PLEASE HELP!! Being sued after filing chapter 7 Bankruptcy on the debt. what can I do

Hi everyone,
I am in need of some good advice. I filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in 06. A few months ago I received court papers from someone who filed small claims on me. This debt was included in the bankruptcy and was discharged. Not only did they sue me, they sued my wife in her maiden name. The debt did occur before we were married. But it was both of our debt. We live in Wisconsin and Wisconsin is a Marital Property State. I sent the court the Bankruptcy papers with my explanation. I looked a few days later on the court records and the case was dismissed in my name due to Bankruptcy but, the case was still open in my spouse’s name. We went to court on the court date and we were told due to the person not show up in court it was dismissed. I new that the person who sued us lived out of state. I explained this to the clerk of courts. The clerk said that it didn’t matter due to the fact the person did not show. A week ago I looked up the court records again to see if the case had been dismissed. My wife was still being sued and she had a new updated court date. The court says that the case was dismissed for me due to the Bankruptcy but my wife is still being sued because she was a Non-filing spouse in my bankruptcy and I filed bankruptcy on my own with out my wife. I try to explain that I filed bankruptcy on the debt and the debt was erased due to my chapter 7, we also live in a community property state and I took full responsiblty of the debt. The court states she still has to appear in court and the court commissioner will decided then. My question is what can I do about this?? I live in a martial property state. Is the debt earased due to my bankruptcy? My wife is a stay at home mom and doesn’t work so the debtor will still have to come after my income. Can I counter sue for the debtor suing me after I filed bankruptcy on the debt? How do I go about counter suing? The debtor new I filed bankruptcy and sued my wife as the primary and me as the secondary. If someone could please give me some advice and tell me what my options are I would really appreciated it. Thank you

[KevinChernEsq]

When a company pursues collection of a debt discharged in bankruptcy, that company (or individual) violates the discharge order of the court, and the bankruptcy code does provide a remedy for that--a bankruptcy case can be re-opened to address a discharge violation.

However, a discharge is valid only as to the bankruptcy petitioner (in this case, you). Where another party (such as your wife) has an independent obligation on a debt, that obligation does not disappear with the bankruptcy discharge--the discharge is only as to the person filing bankruptcy.

Given the situation you describe, it's possible that the creditor will have no means of collecting against your wife, but your bankruptcy is not grounds for dismissing the case against her.

You would do well to speak with an attorney who handles discharge violations; it's possible that an attorney could negotiate for dismissal of the claim against your wife as part of a settlement of your discharge violation claim.

Good answer! very helpful

I was just researching this as well!!!


Michigan mom

TThis question has helped me too. I am also from Wisconsin and I filed bankruptcy in October 2006. I included a particular creditor in the bankruptcy and they still filed a small claims suit against me. I did not appear in court because I did not receive the notice. Therefore a judgement has been issued against me. I am trying to get this removed from my credit report because I know they(the creditor) were not suppose to file against me if I was in an open backruptcy and they had been notified. I have the mailing matrix and the schedule with them listed.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Good answer! very helpful I was just researching this as well!!! Michigan mom

Please help! I just filed Chapter 7 and received the discharge paperwork. Before filing my Chapter 7, Asset Acceptance received two Default Judgments against me - they served a John Doe at an address that I hadn't lived for 2 years. The debt was over four years old when they received these two judgments. I was amazed they were able to get judgments, but it happened. Before I received the discharge paperwork, I obtained copies of my three credit reports. They were still open judgments, now they are still on my credit report as "paid judgments". How can this happen? Is this legal? My attorney told me they should be removed - now do I have to go to court to have these judgments dismissed (vacated)? I was hoping to just have the Chapter 7 on my credit report, not two paid judgments - this totally angers me to no end!!! I'll take any advice and any suggestions.
Thank you, Deborah

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California--

I have a similar issue, but from a different perspective:

I filed a small claims suit against someone who owed me money.

The debtor filed bankruptcy, thereby discharging my suit

The debtor accrued more debt for the same reason after she filed br.

I want to make sure I can sue her without violating the stay. - I will not sue for the same $$ from the first suit, but I will sue her for everything she accrued after that.

Is this legal?

FYI, the money she owes me was for changing the locks and not allowing me in to my own property that we coowned together. A judge ruled that she owed me the money due to lack of rental income. After the ruling, she continued to disallow me access, thereby giving cause for the additional suits.
Thank you for your insight.

If you co-owned the property together, you were well within your rights to hire a locksmith to let you back in, and then promptly change the locks. She can change the locks if she wants to, but then, so can you.

You can take her to small claims court if she accumulated more debt AFTER her bankruptcy.

Thanks,
I guess I'm wondering about the definition of "more debt"

There were some personal property items of ours that I didn't claim in the first suit, which she then sold off (after filing)- such as stove, dishwasher, expensive fountain...

Also, she continued living in the house without paying me rent or allowing access for 2-3 more months after her filing.

I assume both of those are criteria for debt incurred after her filing. ???

Thanks again!