Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 11 : Section 523


   
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 523. Exceptions to discharge

      (a) A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1228(a), 1228(b), or
    1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from
    any debt - 
        (1) for a tax or a customs duty - 
          (A) of the kind and for the periods specified in section
        507(a)(2) or 507(a)(8) of this title, whether or not a claim
        for such tax was filed or allowed;
          (B) with respect to which a return, if required - 
            (i) was not filed; or
            (ii) was filed after the date on which such return was last
          due, under applicable law or under any extension, and after
          two years before the date of the filing of the petition; or

          (C) with respect to which the debtor made a fraudulent return
        or willfully attempted in any manner to evade or defeat such
        tax;

        (2) for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or
      refinancing of credit, to the extent obtained by - 
          (A) false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud,
        other than a statement respecting the debtor's or an insider's
        financial condition;
          (B) use of a statement in writing - 
            (i) that is materially false;
            (ii) respecting the debtor's or an insider's financial
          condition;
            (iii) on which the creditor to whom the debtor is liable
          for such money, property, services, or credit reasonably
          relied; and
            (iv) that the debtor caused to be made or published with
          intent to deceive; or

          (C) for purposes of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
        consumer debts owed to a single creditor and aggregating more
        than $1,000 for "luxury goods or services" incurred by an
        individual debtor on or within 60 days before the order for
        relief under this title, or cash advances aggregating more than
        $1,000 that are extensions of consumer credit under an open end
        credit plan obtained by an individual debtor on or within 60
        days before the order for relief under this title, are presumed
        to be nondischargeable; "luxury goods or services" do not
        include goods or services reasonably acquired for the support
        or maintenance of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor; an
        extension of consumer credit under an open end credit plan is
        to be defined for purposes of this subparagraph as it is
        defined in the Consumer Credit Protection Act;

        (3) neither listed nor scheduled under section 521(1) of this
      title, with the name, if known to the debtor, of the creditor to
      whom such debt is owed, in time to permit - 
          (A) if such debt is not of a kind specified in paragraph (2),
        (4), or (6) of this subsection, timely filing of a proof of
        claim, unless such creditor had notice or actual knowledge of
        the case in time for such timely filing; or
          (B) if such debt is of a kind specified in paragraph (2),
        (4), or (6) of this subsection, timely filing of a proof of
        claim and timely request for a determination of
        dischargeability of such debt under one of such paragraphs,
        unless such creditor had notice or actual knowledge of the case
        in time for such timely filing and request;

        (4) for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary
      capacity, embezzlement, or larceny;
        (5) to a spouse, former spouse, or child of the debtor, for
      alimony to, maintenance for, or support of such spouse or child,
      in connection with a separation agreement, divorce decree or
      other order of a court of record, determination made in
      accordance with State or territorial law by a governmental unit,
      or property settlement agreement, but not to the extent that - 
          (A) such debt is assigned to another entity, voluntarily, by
        operation of law, or otherwise (other than debts assigned
        pursuant to section 408(a)(3) of the Social Security Act, or
        any such debt which has been assigned to the Federal Government
        or to a State or any political subdivision of such State); or
          (B) such debt includes a liability designated as alimony,
        maintenance, or support, unless such liability is actually in
        the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support;

        (6) for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another
      entity or to the property of another entity;
        (7) to the extent such debt is for a fine, penalty, or
      forfeiture payable to and for the benefit of a governmental unit,
      and is not compensation for actual pecuniary loss, other than a
      tax penalty - 
          (A) relating to a tax of a kind not specified in paragraph
        (1) of this subsection; or
          (B) imposed with respect to a transaction or event that
        occurred before three years before the date of the filing of
        the petition;

        (8) for an educational benefit overpayment or loan made,
      insured or guaranteed by a governmental unit, or made under any
      program funded in whole or in part by a governmental unit or
      nonprofit institution, or for an obligation to repay funds
      received as an educational benefit, scholarship or stipend,
      unless excepting such debt from discharge under this paragraph
      will impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor's
      dependents;
        (9) for death or personal injury caused by the debtor's
      operation of a motor vehicle if such operation was unlawful
      because the debtor was intoxicated from using alcohol, a drug, or
      another substance;
        (10) that was or could have been listed or scheduled by the
      debtor in a prior case concerning the debtor under this title or
      under the Bankruptcy Act in which the debtor waived discharge, or
      was denied a discharge under section 727(a)(2), (3), (4), (5),
      (6), or (7) of this title, or under section 14c(1), (2), (3),
      (4), (6), or (7) of such Act;
        (11) provided in any final judgment, unreviewable order, or
      consent order or decree entered in any court of the United States
      or of any State, issued by a Federal depository institutions
      regulatory agency, or contained in any settlement agreement
      entered into by the debtor, arising from any act of fraud or
      defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity committed with
      respect to any depository institution or insured credit union;
        (12) for malicious or reckless failure to fulfill any
      commitment by the debtor to a Federal depository institutions
      regulatory agency to maintain the capital of an insured
      depository institution, except that this paragraph shall not
      extend any such commitment which would otherwise be terminated
      due to any act of such agency;
        (13) for any payment of an order of restitution issued under
      title 18, United States Code;
        (14) incurred to pay a tax to the United States that would be
      nondischargeable pursuant to paragraph (1);
        (15) not of the kind described in paragraph (5) that is
      incurred by the debtor in the course of a divorce or separation
      or in connection with a separation agreement, divorce decree or
      other order of a court of record, a determination made in
      accordance with State or territorial law by a governmental unit
      unless - 
          (A) the debtor does not have the ability to pay such debt
        from income or property of the debtor not reasonably necessary
        to be expended for the maintenance or support of the debtor or
        a dependent of the debtor and, if the debtor is engaged in a
        business, for the payment of expenditures necessary for the
        continuation, preservation, and operation of such business; or
          (B) discharging such debt would result in a benefit to the
        debtor that outweighs the detrimental consequences to a spouse,
        former spouse, or child of the debtor;

