Jones earned a college degree in history with a minor in economics in the 1980s.

Although Jones was supposed to enter the U.S. Army upon graduation, he gained admission to law school and earned his law degree. However, Jones could not pass the bar examination after several attempts. He spent the next 14 years in various positions including the army, substitute teaching, writing, and social work. Jones then returned to school to get a master’s degree in teaching the visual arts. Jones continued his education with yet another master’s degree in divinity in 2005. He borrowed heavily for his education and, at the time of the bankruptcy petition, had defaulted on 18 student loans worth $140,000 of debt.

Note that Jones’s undergraduate and law school debts were discharged in a previous bankruptcy hearing. Jones argued that the debt was so high that to pay it would cause “undue hardship,” and he asked the court to discharge the loan.

His creditors maintained that Jones did not meet the undue hardship standard.

CASE QUESTIONS

1. Who prevails and why?
2. If Jones had been unable to work due to illness or injury, would that be sufficient to meet the undue hardship standard set out by the court?
3. Note that one court did not find undue hardship enough to discharge student loans for a “46-year-old part-time legal secretary, raising her 14-year-old child and living with her sister, and who had psychiatric problems and had twice attempted suicide” [In re Brightful, 267 F.3d 324 (3d Cir. 2001)]. Why would Congress and the courts be reluctant to allow the discharge of student loans without meeting this difficult test?