Friend declared bankruptcy

[quincy]

Does it stand to reason that since I did not receive any such notice that I may be able to pursue the matter in small claims court? My friend was making diligent payments for eight months of $100 per month. All of the sudden they stopped. I didn’t question him about it for three months. After three months of no payments I asked him about it. He stated that I was breaking federal bankruptcy laws simply by asking him about it. And it seems to me that since I did not receive any official notice that I wasn’t breaking any laws. I only have his word that he declared bankruptcy. I don’t know for sure that he actually did honestly. We entered into a verbal agreement after the bankruptcy that he would pay me back. Does that hold any merit whatsoever? My spouse is a witness to that. I suppose he may be able to append the bankruptcy and add me as a creditor? Would eight months of diligent payments be able to show his intent of paying me back and add credibility to my claim of our verbal agreement?

Well ... did you know about the bankruptcy filing and/or did your friend intentionally leave off your debt from his list of creditors?

You can have your situation reviewed by a bankruptcy attorney in your area to see if you can still collect on the debt. It is possible (I don't know how probable) that it was not discharged in the bankruptcy.

We have a bankruptcy attorney who posts to this forum. Perhaps "despritfreya" will stop by and take a look at your thread.

 

[Mtdownard]

Well ... did you know about the bankruptcy filing and/or did your friend intentionally leave off your debt from his list of creditors?

You can have your situation reviewed by a bankruptcy attorney in your area to see if you can still collect on the debt. It is possible (I don't know how probable) that it was not discharged in the bankruptcy.

We have a bankruptcy attorney who posts to this forum. Perhaps "despritfreya" will stop by and take a look at your thread.

All I can say at this point is that he I know he told me verbally that he had declared bankruptcy. I honestly don’t know for certain that he declared bankruptcy. Part of my question was, if I was added as one of his creditors, would I had received any notice of that in the mail from the bankruptcy court? You stated I “should have.“ I can tell you that I did not receive any such notice. I have no idea of his intent to leave me off of the list of creditors. At this point I’m assuming that I was not included in the list of creditors because I did not receive any notice. However, he stated to me that I was included in the list of creditors when I asked him why the payments had stopped.

I have already made an appointment for this coming Tuesday to speak with a bankruptcy attorney. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s contributions to this thread.

 

[quincy]

All I can say at this point is that he I know he told me verbally that he had declared bankruptcy. I honestly don’t know for certain that he declared bankruptcy. Part of my question was, if I was added as one of his creditors, would I had received any notice of that in the mail from the bankruptcy court? You stated I “should have.“ I can tell you that I did not receive any such notice. I have no idea of his intent to leave me off of the list of creditors. At this point I’m assuming that I was not included in the list of creditors because I did not receive any notice. However, he stated to me that I was included in the list of creditors when I asked him why the payments had stopped.

I have already made an appointment for this coming Tuesday to speak with a bankruptcy attorney. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s contributions to this thread.

It is my understanding that you would have been notified had you been listed as a creditor on the bankruptcy filing.

From the case I cited earlier, the Court said that IF there is no appropriate notice provided a creditor in time for the creditor to file a proof of claim by the proof of claim deadline, such claim will still be dischargeable IF notice is provided in sufficient time to allow creditor to file a claim and receive a pro rata distribution. (bolding and caps added)

There might not have been any funds available for distribution, however.

I think a personal review by a bankruptcy attorney in your area is a good idea. Facts need to be reviewed.

And you can check back here later to see if despritfreya has had the chance to respond.

 

[LdiJ]

Does it stand to reason that since I did not receive any such notice that I may be able to pursue the matter in small claims court? My friend was making diligent payments for eight months of $100 per month. All of the sudden they stopped. I didn’t question him about it for three months. After three months of no payments I asked him about it. He stated that I was breaking federal bankruptcy laws simply by asking him about it. And it seems to me that since I did not receive any official notice that I wasn’t breaking any laws. I only have his word that he declared bankruptcy. I don’t know for sure that he actually did honestly. We entered into a verbal agreement after the bankruptcy that he would pay me back. Does that hold any merit whatsoever? My spouse is a witness to that. I suppose he may be able to append the bankruptcy and add me as a creditor? Would eight months of diligent payments be able to show his intent of paying me back and add credibility to my claim of our verbal agreement?

Here is the problem. If your debt actually was discharged in bankruptcy then you would be actually committing a crime to continue to pursue him for the debt. Therefore, suing him in small claims court would be dangerous for you.

Unfortunately, its far more likely that your particular debt WAS discharged in bankruptcy than it wasn't.

 

[quincy]

There is a lot left unknown. It would be smart for Mtdownard to check to see, first of all, if there was in fact a bankruptcy filing.

 

[despritfreya]

The post discharge payment of $100/month did not revive the discharged debt.

A debtor has the right to voluntarily repay any obligation that was subject to a discharge. See 11 USC 524(f).

Making payments post discharge for a debt that was not reaffirmed pre discharge does not revive the debt or create a new debt regardless of a written or oral agreement. Ask the nearly bankrupt Sears about that one.

As to the omitted debt, unless there was a bar date for the filing of claims, the obligation was discharged in all jurisdictions that I know of. The comment that a no asset case alone may not be enough is correct in some jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions look to whether or not a claims bar date (a notice telling creditors to get a proof of claim filed) was issued. If such a date was issued then an omitted debt may not be subject to the discharge even if it turns out that there were no assets to distribute. (Hope I did not just confuse everyone).

OP, my recommendation is that you let it go. Next time, don't loan money. You are not the bank.

Des.

 

[quincy]

The post discharge payment of $100/month did not revive the discharged debt.

A debtor has the right to voluntarily repay any obligation that was subject to a discharge. See 11 USC 524(f).

Making payments post discharge for a debt that was not reaffirmed pre discharge does not revive the debt or create a new debt regardless of a written or oral agreement. Ask the nearly bankrupt Sears about that one.

As to the omitted debt, unless there was a bar date for the filing of claims, the obligation was discharged in all jurisdictions that I know of. The comment that a no asset case alone may not be enough is correct in some jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions look to whether or not a claims bar date (a notice telling creditors to get a proof of claim filed) was issued. If such a date was issued then an omitted debt may not be subject to the discharge even if it turns out that there were no assets to distribute. (Hope I did not just confuse everyone).

OP, my recommendation is that you let it go. Next time, don't loan money. You are not the bank.

Des.

Thank you, despritfreya.

And your last bit of advice is good for everyone to follow.

 

[Mtdownard]

The post discharge payment of $100/month did not revive the discharged debt.

A debtor has the right to voluntarily repay any obligation that was subject to a discharge. See 11 USC 524(f).

Making payments post discharge for a debt that was not reaffirmed pre discharge does not revive the debt or create a new debt regardless of a written or oral agreement. Ask the nearly bankrupt Sears about that one.

As to the omitted debt, unless there was a bar date for the filing of claims, the obligation was discharged in all jurisdictions that I know of. The comment that a no asset case alone may not be enough is correct in some jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions look to whether or not a claims bar date (a notice telling creditors to get a proof of claim filed) was issued. If such a date was issued then an omitted debt may not be subject to the discharge even if it turns out that there were no assets to distribute. (Hope I did not just confuse everyone).

OP, my recommendation is that you let it go. Next time, don't loan money. You are not the bank.

Des.

Thanks for the response. Question: What if the debt was NOT listed or discharged in the original bankruptcy filling? I would imagine he has the option of adding it for a certain period of time. It has been over a year since the bankruptcy was filed. Also, shouldn’t I have received some type of notification from the bankruptcy court if the debt was listed in the original filing? My friend is claiming that I “broke the law” simply by asking him one time about why the payments had ceased. I only have his word that he filed, but if I never received any official notification, how could I possibly even know that the debt had been discharged? Did I “break the law” by asking why payments had stopped? Shouldn’t a creditor receive notification?

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the response. Question: What if the debt was NOT listed or discharged in the original bankruptcy filling? I would imagine he has the option of adding it for a certain period of time. It has been over a year since the bankruptcy was filed. Also, shouldn’t I have received some type of notification from the bankruptcy court if the debt was listed in the original filing? My friend is claiming that I “broke the law” simply by asking him one time about why the payments had ceased. I only have his word that he filed, but if I never received any official notification, how could I possibly even know that the debt had been discharged? Did I “break the law” by asking why payments had stopped? Shouldn’t a creditor receive notification?

First, find out if there was a bankruptcy.

 

[Mtdownard]

First, find out if there was a bankruptcy.

That seems to be a Catch 22?....If I ask him about the bankruptcy, then he’ll tell me that I’m breaking federal law for asking him about the debt? I’m still unclear regarding the legal question regarding the issue that I should have received some type of an official notification from the bankruptcy court regarding any discharge of the debt. The funny thing is, is that I feel that I gave him plenty of latitude in the fact that I didn’t even question him about it for three months. The first time that I asked him about why the payments had ceased, he got completely defensive and told me that I was the one breaking the law.

 

[quincy]

That seems to be a Catch 22?....If I ask him about the bankruptcy, then he’ll tell me that I’m breaking federal law for asking him about the debt? I’m still unclear regarding the legal question regarding the issue that I should have received some type of an official notification from the bankruptcy court regarding any discharge of the debt. The funny thing is, is that I feel that I gave him plenty of latitude in the fact that I didn’t even question him about it for three months. The first time that I asked him about why the payments had ceased, he got completely defensive and told me that I was the one breaking the law.

You can go to the bankruptcy court where the bankruptcy would have been filed (if it was filed) to check the records or you can search online (try: https://www.pacer.gov).

 

[Taxing Matters]

That seems to be a Catch 22?....If I ask him about the bankruptcy, then he’ll tell me that I’m breaking federal law for asking him about the debt?

You don't violate the discharge order by simply asking him for information on the bankruptcy. If he indeed did file bankruptcy he ought to be able to tell you the court it was filed in and the case number. If he is unwilling to do that then he may be lying about having filed bankruptcy to get you off his back. You can check with the bankruptcy court yourself to see if he filed. quincy gave you a link to Pacer to that.

 

[quincy]

... Count the 800 as a windfall, and move on.

Perhaps doucar's advice offered in the first response to Mtdownard (as quoted above) is the best advice.

If the amount owing were larger, it might be more worth investigating and pursuing.