New Jersey Higher Education Assistance Authority v. Pennell

The opinion of the court was delivered by

ALLEY, JAD.

The principal question presented in this appeal, and one that appears to be of first impression in this State, is whether a bankruptcy court order confirming a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan that purports to discharge a student loan pursuant to a so-called “discharge by declaration”1 is valid in the absence of a factual determination by the court and appropriate notice to the creditor that “[e]xcepting such debt from discharge will impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor’s dependents,” 11 U.S.C.A. § 523(a)(8).

The trial court denied…