In re Smith (00-10389)
In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, plaintiff sought to prevent discharge of a debt that was incurred during her marriage to debtor and that debtor was required to pay under a divorce decree. The Court denied plaintiff’s request under Sections 727(a)(2)(B) and (a)(4)(A) because debtor demonstrated a lack of fraudulent intent in omitting certain assets from the schedules accompanying his bankruptcy petition and later affirming the accuracy of the schedules. The Court denied plaintiff’s request under Section 523(a)(15) because the benefit of discharge to debtor, who struggled to maintain a job and to make utility payments, outweighed the detriment to plaintiff, who showed no similar financial difficulties and was relying on payment of the debt to enable her to satisfy future discretionary expenses.
