Posted by: santa claus on 07/29/03:
In Reply to: Need Advice: Filing CH7 in CA (huge Judgments from lawsuits) posted by: David N. on July 29, 2003 at 01:12:16:
Are those huge debts stem from running a company and defrauding the shareholders by hyping up the stock price? I know you said that you are only in your 20's but many young people started internet cos. and hyped them to the moon - even though they never made any real money. Then, the bubble burst on these stocks in 2001.By filing BK, you put the onus on your creditors to prove that fraud was invloved in the debt. This is tougher for them to prove than the the original civil lawsuit. Yes, you will have to pay your lawyer (or another lawyer) extra to defend yourself. But, I think it is worth it. The good news is that if it is a 'consumer' debt, then you are entitled to your attorney fees if you win. This does not apply to 'business' debts.
If they are able to prove it's a fraudulent $4 miilion debt, which results in it becoming non-dischargeable, then I think you can still file Ch.13 and pay a portion of it back over 5 yrs - based on your curent job's salary. If you only earn $20k/yr then they will only get pennies back on the dollar.
If that doesn't work, then I think you will have to leave the country or get a new identity in order to start fresh again.
Follow Ups: