Ethics Donald Wayne Doyle (Debtor) obtained a guaranteed student loan to enroll in a school for training truck drivers. Due to his impending divorce, Debtor never attended the program. The first monthly installment of approximately $50 to pay the student loan became due. Two weeks later, Debtor filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Debtor was a 29-year-old man who earned approximately $1,000 per month at an hourly wage of $7.70 as a truck driver, a job that he had held for 10 years. Debtor resided on a farm, where he performed work in lieu of paying rent for his quarters. Debtor was paying monthly payments of $89 on a bank loan for his former wife’s vehide, $200 for his truck. $40 for health insurance, $28 for car insurance, $120 for gasoline and vehicular maintenance. $400 for groceries and meals, and $25 for telephone charges. In addition, a state court had ordered Debtor to pay $300 per month to support his children, ages 4 and 5. Debtor’s parents were assisting him by buying him $130 of groceries per month. In re Doyle. 106 B.R. 272. Web1989 Bankr. Lexis 1772 (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama)
a. What legal standard must be met to have a student loan discharged in bankruptcy?
b. Did Doyle act unethically in trying to have his student loan discharged in bankruptcy?
c. Should Doyle’s student loan be discharged in bankruptcy?
