The Plaintiff filed this adversary proceeding to prevent the discharge of a debt pursuant to Bankruptcy Code Section 523(a)(6). The debt arose from a fight that broke out during a raucous baseball game. After a criminal case, which led to a guilty plea by the Defendant to second degree assault, and several years of civil litigation, which led to a settlement agreement, the Defendant filed this bankruptcy proceeding wherein he intends to discharge the debt owed to Plaintiff by way of the settlement agreement.
The primary defense raised by the Defendant in the Motion for Summary Judgment is that he did not “attack” the Plaintiff. Instead, the Defendant in this adversary proceeding asserts that Plaintiff was the instigator of a fight that resulted in the Plaintiff being injured by the Defendant. He defends against the Motion for Summary Judgment asserting that the injuries he inflicted on the Plaintiff were merely responsive and in the nature of self-defense. Consequently, because he was not the instigator of the fight, he did not have the requisite intent to produce a “willful and malicious injury” to the Plaintiff.
Based upon the facts established herein, the guilty plea, and the settlement agreement, the Court concluded that the Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted.
