Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc. · ¶2
Held: To determine whether an omission of a claim in the bankruptcy context was inadvertent or mistaken for purposes of judicial estoppel, courts should look to the totality of the circumstances surrounding the omission; the Fifth Circuit erred by artificially narrowing its inquiry to whether the debtor had knowledge of the underlying facts or a potential motive to conceal the claim. Pp. 6–9. (a) Judicial estoppel is an “equitable doctrine” intended “to protect the integrity of the judicial process” by “prohibiting parties from deliberately changing positions according to the exigencies of the moment” and preventing the “risk of inconsistent court determinations.” New Hampshire v. Maine, 532 U. S. 742, 749–751 (internal quotation marks omitted). Some lower courts apply judicial estoppel to bar lawsuits by debtors who fail to disclose claims in bankruptcy proceedings, viewing the failure…Read in context ›
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