The U.S. Bankruptcy Code does not preempt a bankrupt debtor’s state-law claims of harassment by a creditor trying to collect a discharged debt, despite a code provision enabling harassing creditors to be held in contempt by the bankruptcy court, a divided federal appeals court ruled Friday.

In its 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said permitting post-discharge harassment claims to proceed under state law is not inconsistent with Congress’ goal under the code to bring national uniformity to bankruptcy proceedings. In fact, allowing debtors to seek relief under state law promotes the code’s purpose of enabling debtors to get “a fresh start” after having certain debts discharged by a federal bankruptcy court, the Fourth Circuit added.

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