Very often, a Chapter 7 debtor files an extensive bankruptcy petition listing numerous creditors, only to later discover months or years after the bankruptcy has ended that one or more creditors were accidentally left off the list. What are the rights of a creditor to enforce a claim against a debtor who neglected to list the claim on the petition, and what are the reciprocal rights of the debtor to object to any subsequent collection efforts by the creditor?
It is never appropriate for a debtor to intentionally omit a claim from the schedule of creditors on a petition, even if the debtor intended that the debt not be discharged. A debtor has a statutory duty to file an accurate schedule of claims. In re Boland, 275 BR 675, 677 n.3 (Bankr. D. Conn. 2002).
