Eric Poynter v. United States

MEMORANDUM

Eric Poynter filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on October 28, 1993. In March 1994, he received a discharge. In September 2008, Poynter reopened his bankruptcy proceedings. He sought a declaration that his discharge covered two 1985 educational loans held by the Department of Education. The bankruptcy court ruled the loans were not dischargeable, and the district court affirmed. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 158 (d)(1). We affirm.

We review de novo an appeal from the district court’s decision on appeal from the bankruptcy court. In re JTS Corp., 617 F.3d 1102, 1109 (9th Cir.2010). We review the bankruptcy court’s findings of fact for clear error and its conclusions of law de novo. Id.

When Poynter filed for bankruptcy, his student loans were dischargeable if they “first became due more than 7 years ... before the filing of the [bankruptcy] petition.” 11 U.S.C. § 523 (a)(8)(A) (1990). Thus, in order for Poynter’s loans to be dischargeable, they must have become due no later than October 27, 1986. Poynter argues that two provisions of the promissory notes independently caused the loans to become due by this date.

First, Poynter invokes a term that gave him…