Wall, TX Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

It sounds as though you are a defendant in a civil case and a co-defendant filed a bankruptcy petition. If you need his testimony to prove your case, you should be able to take his deposition before trial and to subpoena him as a witness at trial. You cannot pursue him for whatever he may owe you because of the bankruptcy stay, but asking him questions under oath to prove your defense is not prohibited. If in doubt, make a motion in the Bankruptcy Court for permission to subpoena the debtor in your civil case. I hope you are represented by counsel in your case. If not, and if it is important for you to prevail in defending the case, you might want to hire a lawyer while there's still time. Hope this perspective helps.

Your bankruptcy discharged your obligation on the mortgage note. So, if you walk away from the house the lender cannot come after you for any deficiency balance.

Civil judgments can often be eliminated by bankruptcy. The types of debts that may be ineligible to be eliminated are described in 11 USC sec 523. If the accident was related to a criminal action, such as drunk or drugged driving, it is possible you may not be able to eliminate it through bankruptcy, but the creditor would have to file suit against you in bankruptcy court very quickly to stop the debt from being eliminated.