        (16) for a fee or assessment that becomes due and payable after
      the order for relief to a membership association with respect to
      the debtor's interest in a dwelling unit that has condominium
      ownership or in a share of a cooperative housing corporation, but
      only if such fee or assessment is payable for a period during
      which - 
          (A) the debtor physically occupied a dwelling unit in the
        condominium or cooperative project; or
          (B) the debtor rented the dwelling unit to a tenant and
        received payments from the tenant for such period,

      but nothing in this paragraph shall except from discharge the
      debt of a debtor for a membership association fee or assessment
      for a period arising before entry of the order for relief in a
      pending or subsequent bankruptcy case;
        (17) for a fee imposed by a court for the filing of a case,
      motion, complaint, or appeal, or for other costs and expenses
      assessed with respect to such filing, regardless of an assertion
      of poverty by the debtor under section 1915(b) or (f) of title
      28, or the debtor's status as a prisoner, as defined in section
      1915(h) of title 28;
        (18) owed under State law to a State or municipality that is - 
          (A) in the nature of support, and
          (B) enforceable under part D of title IV of the Social
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or

        (19) that - 
          (A) is for - 
            (i) the violation of any of the Federal securities laws (as
          that term is defined in section 3(a)(47) of the Securities
          Exchange Act of 1934), any of the State securities laws, or
          any regulation or order issued under such Federal or State
          securities laws; or
            (ii) common law fraud, deceit, or manipulation in
          connection with the purchase or sale of any security; and

          (B) results from - 
            (i) any judgment, order, consent order, or decree entered
          in any Federal or State judicial or administrative
          proceeding;
            (ii) any settlement agreement entered into by the debtor;
          or
            (iii) any court or administrative order for any damages,
          fine, penalty, citation, restitutionary payment, disgorgement
          payment, attorney fee, cost, or other payment owed by the
          debtor.

      (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a debt that
    was excepted from discharge under subsection (a)(1), (a)(3), or
    (a)(8) of this section, under section 17a(1), 17a(3), or 17a(5) of
    the Bankruptcy Act, under section 439A (!1) of the Higher Education
    Act of 1965, or under section 733(g) (!1) of the Public Health
    Service Act in a prior case concerning the debtor under this title,
    or under the Bankruptcy Act, is dischargeable in a case under this
    title unless, by the terms of subsection (a) of this section, such
    debt is not dischargeable in the case under this title.

      (c)(1) Except as provided in subsection (a)(3)(B) of this
    section, the debtor shall be discharged from a debt of a kind
    specified in paragraph (2), (4), (6), or (15) of subsection (a) of
    this section, unless, on request of the creditor to whom such debt
    is owed, and after notice and a hearing, the court determines such
    debt to be excepted from discharge under paragraph (2), (4), (6),
    or (15), as the case may be, of subsection (a) of this section.
      (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of a Federal
    depository institutions regulatory agency seeking, in its capacity
    as conservator, receiver, or liquidating agent for an insured
    depository institution, to recover a debt described in subsection
    (a)(2), (a)(4), (a)(6), or (a)(11) owed to such institution by an
    institution-affiliated party unless the receiver, conservator, or
    liquidating agent was appointed in time to reasonably comply, or
    for a Federal depository institutions regulatory agency acting in
    its corporate capacity as a successor to such receiver,
    conservator, or liquidating agent to reasonably comply, with
    subsection (a)(3)(B) as a creditor of such institution-affiliated
    party with respect to such debt.
      (d) If a creditor requests a determination of dischargeability of
    a consumer debt under subsection (a)(2) of this section, and such
    debt is discharged, the court shall grant judgment in favor of the
    debtor for the costs of, and a reasonable attorney's fee for, the
    proceeding if the court finds that the position of the creditor was
    not substantially justified, except that the court shall not award
    such costs and fees if special circumstances would make the award
    unjust.
      (e) Any institution-affiliated party of a (!2) insured depository
    institution shall be considered to be acting in a fiduciary
    capacity with respect to the purposes of subsection (a)(4) or (11).




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