“Dear Steve,
I sold a house and the buyer sued me for nondisclosure. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the buyer and ordered that the contract be rescinded. Now I have to buy back the property and pay all costs related to the transaction including attorney fees.
Can I declare bankruptcy to get rid of this debt?
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Mari”
Dear Mari,
Don’t see why not since this is a civil and not criminal issue.
Find a local bankruptcy attorney that you like and make an appointment to go in and discuss this issue with them.
Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code contains a laundry list of debts that are not dischargeable. Some debts such as domestic support obligations or recent tax debt are automatically nondischargeable. Other debts such as debts incurred by fraud are dischargeable unless the credit files an lawsuit in bankruptcy court called and adversary proceeding. It is basically a lawsuit to seek to create an exception to your discharge.
If you made any fraudulent misrepresentations, then the buyer could have legal grounds to prevent a discharge of this particular debt. However, they only have a short time to file the adversary proceed. Many creditors don’t know this.
I suggest finding a bankruptcy attorney that is also familiar with bankruptcy court litigation in case you need assistance defending a possible adversary proceeding.
.-= Carl H. Starrett II´s last blog ..Staying in Business While Filing For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – Part II =-.