Skavysh v. Katsman

Katsman, represented by an attorney, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. After she filed Schedule F, on which the debtor is required to list all entities holding unsecured claims, the trustee reported that no assets were available for distribution. Before discharge was ordered, Skavysh, the son of Katsman’s ex-husband, filed an adversary proceeding invoking 11 U.S.C. 727(a)(4)(A). The bankruptcy judge conducted a trial of Skavysh’s objection to discharge and concluded that although there were omissions in Katsman’s schedules, they were not fraudulent. The only witness was Katsman; the judge decided that her testimony was truthful. The district judge reversed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that Katsman admitted that she had deliberately omitted creditors from her Schedule F: friends and family members who had lent her money during her acrimonious divorce from Skavysh’s father. She also failed to list property that she owned jointly with her ex-husband, including her home in Indiana and a time share in Las Vegas and alimony payments. The court found that “her many false statements bespeak a pattern of reckless indifference to the truth, implying fraudulent intent,” noting that despite her claims of ignorance of the law, she knows English and had competent counsel. View "Skavysh v. Katsman" on Justia Law