of trust in the other’s representations and conduct as the actions of one, for better or worse, can be attributed to the other. The intricacies...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

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

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Free and Clear of Post-Petition Guarantor Liability—Not So Fast: A Bankruptcy Discharge May Not Apply to Post-petition Claims...

A somewhat common question that arises after a bankruptcy discharge is granted is whether post-petition liabilities are discharged under pre-petition agreements, like guaranties. To describe the issue in more digestible...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

Freeman Law

Bankruptcy in the Northern District of Texas and Attorneys’ Fees

Freeman Law on

In re Shayne Allan Steen and Tracie Melissa Cole, Case No. 20-50042 (Bankr. N.D. Tex, July 7, 2021) deals with a debtor’s attorneys’ fees incurred in defending the debtor in a non-dischargeability adversary proceeding filed...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Maryland Court Discharges Student Debt

As we reported, on June 21, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to revisit the rigid Brunner standard for determining “undue hardship” capable of discharging student debt.  The same day, United States Bankruptcy Judge...more

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Maryland Bankruptcy Court Rules Corporate Debtors May Discharge Nondischargeable Debts in Subchapter V Chapter 11 Case

The Small Business Restructuring Act of 2019, Pub. L. 116-54, 133 Stat. 1079 (Aug. 23, 2019) (“SBRA”) became effective February 19, 2020. SBRA, among other things, created a new Subchapter V under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of...more

Holland & Knight LLP

U.S. Court of Appeals Holds That Climate Change Tort Claims are Dischargeable in Bankruptcy

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On May 6, 2020, in the case of In re Peabody Energy Corporation, 958 F.3d 717 (8th Cir.), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held, in an apparent case of first impression, that state statutory and common-law...more

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