Does a Creditor’s Filing a Proof of Claim for a Discharged Debt Violate the Discharge Injunction?

Yes.

As reported by Robin Miller of CBAR, disagreeing with In re Surprise, 342 B.R. 119 (Bankr. N.D. N.Y. 2006) and In re Clayton, 2010 WL 4008335 (Bankr. E.D. Wash., Oct. 12, 2010), the court in In re Moore, 521 B.R. 280 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn., Sept. 29, 2014) held that a creditor’s filing a proof of claim for an unsecured debt that was discharged in the debtor’s prior bankruptcy case may violate the discharge injunction issued in that earlier case. Under Code § 523(a)(2), a debtor’s discharge “operates as an injunction against … an act, to collect, recover or offset any such debt as a personal liability of the debtor,” and a creditor’s filing a proof of claim is “an act.”
(case no. 1:13-bk-11325; adv. proc. no. 1:14-ap-1011) (Bankruptcy Judge Shelly D. Rucker)

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