Being sued after discharge

[jtd]

We finally received our Chapter 7 discharge last Tuesday. It took over 8 months after filing. There weren’t any problems which caused the delay but we are in the Virgin Islands and it seems like everything takes a lot longer here. One of the debts that was discharged was for a mortgage for a property in Maryland where we used to live. Then on Friday of last week we received documents in the mail from the attorneys that represent the mortgage lender. Included in the documents is an “auditor’s account or report” that the attorneys filed with the circuit court in Maryland stating that we owe the attorneys $230,000.00 which includes the difference between what they sold the property at auction for and what the mortgage was plus a whole bunch of additional items.
Two things are interesting here. One is the paperwork was filed on the same day our discharge was dated. The second is that the documents only reference the name of the attorney’s firm, not the lender. The lender is mentioned nowhere. I send all of this to our Virgin Islands attorney asking if we should be concerned. He said he did not see any reason for us to be but also advised us to contact a Maryland attorney since he was not familiar with Maryland law.
Our concern here is that when we filed for Chapter 7 we listed the mortgage holder and somehow now the law firm is saying that we owe the law firm this money and they were not listed as part of the bankruptcy. If anyone here has an opinion of this we would appreciate hearing it. We really don’t want to spend any more money on attorneys in Maryland but at the same time don’t want to be on the hook for $230K.

[dneil]

Just reopen the case and add them to your matrix. They can't charge you fees or anything for something that happened before or during the bankruptcy. I think it is 300 dollars to re-open your file.

Anyone else know if there is a way an attorney firm can do this? I really highly doubt that they can. I think they are trying to pull a fast one

[screentest]

Jtb,

It sounds like this "law firm" is acting as a junk debt buyer and are attempting to collect on the deficiency from your old mortgage in Maryland. They may not even be a law firm, only a subterranean debt collector trying to scare you into sending them a check so they can collect anything on the discharged debt they purchased. You are not responsible for any deficiency attached to a mortgage you discharged in BK as far as collect-ability is concerned.

I would verify who they are, send them the discharge order with a nice note not to contact you again and wait for their next move. If the try again, force them to prove the debt and if can, do as the above poster said and reopen the case and add them as a debtor.

Incidentally BK laws are federal and it makes no difference if you are in the Virgin Islands and they are in Maryland. Your attorney should know this..

Good Luck
ST

[IBroke]

Just reopen the case and add them to your matrix. They can't charge you fees or anything for something that happened before or during the bankruptcy. I think it is 300 dollars to re-open your file.

Anyone else know if there is a way an attorney firm can do this? I really highly doubt that they can. I think they are trying to pull a fast one

I don't even see a reason to re-open and add that law-firm to the matrix. Here's why:

When filing for BK and receiving a discharge, it is the DEBT/Account that is discharged and not the creditor. So if the original mortgage was included, the debt is discharged - no matter if it was transferred to a law-firm or not.

The OP should notify this law-firm in writing that this debt was discharged and that any further attempt to collect is a violation of the BK-code (permanent stay). If it goes to court (what I highly doubt), simply present the judge your creditor-matrix and discharge. That's all.

[tcreegan]

Hi all, Hi jtd,

You said the debt was discharged, that means they were listed, right?

If listed, no need to reopen the case, send the law-firm a letter and a copy of the BK discharge order. If they do anything further, document it. You might be able to sue for a stay of the BK discharge injunction. Especially if they proceed w/ a lawsuit against you.

Tom in Colo

[idainc]

If they were listed they have violated the discharge injunction. Fee to reopent he case = $0.00. Haul them into court.

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...HOA-gone-wild-!