A bankruptcy filing doesn’t wipe out the debtor’s obligation to pay attorney fees in a child-custody case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled. 

On October 10, a unanimous panel of the court affirmed a ruling by Judge Stephen Murphy III of the Eastern District of Michigan that Patrick Rugiero pay $100,000 in fees to Antonietta DiNardo. The appeals court determined that the fee award was a domestic support obligation. Also, a result, the attorney fees are not dischargeable.