Ripeness, Potential Hardship to Debtor Leads Court to Okay Unconditional Discharge

A debtor’s complaint seeking a discharge of his student loan obligation to the U.S. Department of Education pursuant to Bankruptcy Code Section 523(a)(8) instead of the option of a three-year conditional discharge under the DOE’s program is ripe for review, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida concluded July 20 (Pitts v. USA Servicing Company).

The debtor filed an adversary proceeding against the DOE to determine the dischargeability of his student loan debts pursuant to Section 523(a)(8). The DOE moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of ripeness, alleging that the debtor failed to ...