QUESTION
How do I file to prevent a debt I am owed from being discharged in chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Asked on May 09th, 2016 on Bankruptcy - Florida
More details to this question:
I have won a judgment and a motion for period payments against the defendant. When he failed to pay I did a writ of garnishment and he immediately filed chapter 7. The issue is this debt to me happened from fraud where he charged thousands to a business card without permission and they were not business expenses. The case is now in state of FL middle district bankruptcy court and I am struggling to find what forms and communication is required to ask for this particular debt to not be discharged.
1 ANSWER
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If you have a debt for "fraud" you can seek to have that debt declared Non-Dischargeable by the Bankruptcy Court. Unfortunately, this requires a few steps. The starting point is the actual Judgment you received. Did it include findings that the Debtor committed fraud? How much of your damages were associated with Fraud? Unfortunatley, more often than not, the state court judgment is not clear. This will cause some challenges.
In general, there may need to be a lawsuit in bankruptcy to have the debt declared non-dischargeable under 523(A)(4). You will be suing to prove the exact nature of the debt and how much will survive the bankruptcy. If it was 100% clear, you will likely find that Debtor's counsel will be working with you to get to a stipulation that addresses this issue.
This is a VERY DIFFICULT process to do without an attorney. Especially because the bias in Bankruptcy court is that the Debt will not survive discharge.
Answered on May 10th, 2016 at 12:31 PM