|
Indemnitor filed bankruptcy, Bail Bond Company unable to collect
In re Lopes, 2006 WL 695748 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. March 21, 2006) rejected the professional bail bond agency's objections to the dischargeability of its claim against the debtor. The debtor was an indemnitor on a bail bond written for her husband. The husband failed to appear, and the bond agency paid the forfeiture. The indemnitor then filed for bankruptcy. The bond agency argued that the debt should be non-dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(7) as a fine, penalty or forfeiture payable to or for the benefit of a governmental unit that is not compensation for an actual pecuniary loss. The court held that the debt was a simple contractual obligation owed to a private party and was to compensate the bond agency for its pecuniary loss in paying the forfeiture. The court recognized that if the debtor had been the principal on the bond, and therefore directly obligated to the government, the bond agency could have been subrogated to the government's rights and argued that the money owed on the bond was a penalty and not compensation for a pecuniary loss.
We will always answer the phone - 1.800.662.0056
< Bail Bond News Home |
|
