In Re Marriagea of Harris

In May 1994 Harris and Croce terminated their marriage, agreed that spousal support would be waived, and that Harris would hold Croce harmless from the obligation of the community to pay Mike D. Munaretto and Carol E. Munaretto in connection with a debt totaling $140,000 at the time but which has increased to over $230,000. In October 1999, Harris filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition listing the Munarettos as unsecured creditors but did not include Croce as a creditor. Harris did not notify Croce of his petition.

On February 1, 2000, Harris was granted a discharge of his debts under section 727 of the Bankruptcy Code. Harris never did include Croce in the bankruptcy petition and did not tell her that his obligation to the Munarettos had been discharged in bankruptcy.

In 2002, Croce purchased a home but was unaware of the Munaretto judgment until November 2004, when she received an application for renewal of the judgment from the Munarettos.

This proceeding began by Croce as a law and motion matter seeking an order modifying the spousal dissolution judgment to order Harris to hold her harmless from the Munaretto claims. That motion expanded into an evidentiary hearing…