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Wolfork v. Tackett

Plaintiff's failure to disclose her injury claim as an asset in her Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition barred her suit against defendant, even though plaintiff's claim arose after she filed her petition.

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The Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Gail Tackett in a personal injury action brought by Lucille Wolfork, concluding that Wolfork’s failure to disclose her claim for personal injuries as an asset in her Chapter 13 bankruptcy barred her tort claim.1 This Court granted certiorari to consider whether judicial estoppel applies to a tort claim that arises after the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Because Chapter 13 debtors are required to disclose assets acquired during the pendency of the bankruptcy, we hold that judicial estoppel may apply to Chapter 13 cases and we affirm.

The federal doctrine of judicial estoppel “precludes a party from asserting a position in a judicial proceeding which is inconsistent with a position previously successfully asserted by it in a prior proceeding.”2 This doctrine is commonly applied to preclude a bankruptcy debtor from pursuing a damages claim that he failed to include in his assets in the bankruptcy petition.3 A failure to reveal assets, including unliquidated tort claims, operates as a denial that such assets exist, deprives the bankruptcy court of the full information it needs to evaluate and rule upon a bankruptcy petition, and deprives creditors of resources that may satisfy unpaid obligations. The application of the doctrine preserves the integrity of the judicial forum by not permitting a debtor to take inconsistent positions to manipulate the system.4

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