A state court judgment for breach of contract was dischargeable in the debtor’s chapter 7 bankruptcy where the breach occurred when the debtor, acting as Power of Attorney for her mother, entered into a contract with her mother’s nursing home and, acting upon advice from her mother’s legal counsel, failed to comply with its terms. The court found the debtor was not a fiduciary with respect to the nursing home and did not act with willfulness or malice. Presbyterian Home for Central NY, Inc. v. DeFazio, No. 20-80009 (June 23, 2022). [Read more…] about Debtor Not Fiduciary to Mother’s Nursing Home
Terms of Promissory Note Not Enough to Show Nondischargeability of Student Loan
Because it was unclear whether the debtor’s private student loan was issued under the auspices of a federally-funded program, neither the debtor nor the student loan creditor were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of whether the loan was excepted from discharge under section 523(a)(8)(A)(i). Mazloom v. Navient Solutions, LLC., No. 18-60206, Adv. Proc. No. 20-80033 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y. March 29, 2022).
The debtor received a $38,400 private student loan through the EXCEL Grad Loan Program to fund her attendance in medical school. The lender was Nellie Mae, Navient’s predecessor in interest. The debtor filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy listing the loan as a “student loan.” Two years after she received her discharge, the bankruptcy court allowed the debtor to reopen her bankruptcy case to bring an adversary complaint against Navient seeking a declaration that her loan did not fall under any of the student loan exceptions enumerated in section 523(a)(8)(A) and had therefore been discharged in bankruptcy. [Read more…] about Terms of Promissory Note Not Enough to Show Nondischargeability of Student Loan