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CACB — Guidelines for Adversary Proceedings Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(A)(8) for Student Loans Held By The Department of Education
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- Edition
- 2026-09-26
- Last updated
- 2026-09-27
- Jurisdiction
- California
CACB — Guidelines for Adversary Proceedings Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(A)(8) for Student…¶
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3 SEPT 25 2023
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7 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT 8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9
10 IN RE: GUIDELINES FOR ADVERSARY ) 11 ) PROCEEDINGS UNDER 11 U.S.C. § ) 12 ) 523(a)(8) FOR STUDENT LOANS HELD ) GENERAL ORDER 23-03 ) 13 BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ) ) 14 EDUCATION )
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16 The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), in cooperation with the United 17 States Department of Education (“DOE”), announced guidance regarding student loan 18 bankruptcy litigation (“DOJ Guidance”) which applies only to student loans held by the 19 DOE, and which became effective on November 17, 2022.20
21 The DOJ Guidance seeks to: (1) set clear, transparent, and consistent
22 expectations for discharging DOE student loans that debtors represented by 23 counsel and self-represented litigants can understand; (2) simplify the fact- 24 gathering process and reduce debtors’ burden in filing adversary proceedings 25 26 aimed at getting a discharge of DOE Student Loans; and (3) increase the number
27 of proceedings where the DOE stipulates to facts demonstrating the existence of
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undue hardship, where facts support it, and recommends the court discharge a 1 2 debtor’s DOE Student Loans.
3 The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not allow enough time for the DOE to 4 provide DOJ with all the information and documentation necessary to make its 5 recommendation to the court as required by the DOJ Guidance. 6 The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (the “Court”) 7
8 believes that allowing time for parties to comply with the DOJ Guidance will save
9 resources of the parties and the Court and will make management of adversary 10 proceedings relating to DOE Student Loans under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8) efficient and 11 fair. The Court prepared its own “GUIDELINES FOR ADVERSARY PROCEEDINGS 12 UNDER 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8) FOR STUDENT LOANS HELD BY THE DEPARTMENT13
14 OF EDUCATION” which apply only to student loans held by the DOE in adversary
15 proceedings under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8). These guidelines are posted in The Central 16 Guide and are adopted by the Court by this general order. 17
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19 IT IS SO ORDERED.
20 21 DATED: September 25, 2023
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23 THEODOR C. ALBERT24 Chief Judge 25 United States Bankruptcy Court
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