Bankruptcy Judge to the Rescue of Poor Old Lady / Law School Grad

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We’ve previously written about Denise Megan Bronsdon, who graduated from the (unaccredited) Southern New England School of Law and then failed the bar three times. Not surprisingly, she had some difficulty finding gainful employment. Then she wound up in bankruptcy.
Bronsdon tried to get her $82,000 in student loans discharged in bankruptcy. A bankruptcy judge ruled in her favor, finding that having to repay the (normally non-dischargeable) student debt would constitute “undue hardship.”
But then a district judge, on an appeal brought by her lender, vacated and remanded. Chief Judge Mark Wolf (D. Mass.) concluded that the bankruptcy judge erred by failing to consider, in the “undue hardship” analysis, the fact that Bronsdon was eligible for a debtor-repayment plan available to law school graduates.
On remand, Bankruptcy Judge Joel Rosenthal — who’s about to retire, by the way — stuck it to the district court. Judge Rosenthal reached the exact same result as before (and snarked on Judge Wolf in doing so).


From Mass Lawyers Weekly:

[A] clearly annoyed Rosenthal issued a new ruling in Bronsdon’s case. He began by critiquing Wolf’s writing, inserting a condescending “[sic]” at the end of a long quote from Wolf’s opinion:
“The District Court remanded the proceeding with specific instructions that this Court ‘determine whether undue hardship exists in view of the fact that (a) participation in the ICRP [Income Contingent Repayment Plan] will not necessarily, or even likely, result in any tax liability, and (b) the availability of the ICRP option must be considered and given some weight without necessarily being decisive. [sic]'”
Rosenthal then went on to reason that “shackling the Debtor to the ICRP would be . . . a pointless exercise,” because “the Debtor’s chances of ever repaying any portion of the loan are virtually non-existent.
“To subject her to a meaningless repayment plan when she clearly does not have the ability to repay these student loans now or in the foreseeable future is not required by 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(8) and is inconsistent with this Court’s role as the adjudicator of undue hardship,” Rosenthal concluded, before ordering, once again, that her law school debts be discharged.

The elderly Denise Bronsdon is surely happy to hear this news. But will Judge Rosenthal’s ruling stick, or will Judge Wolf toss it out again on appeal?
Of course, that’s assuming there is another appeal. Perhaps Bronsdon’s student-loan creditor, the Educational Credit Management Corp., will finally give up its Captain Ahab-esque pursuit of this poor creature. To quote Elie’s earlier post:

[Bronsdon is] currently in her mid-sixties. She’s failed the bar multiple times. Her skills include tractor driving. Obviously law school was a horrible mistake for her — what does the court want her to do, sell a future interest in her bones? Enter the geriatric prostitution market?

You can’t squeeze blood from a stone. When will student lenders start to get the message?
Bankruptcy Court defies USDC chief to save broke 65-year old SNESL grad [The Docket / Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly]
Earlier: Discharging Law School Debt in Bankruptcy Doesn’t Get Any Easier When You Are Old

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