Mann v. Hardaway

Bernes, Judge.

We granted this interlocutory appeal to address whether the trial court erred in denying summary judgment to defendant Theo Mann, trustee of the bankruptcy estate of Gina Darlene Parker. According to Mann, the trial court should have ruled that he was entitled to assert the defense of Parker’s discharge in bankruptcy and thereby bar the plaintiffs’ tort claims against the estate. Because we conclude that Mann was judicially estopped from raising the discharge defense, we affirm.

The present case involves a tangled web of proceedings in federal bankruptcy court and state court. In…