An important consumer bankruptcy decision recently issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is Gasson v. Premier Capital, 2022 WL 3007921 (2d Cir. 2022). There, the Second Circuit joined other Circuit Courts in adopting the continuous concealment doctrine. Pursuant to the continuous concealment doctrine, if a debtor conceals an interest in personal or real property for more than a year prior to the filing of his or her bankruptcy case and the concealment of the property continues throughout the year prior to the filing of a debtor's bankruptcy case, then, pursuant to Bankruptcy Code §727(a)(2)(A), this is a basis for the denial of a debtor's discharge.

Discussion

In Gasson, the debtor was a financial consultant. The debtor had issued personal guarantees for various unsuccessful ventures that resulted in judgments being entered against the debtor (the judgments). Subsequently, Premier Capital acquired the judgments.