Judicial Estoppel – The Eleventh Circuit Reexamines the Standard for its Application in Bankruptcy Cases

By Kathryn Sanchez Kasper, Staff Attorney for Chapter 13 Trustee M. Elaina Massey (Brunswick, GA)

The 11th Circuit recently revisited application of the doctrine of judicial estoppel in cases where a bankruptcy debtor did not disclose a claim as an asset in the bankruptcy estate. The recent holding in Slater v. U. S. Steel, 871 F.3d 1174 (11th Circuit 2017) provides for a more flexible and opened ended approach in determining if judicial estoppel should preclude a debtor’s claim. This new standard may open the window for additional assets in bankruptcy cases to benefit creditors which . . .

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