EDNC Case on Whether Unauthorized Charges are Consumer in Nature
Eastern District of North Carolina Chief Judge Randy Doub issued an opinion on February 20, 2014 in a case where the debtor attempted to argue that certain debts were primarily non-consumer in nature. The debtor argued that the debts were non-consumer in nature because the debt was incurred in her name jointly with her ex-spouse, charged without her knowledge or consent, and she was not aware of the unauthorized charges and loans until after she and her former spouse separated. The debtor represented that when she discovered the charges were fraudulent she contacted the creditors but the creditors would not consider her former spouse’s actions as fraudulent because they were still legally married at the time. The debtor represented that she had not yet filed a formal complaint with the creditors. The court held that the unauthorized charges were consumer in nature. In a footnote, the court observed that contesting the claims prior to proceeding to the last resort of filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition would have been a more prudent course of action.
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For more than 20 years, the Sasser Law Firm has been helping individuals and business owners sort through financial hardships to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our North Carolina bankruptcy attorneys are all board-certified specialists, which means we have passed a complex exam, undergone a thorough peer review, and continue to earn legal education credits in this ever-evolving area of law.
