Scholarship@WashULaw

Self-Representation and the Dismissal of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

2016

Publication Title

Beyond Elite Law: Access to Civil Justice in America

Abstract

The primary substantive relief that bankruptcy law provides to financially distressed debtors is a discharge releasing them from personal liability for their prebankruptcy debts. But filing for bankruptcy does not guarantee that debtors will be afforded such relief. The path to discharge involves a process laden with myriad procedural requirements. Failure to comply with them can result in a death knell for a debtor’s financial rehabilitation – specifically, dismissal of the debtor’s case.

Bankruptcy law is highly specialized and technical, including the provisions that relate to bankruptcy cases filed by individuals. Accordingly, to successfully navigate the complex path that ultimately culminates in a discharge, the assistance of an expert will be indispensable. Nonetheless, when individuals seek bankruptcy relief, they can either go it alone or seek the assistance of an attorney. For self-represented debtors, the question arises whether that decision makes them worse off than they otherwise would have been had they enlisted the assistance of an expert attorney.

This question has particular salience in the context of individuals who seek relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. In a Chapter 7 case, an individual debtor must give up all non-exempt assets in exchange for a discharge. Year in and year out, Chapter 7 cases account for the majority of bankruptcy filings by individuals. Prior empirical research has shown that self-represented debtors in Chapter 7 fare worse than their represented counterparts. This chapter offers new empirical evidence suggesting that the plight of self-represented debtors in Chapter 7 has not improved and that serious access-to-justice concerns persist.

Keywords

Access To Justice, Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Procedure, Case Dismissal, Consumer Debtors, Self-Representation

Publication Citation

Rafael I. Pardo, Self-Representation and the Dismissal of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases, in Beyond Elite Law: Access to Civil Justice in America 87 (Samuel Estreicher & Joy Radice eds., 2016)

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