Why Can’t a Creditor Chase You After Your Bankruptcy?

What makes it illegal for your creditor to pursue a discharged debt? What penalties may get awarded to you if a creditor breaks the law?

Chasing a Discharged Debt is a Violation of Federal Law

The Bankruptcy Code makes it perfectly clear that for a creditor to try to collect on a debt after it is discharged under either Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” or Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” is illegal. Section 524 of the Bankruptcy Code is about the legal effect of a discharge of debt. Subsection (a)(2) of that section says that a discharge of debts in a bankruptcy “operates as an injunction against” any acts to collect debts included in that bankruptcy case. Acts explicitly stated as illegal include:

the commencement or continuation of an action, the employment of process, or an act, to collect, recover or offset any such debt as a personal liability of the debtor.

In other words, the creditor can’t start or continue a lawsuit or any legal procedure against you, and can’t act in any other way to collect the debt.

What If a Creditor Violates This Injunction?

Nowhere in Section 524 of the Code does it say anything about what happens if a creditor violates the law by disregarding that injunction. The section does not clearly say what, if anything, the penalties are for a creditor caught doing so.

However, even though no penalties are specified in THAT section, there is a strong consensus among courts all over the country that bankruptcy courts can penalize creditors for violating the discharge injunction through another section of the Bankruptcy Code, Section 105, titled “Power of Court.” The idea is that the injunction against pursuing a discharged debt is a court order, and so a creditor violating it is in contempt of court. So the usual penalties for those who act in civil contempt of court apply.

Penalties Assessed Against Violating Creditors

These penalties for civil contempt can include “compensatory” damages and “punitive” damages.

Compensatory damages are intended to compensate you for harm you suffered because of the creditor’s violation of the injunction. These potentially include actual damages such as time lost from work or other financial losses, emotional distress caused by the illegal action against you, and attorney fees and costs you’ve incurred as a result.

Punitive damages are to punish the creditor for its illegal behavior. So the judge looks at how bad the creditor’s behavior was in determining whether punitive damages are appropriate and how much to award.

Conclusion

The vast majority of the time creditors in a bankruptcy case write the debts off their books and you never hear about those debts again. But even though it’s illegal for creditors to try to collect on a debt that’s been legally written off in bankruptcy, once in a while they do try. Some creditors don’t keep good records or simply aren’t all that serious about following the law.

So after you receive your bankruptcy discharge, if you hear from one of your old creditors trying to collect its debt contact your attorney right away. This needs immediate attention. If the creditor’s behavior is particularly egregious, you and your attorney should discuss whether to strike back at the creditor for violating the law. There might possibly even be some money in it for you.