SunTrust Bank v. Bennett (In re Bennett)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RANDAL S. MASHBURN, Bankruptcy Judge.

A state court judgment reciting a key dischargeability phrase from the applicable bankruptcy statute does not automatically have preclusive effect in bankruptcy court. As this case demonstrates, merely inserting the word “fraud” into a state court judgment will not necessarily be enough to assure the nondischargeability of a debt.

Relying upon principles of collateral es-toppel, SunTrust Bank filed a summary judgment motion asking this Court to find Maxine Dolores Bennett’s debt nondis-chargeable based upon a prior judgment of the Circuit…