Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc.
The Court holds that whether a debtor's failure to disclose a claim in bankruptcy was "inadvertent or mistaken" — the showing that can excuse applying judicial estoppel to bar a later lawsuit on that claim — must be judged from the totality of the circumstances surrounding the omission. The Fifth Circuit erred by confining that inquiry to just two factors: whether the debtor knew the facts underlying the claim and whether he had a potential motive to conceal it. CASE: Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc. AUTHOR: Jackson, J. DECIDED: 2026-06-11 OPINION…
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