Bankruptcy Abstracts
I filed for bankruptcy chapter 7 in California 2004 – can I file motion to reopen?
I filed for Bankruptcy in California in 2004. I have just found out when trying to refinance that there is an abstract judgment filed in 2001 in Orange County. 2 part question, Should/Can I file a motion to re-open the chapter 7 and try to include the judgment and have removed? approx cost? The judgement was for $3,500. I need the lowest cost option to remove the abstract judgment/lien.
Do I have any recourse on my title insurance because I wasn’t aware when I purchased my home in 2008 there was an outstanding judgment and was under impression the BK included everything? (The BK was due to medical emergency at the time, orginal BK attorney no longer has paperwork)
Yes, you CAN file a motion to reopen the bankruptcy so you can file amended Schedules.
However, you may not need to. In some Federal Circuits — and I think the 9th Circuit is one of them — there were appeals court rulings at the time which said that even if a debt was inadvertently omitted from the bankruptcy Schedules, it was still discharged.
Since your case pre-dates the 2005 Bankruptcy Reforms passed by Congress, whatever was the law at the time would apply to your case (since BAPCPA in 2005, inadvertently omitted debts are NOT automatically discharged, but prior to that they were in some Federal Circuits).
Your best bet is to contact your bankruptcy attorney — If your bankruptcy attorney “no longer has the paperwork” (which s/he SHOULD) s/he can get a copy of it from PACER. This still relates to the case you filed, and the attorney who filed it (unless no longer practicing law) should still answer your questions.
If that is not possible, pony up a few bucks for a review of your case by another bankruptcy attorney in your local area. I think there is a good chance that this judgment was already discharged — but you need to have that verified by somebody actually licensed to practice law (and familiar with bankruptcy law going back to before BAPCPA) in your State.
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