Depressed Debtor Denied Bankruptcy For Destroying Records
By L. Jed Berliner, Western & Central Massachusetts Bankruptcy Attorney on Mar 4, 2008 in Bankruptcy Cases & Legislation, Debts Not Dischargeable, Discharge of Debt
So who doesn’t get depressed when filing for bankruptcy protections? Still, you need to be careful about holding onto your records.
In Lassman v. Keefe (In re Keefe), 380 B.R. 116 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2008), a builder incorporated his business. He became depressed when he ran into difficult times and put all his records in a plastic bin. He received physical threats from his customers, and his depression made him ill just by looking a the bin containing his records. Finally, he tossed the bin into the trash.
The judge ruled that there was no malicious intent and that the destruction was benign. However, the act was not justified and destroyed the trustee’s ability to determine what money was owed the corporation and the accuracy of any claims. His bankruptcy discharge was denied.
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