Personal Injury Claims and Bankruptcy (Part Two)

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Trey Mills

 

In Part One, I explained that if you don’t list your personal injury claim in your bankruptcy, you don’t “own it” any longer and don’t have the right to pursue the personal injury claim.   In this post I’ll tell you about another problem you’ll have and about a real case right here in South Carolina.

Judicial Estoppel Can Really Cause You Problems

If you fail to list legal claims during your bankruptcy, you may forever lose the right to pursue those claims. Once the other lawyer finds out your bankruptcy is inaccurate, you can’t say, “Whoops, I guess I’ll call my bankruptcy lawyer and list that claim on my schedules!” It’s too late.   

This problem just raised its ugly head in the United States District Court here in South Carolina.  Blanche Wright had a legal claim against Richard Guess alleging violation of her civil rights. But when Ms. Wright filed bankruptcy, she didn’t list the federal lawsuit. 

Predictably, the defense attorney found out about her bankruptcy filing. And they always do, by the way.

The defense then asked the court to dismiss Ms. Wright’s case because (1) she didn’t have standing to bring it—that is, she didn’t “own” the claim; her bankruptcy estate did, and (2) because Ms. Wright’s claims should be barred because of judicial estoppel.

What Exactly is Judicial Estoppel Anyway?

As Judge Anderson explained, “judicial estoppel is ‘an equitable doctrine that prevents a party who has successfully taken a position in one proceeding from taking the opposite position in a subsequent proceeding.’” This means you can’t say, “I have no legal claims” in your bankruptcy by not listing your personal injury case, then turn around and say, “I do have a legal claim” in your state or federal court case. You can’t “play fast and loose with the courts,” as Judge Anderson explained in Ms. Wright’s case.     

Although Ms. Wright actually amended her bankruptcy after the defense filed its motion to dismiss, this didn’t impress Judge Anderson, who stated, “[c]ourts have repeatedly rejected the argument that judicial estoppel should not be applied when the debtor-plaintiff has attempted to remedy an omission by amending her bankruptcy filings.” 

What’s All This Mean?

The bottom line is this:

  • You must notify your personal injury lawyer if you intend on filing bankruptcy. He needs to know. And he may also be able to refer you to a bankruptcy lawyer he knows will be qualified to handle your case.
  • You must list your personal injury claim on your bankruptcy schedules. Don’t ever hide anything from any lawyer you hire, and this is especially true when dealing with assets like claims in your bankruptcy estate.
  • If you don’t list your injury claim in your bankruptcy estate, you may lose it forever. Saying “oops, I forgot” will not work. 

Your lawyers want the best outcome to your cases. Help them help you by keeping them informed of all your legal problems. 

 

(This is a guest post written by Russell A. DeMott. Click on his biography below for more information about Mr. DeMott's bankruptcy practice.)

 

 

Russell A. DeMott is a bankruptcy lawyer practicing in Charleston, South Carolina. He represents clients in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

 

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Interstate 85: Traffic Accidents Caused by Speed and Distraction

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Trey Mills

I was surprised with the amount of fatalities we were having on Interstate 85 back in July of this year and wrote, "Wrecking' Havoc on Interstate 85 in Upstate South Carolina". There were too many fatalities occurring in such a short period of time on the same stretch of interstate that runs from the Georgia/South Carolina border to the Greenville/Anderson County line.

Local journalist, Rick Spruill of the Anderson Independent, took this research on I-85 to a new level in his article entitled, "Pressure Cruise: Traffic Increase on I-85 in Anderson County". Some interesting points to consider are:

In the article, Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said,

“Unfortunately, we have more distractions than ever with cell phones, GPS units and PDAs with e-mail access. ... Anything that takes you away from the task at hand should be kept to a minimum. It only takes an instant of distraction to create a lifetime of regret.”
 

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Happy Anniversary to South Carolina Injury Law Journal

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Trey Mills

I started this blog with no idea what to expect or how I would have the time to write articles.  However, I went ahead with it by contacting LexBlog and getting the infrastructure in place.  My first article was "China Tries to Kill Pebbles" on November 2, 2008. It has been good times ever since. 

The traffic count and interest has grown exponentially and it allows me an opportunity to fight the barrage of poor media, misinformation, and misleading advertising that many insurance companies conduct.  It also levels the playing field for me to give an inside look at what really goes on in the plaintiff's battle against evil insurance companies. 

It should be apparent from a large percentage of my posts that:

  • I hate Allstate and think they are unprofessional, unethical, and ignorant;
  • I am cancer survivor and both celebrate and struggle with that;
  • I work in upstate South Carolina   and focus first on statewide issues and then on national issues;
  • I enjoy being a plaintiff's attorney because I enjoy working with normal, everyday people and not corporate clients that are buffoons;
  • I love to fight, more in the courtroom than out of it in my older years; and
  • Thanks to my life experiences (cancer, death of a parent, and internal struggles with those issues); I think I can achieve most anything with hard work, thought, and communication.

Thanks for stopping in for a quick read, interesting article, and/or for being a groupie of South Carolina Injury Law Journal.  It's only going to get better, more informative, and more insightful.

 

Take it away "Little River Band".........

 

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