No. 21-908October Term 2022Decided Feb 22, 2023
Bartenwerfer v. Buckley
Kate Bartenwerfer and her husband sold a house with defects, leading to a fraud judgment against them before they filed for bankruptcy.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Feb 22, 2023
- What it's about
Kate Bartenwerfer and her husband sold a house with defects, leading to a fraud judgment against them before they filed for bankruptcy. The Supreme Court ruled that a debtor cannot discharge a debt obtained by a partner's fraud in bankruptcy, even if the debtor was completely unaware of the fraudulent acts.
Question presented
Whether a debtor may be held liable for another’s fraud under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A) and thus barred from discharging the resulting debt in bankruptcy, even if the debtor had no knowledge of the fraud.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Feb 22, 2023
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Documents
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Apr 30, 2026
- Method
- Methodology