Attorney Steven Lefkovitz of Lefkovitz & Lefkovitz in Nashville recently prevailed for his client in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District.
The case was an appeal of a bankruptcy court ruling. The case involved MarketGraphics Research Group, Inc., of Franklin, Tennessee, and David Berge of Memphis. Attorney Lefkovitz represented Berge.
MarketGraphics had won a judgment against Berge in federal district court. Berge then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. MarketGraphics argued in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville that its judgment against Berge should not be discharged in the bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy court ruled that the MarketGraphics judgment could be discharged in bankruptcy, and MarketGraphics appealed.
The appeals court said that for the judgment not to be discharged, the bankruptcy court needed to find that Berge “willfully and maliciously” tried to hurt the company. The bankruptcy court ruled there were no findings in district court he “willfully and maliciously” tried to harm the company. As a result, the bankruptcy court discharged the judgment in Berge’s bankruptcy.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District affirmed the bankruptcy court’s decision.
