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Bankruptcy Keyed to Howard 7th Ed.
AT&T Universal Card Services v. Ellingsworth (In re Ellingsworth)
Citation:
212 B.R. 326 (1997)Facts
Deborah Ann Ellingsworth, a special education teacher employed for 18 years with net monthly income of $2,111.48, and her husband filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on November 25, 1996, listing $70,445 in unsecured debt from 18 credit cards. UCS issued Ms. Ellingsworth a pre-approved credit card with a $4,000 limit in October 1995 based solely on a FICO score of 759, without obtaining information about her assets, liabilities, or expenses. She did not use the card until September 11, 1996, when she began taking cash advances and making purchases. Between September 11 and October 15, 1996, she took 16 cash advances totaling $3,411 and made 8 purchases totaling $500.91, making no payments before filing bankruptcy. Ten cash advances totaling $2,058 were taken within 60 days of the bankruptcy filing. Ms. Ellingsworth testified the funds were used for food, medicine, and clothing for her family, claiming financial distress resulted from her husband’s job demotion in August 1996. She stopped using the card on October 15, 1996, after exceeding the credit limit, and consulted Consumer Credit Counseling Services, which advised bankruptcy as the only option.
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