Document Type
Research Memorandum
Publication Date
2018
Abstract
(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 benefits of the automatic stay.
The automatic stay is one of the essential protections afforded to a debtor. The automatic stay is granted upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition and functions as an immediate injunction, preventing creditors from collecting debtor’s assets while still preserving the creditor’s rights. Protection lasts until the debtor’s petition for discharge is granted or denied.
A debtor files for bankruptcy in order to have its debts discharged. Discharge affords the debtors a clean slate and relieves the debtor of its obligations owed to its creditors. The injunction provided by the automatic stay is pivotal to the debtor obtaining discharge. However, not all debt is dischargeable. When debt arises from “false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud,” debtors are denied discharge and a “fresh start.”
Collateral estoppel denies a party the opportunity to relitigate an issue when the party was provided a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue and the elements of the issue in the lower court are identical to the elements of the issue in the subsequent court. This usually precludes an issue from being adjudicated in bankruptcy court after it has been adjudicated in state court. Depending on when the debtor files for bankruptcy in the initial litigation, all elements of fraud may have been adjudicated and, thus, the debtor may be collaterally estopped in the subsequent litigation. If so, the debtor would be unable to avail itself to the protections of the automatic stay.
This memorandum explores the relationship between the automatic stay and collateral estoppel in a section 523(a)(2)(A) bankruptcy proceeding against a debtor that stemmed from a state court finding of fraud against a debtor-owned business. Part I of the memorandum analyzes the legislative intent surrounding section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code. Part II examines how common law dictates when a debtor should file for bankruptcy. Overall, this memorandum illustrates how collateral estoppel prevents a debtor’s subsequent filing for bankruptcy from providing the debtor the opportunity to discharge his or her debts after a debtor-owned business has been adjudicated for actual fraud.