In re French, 499 F.3d 345 (4th Cir. 2007)

Creditor filed adversary complaint seeking denial of Chapter 7 debtor’s discharge on the basis that debtor allegedly had knowingly made false oaths in connection with his bankruptcy petition and had failed to keep and preserve adequate financial records.  Following transfer of the case, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, James F. Schneider, J., granted creditor’s motion for summary judgment, and debtor appealed. The District Court, Richard D. Bennett, J., 338 B.R. 668, affirmed, and debtor appealed.  The Court of Appeals, King, Circuit Judge, held that (1) a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether debtor made false statements in his bankruptcy proceeding with an intent to defraud; (2) the bankruptcy court made credibility determinations which were not appropriate in a court’s assessment of a motion for summary judgment; (3) addressing an issue of apparent first impression for the court, to comply with the Bankruptcy Code’s recordkeeping requirements, a Chapter 7 debtor need not maintain perfect records, but must preserve sufficient records to enable the court and the parties to reasonably ascertain an accurate picture of debtor’s financial affairs; and (4) a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the records disclosed by debtor would permit the parties to reasonably ascertain his financial condition.  Vacated and remanded.