15 B 07325, 15 A 00866
Plaintiffs Estate of Rose M. Drabik, Mary Elizabeth Smith, Mary Katherine Paul, and chapter 7 trustee Brenda Porter Helms (collectively, the “Plaintiffs”) filed an adversary complaint against James T. Drabik (the “Debtor”), seeking a denial of the Debtor’s discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 727(a)(3) and (a)(4).  The Plaintiffs argued that the Debtor was not entitled to a discharge because he failed to keep or preserve information from which his financial condition could be ascertained and because he provided false, misleading, or inaccurate information in his initial bankruptcy petition, schedules, and statement of financial affairs.  After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the Court found that, given the documentary evidence and testimony at trial, the Debtor’s records were inadequate to allow the Court, the trustee, and the Debtor’s creditors to trace his financial dealings with any kind of accuracy and that the Debtor did not offer any reasonable justification for his failure to keep or preserve financial records.  Thus, the Court held that that failure supported denial of the Debtor’s discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(3).  The Court further found that the Plaintiffs established that the Debtor “made a false oath or account” by filing initial bankruptcy documents with misstatements and omissions and that, together, those misrepresentations established a pattern of reckless indifference to the truth.  Accordingly, the Court also held that the Debtor was not entitled to a discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(4)(A).  Based on these findings, the Court entered judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs and against the Debtor and, as such, denied the Debtor’s discharge.