Two bankruptcy judges (Connelly, W.D. Va. and Kahn) submitted Rules Suggestion 25-BK-N to amend Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4004. The problem is that Rule 4004(c) currently directs courts to grant discharge even when the debtor is statutorily barred under 1328(f), as long as nobody files a timely objection.
Right now if a Ch. 13 debtor got a Ch. 7 discharge within 4 years or a Ch. 13 discharge within 2 years, they are barred from discharge by statute. But if the trustee, UST, and creditors all miss the 60-day objection window, the court enters the discharge anyway. A procedural rule overriding a statutory bar.
The proposal would delete Rule 4004(a)(3) entirely and require the court to independently verify eligibility before granting discharge. Its based on In re Filice, 580 B.R. 259 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2018), where an ineligible debtor got a discharge that stood for six years because nobody objected.
Advisory Committee meets April 15 2026 to consider it.
submitted by /u/ilikemath9999
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