Non-dischargeability case
May 05, 2015OUTCOME: Client prevailed completely on nondischargeability issues
We got our ruling after completing a multi day trial in bankruptcy court which the court took under submission in November 2014. I represented a debtor in a chapter 13 bankruptcy. My client was sued on ... a debt that the plaintiffs were contending was non-dischargeable because of alleged fraud, defalcation, conversion, etc. Non-dischargeable simply means that the debt despite bankruptcy will not be voided. The debt remains owed despited the filing of the bankruptcy. The plaintiffs threw in to their complaint against my client everything they could think of, plus the kitchen sink for good measure. The case arose out of two friends who borrowed money from friend no.2's mother to start a business. Debtor was friend no. 1. When the great recession struck, plaintiffs' unreasonable expectations met reality. Plaintiffs could not grasp that sometimes businesses fail and that there is no "blame". Plaintiffs crafted a tale of horror about debtor's alleged bad behavior and requested the court find that debtor's debt to the plaintiff was not-dischargeable. Proving the adage that sometimes in the law you have to take your lumps, we made the plaintiffs go to trial. Plaintiffs failed to prove the debt was non-dischargeable and debtor won a resounding victory.
