State Court Judgment – Fraud
Here, a state court judgment found the debtor liable for fraud.
Although the federal court has exclusive jurisdiction as to determining dischargeability in bankruptcy, the federal court nevertheless found the debtor was precluded from refuting the state court judgment.
Hence, the debtor could not collaterally attack the state court judgment in federal court, and the federal court issued an order rendering the lower court judgment as nondischargeable.
The Bankruptcy Court held that the state court judgment was nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Erica Johnson v. Ronald Keene, 135 B.R. 162.
Author: Charles R. Harroun, Attorney at Law.