The U.S. District Court in Charlottesville, in the case of Pearson v. Bank of America affirmed a bankruptcy court decision which held that the bank did not violate the discharge injunction against creditor action under bankruptcy code section 524(a) by sending monthly statements.
In Pearson, although the debtor had obtained a Chapter 7 discharge for her debt with the bank, she continued to receive a routine monthly statement from her Bank of America mortgage that provided principal balances, estimated payments, payment instructions and information on how payments would be posted.
The language in the opening section of the Mortgage Statement clearly stated that the debtor’s loans had been discharged, that such discharge insulated debtor from any efforts by anyone to collect this discharged debt as a personal liability, and that the debtor could not be pressured to pay this debt. The Mortgage Statement’s opening section referenced the fact that some homeowners become concerned after receiving statements and therefore assured the debtor that such letters were sent as a courtesy, and were not a demand for payment.
The statements also provided that no monthly statements would be sent in the future if the debtor would simply make one toll-free telephone call to an identified number.
Considering all of the facts, the court held that the statements did not represent a violation of the discharge injunction.
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