Law Commons^™

Debtor Needs To Have Benefitted From Fraud To Be Barred A Discharge Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(A)(2)(A), Elizabeth Tighe

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) provides that a court may grant a debtor a discharge of its debts, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. One exception to dischargeability is set forth in section 523(a)(2)(A), which bars a discharge from debt “for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or refinancing of credit, to the extent obtained by . . . false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud, other than a statement respecting the debtor's or an insider's financial condition.”

A key phrase in the statute is “obtained by” and courts have applied a …

A District Court May Not Enjoin Third-Party Claims Against Insurers In A Securities-Fraud Receivership Without Alternative Compensation Scheme, Justin Henderson

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Within its equitable power, a district court may place the assets of a defendant into receivership and appoint a receiver to protect a plaintiff’s interest in property where the rights over that property are disputed. In general, the purpose of this equity receivership is to marshal assets, preserve value, equitably distribute to creditors, and, either reorganize, or orderly liquidate. This power is an extraordinary remedy only justified by extreme situations, such as where there is a high probability that fraudulent conduct has occurred or will occur to frustrate the claim, or when there is a threat that the disputed …

Constructive Trusts And Fraudulent Transfers: When Worlds Collide, David G. Carlson

Articles

When Ponzi schemes collapse and enter into bankruptcy liquidation, bankruptcy trustees assume that conveyances made by the debtor for no consideration are fraudulent conveyances. This Article argues that they are not. Virtually all the assets held by a Ponzi scheme are held in constructive trust for the victims of the fraud. If victims of the fraud can trace the proceeds of their investments into property transferred to a third party, the third party holds the asset transferred in trust for the relevant victim. When a bankruptcy trustee characterizes the asset as a fraudulently conveyed asset, the trustee expropriates the asset …

Stop Right There! Assessing The Role Of Collateral Estoppel In A Fraud Proceeding Against A Debtor And A Debtor-Owned Business, Brandon Dorman

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

In an adversary proceeding, under section 523(a)(2)(A) of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), to determine the non-dischargeability of a debt based upon fraud, a state courts finding of fraud against a debtor-owned business may collaterally estop the debtor in the adversary proceeding from relitigating the issue of fraud. Essential to this issue is the timing at which the debtor filed for bankruptcy. Timing is critical in determining whether the prior decision against the debtor-owned business in the state court action collaterally estopped the litigation against the debtor or whether the debtor was afforded the …

A Showing Of Gross Recklessness Satisfies Section 523(A)(2)(A): Denying Deceivers The Ability To Discharge Debts Related To Fraudulently Obtained Funds, Megan Kuzniewski

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

11 U.S.C. Section 523(a) lists certain debts that may not be discharged through a debtor’s bankruptcy. In particular, section 523(a)(2)(A) provides that a debtor who files bankruptcy will not be discharged of debts that were obtained by “false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud, other than a statement respecting the debtor’s or an insider’s financial condition.” False representations, such as those described in section 523(a)(2)(A), carry a scienter requirement which requires that it be shown that an individual knowingly made false statements or representations. This requirement carries a heavy burden, as trying to prove that a person had …

An Assignee Has The Same Right Of Non-Dischargeability Under Section 523(A)(2)(B) As The Assignor, Justin W. Curcio

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

The Bankruptcy Code affords an “honest but unfortunate debtor” a “fresh start” by discharging certain prior financial obligations of the debtor. The bankruptcy process allows debtors to “reorder their affairs, make peace with their creditors, and enjoy ‘a new opportunity in life with a clear field for future effort, unhampered by the pressure and discouragement of preexisting debt.’” However, there are limitations on a debtor’s ability to obtain a discharge. For example, a creditor that lent money to a debtor based on a fraudulent writing can seek a determination that the debt is non-dischargeabile under section 523(a)(2)(B).

Issues arise …

The Maxwell Case, John A. E. Pottow

Book Chapters

This chapter will provide some broader context regarding the famous Maxwell Communication bankruptcy, which is one of the most significant cross-border insolvency precedents to date.1 It does so by first looking at Bob Maxwell's life and business in roughly chronological stages (the good, the bad, and the ugly). It then explores the insolvency proceedings that bear his name (the beautiful) and one specific litigation action within those proceedings of particular importance (the exquisite). Finally, it offers some brief reflection on what the Maxwell case may have taught us (the sublime).

The Nondischargeability Of Student Loans In Personal Bankruptcy Proceedings: The Search For A Theory, John A. E. Pottow

Articles

In fiscal year 2002, approximately 5.8 million Americans borrowed $38 billion (USD) in federal student loans. This was more than triple the $11.7 billion borrowed in 1990. As a rule of thumb, tuition has been increasing at roughly double the rate of inflation in recent years. This troubling trend of accelerating tuition, coupled with the fact that real income has stagnated for men and increased only modestly for women over the past two decades, means that more and more students are going to need to turn to borrowed money to finance their degrees absent a radical restructuring of the postsecondary …

Proprietary Relief Without Rescission, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Halley v. The Law Society [2003] EWCA Civ 97 has the potential to muddy the waters of the law of rescission. It is a fundamental principle that a fraudulent misrepresentation renders a contract voidable at the instance of the representee (Bristol and West Building Society v. Mothew [1998] Ch. 1, 22). Modern authorities suggest that the representee does not have any proprietary interest in property transferred by him pursuant to the contract before rescission (see Bristol and West Building Society v. Mothew [1998] Ch. 1, 22-23; Twinsectra Ltd. v. Yardley [1999] Lloyd's …

Flight And Fugitive Issues In Bankruptcy Fraud Cases, Angela J. Davis

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

The Past And Future Of Kentucky's Fraudulent Transfer And Preference Laws, Douglas C. Michael

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

An important part of the law of creditors' remedies is the ability of creditors to recover property formerly held by the debtor, but transferred to others under circumstances that are considered to be unfair or inequitable. There are two principal ways a creditor can seek to have a debtor's transfer characterized as unfair in order to recover it. First, a transfer to another creditor or a third party can be fraudulent as to one or all of the remaining creditors, or may be deemed to be fraudulent because of the circumstances surrounding the transfer, such as a transfer made by …

Presumptions Affecting The Recovery Of Preferences By Trustee In Bankruptcy, Fowler V. Harper

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.