Discharge in Bankruptcy. Mallinckrodt received an undergraduate ...

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Discharge in Bankruptcy. Mallinckrodt received an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and, in 1995, a graduate degree from Barry University in mental health counseling. To finance this education, Mallinckrodt borrowed from The Education Resources Institute, Inc, and others. Unable to find a job as a counselor, Mallinckrodt worked as a tennis instructor and coach. (At one time, he had played professional tennis and was ranked among the top eight hundred players in the world.) In 1996, he ruptured his Achilles tendon and was unable to work. After a lengthy rehabilitation, he began work on a part-time, hourly basis at Horizon Psychological Services, but the work was intermittent and low paying. He continued to work as a tennis instructor and was also a licensed real estate broker, but he had little income in either field. With monthly income of about 549 after taxes, and expenses of 544, Mallinckrodt filed a bankruptcy petition to discharge his student loan debt, which with interest totaled nearly 73,000. Is this debt dischargeable? Discuss.

Question 2

Emile owns Emile's Used Car Emporium. Several people work for him at the Emporium. When Emile is gone, he leaves one of his best salespersons, Meg, in charge. Over the years, Emile has given Meg the authority to contract with vendors, negotiate sales, and conclude car sales contracts in his name. One August, Emile takes a long vacation, leaving Meg in charge. While he is gone a hurricane hits Florida where the Emporium is located, causing severe damage. Because Emile is floating down the Amazon, Meg cannot reach him for instructions. She decides that rather than leave the place in shambles, she will hire people to repair the Emporium. Meg hires a carpenter to rebuild a wall that was blown down by the storm. Phil, the carpenter, is busy at work on his scaffold when Meg's Scottish terrier Adam, who she keeps with her at work, plows into the scaffolding while chasing a cat. Phil is knocked off the scaffold and falls ten feet to the ground, suffering a broken leg. In the case of the carpenter, what relation is there to Emile?
 a. Phil is Emile's universal agent
  b. Phil is an independent contractor for Emile c. Phil is a servant for Emile
  d. none, Phil is Meg's special agent e. Phil is Emile's special agent

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Answer to Question 1

Discharge in bankruptcy
Student loan debts are dischargeable to the extent that they constitute an undue hardship' upon the debtor or his dependents. The court stated that the essential starting point is one simple question: Is there a reasonable prospect that the debtor will ever be able to repay these loans? . . . If the debtor has done everything he can to minimize expenses and maximize income, there is no basis for refusing to discharge the student loans. In this case the Court has no other choice but to conclude that he has made every effort to minimize expenses and maximize income. . . . The debtor's financial condition is not the result of some willful or negligent activity on his part. His ruptured Achilles tendon interfered with his tennis instruction. He was not successful as a real estate broker. He has pursued a career in mental health but that has not been particularly financially lucrative. He attempted to find employment and took the jobs which were available to him. He has acted in good faith in striving to provide a sufficient livelihood for himself. He simply cannot repay the loans. He has demonstrated that repayment would cause an undue hardship' upon him. This case was decided before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, but the result under that act would likely have been the same.

Answer to Question 2

b