Six U.S. Supreme Court Bankruptcy Rulings That Shape Debt Relief in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s three federal bankruptcy courts — the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts — follow decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Third Circuit. Here are six Supreme Court rulings that come up in real debt-relief conversations. This is general information, not legal advice for your case.

Bartenwerfer v. Buckley (2023)

The Court held that a debt obtained by fraud can be non-dischargeable even for a person who did not personally commit the fraud, when the fraud was committed by a business partner. If you co-owned a business with someone, this ruling matters.

Lamar, Archer & Cofrin v. Appling (2018)

A false oral statement about a single asset can be a “statement respecting the debtor’s financial condition.” Because such statements must be in writing to block discharge, an oral misstatement about one asset generally will not make the debt non-dischargeable under that provision.

Taggart v. Lorenzen (2019)

A creditor who tries to collect a discharged debt can be held in civil contempt when there is no fair ground of doubt that the discharge order barred the conduct. Your discharge has real teeth.

City of Chicago v. Fulton (2021)

Merely keeping property seized before the filing, such as an impounded car, does not by itself violate the automatic stay. Acting quickly and asking the court for turnover can matter.

Harrington v. Purdue Pharma (2024)

The Bankruptcy Code does not authorize releasing claims against non-debtors without the affected claimants’ consent. This mainly affects large corporate cases, but it reinforces that a discharge protects the person who filed.

Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank (2015)

An order denying confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan is not immediately appealable when the debtor may propose another plan. In practice, it is better to get the plan right than to plan on appealing.

Why this matters

Most consumer cases never turn on a Supreme Court decision, but these rulings define the edges: which debts survive, how strong the discharge is, and how the stay works. If any of them sound like your situation, bring it up at a free consultation.