In re: Allison Monique Harley v. The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. South Carolina
DecidedJune 12, 2026
Docket25-80056
StatusUnknown

This text of In re: Allison Monique Harley v. The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia (In re: Allison Monique Harley v. The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re: Allison Monique Harley v. The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia, (S.C. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In re, C/A No. 25-02176-JD Allison Monique Harley, Adv. Pro. No. 25-80056-JD

Debtor. Chapter 13 The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia, ORDER OF DISMISSAL

Plaintiff,

v.

Allison Monique Harley,

Defendant.

A debtor seeking a fresh start through bankruptcy enjoys the presumption that certain debts are dischargeable, absent proof that a particular obligation falls within one of the limited exceptions established by Congress. The burden rests with the creditor to establish that an exception to discharge applies. The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia (“Plaintiff”) seeks such relief in this case. It initiated this action against Allison Monique Harley (“Defendant”), a chapter 13 debtor, seeking a determination that a prepetition debt is excepted from discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2).1 Defendant has yet to appear or respond to this action. Nevertheless, the matter before the Court concerns Plaintiff’s compliance with a prior court order

1 ECF No. 1 (“Complaint”), filed on September 22, 2025. addressing pleading and procedural deficiencies. The Court raises these matters sua sponte for consideration of whether this case should be dismissed due to Plaintiff's failure to file a complaint that meets the pleading standards set forth in Fed. R. Civ.

P. 8 and 9(b) and Plaintiff’s failure to prosecute this action and otherwise comply with an order of this Court pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b). The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and the matter is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(J). The Court may issue a final order. For the reasons set forth herein, this case is dismissed without further leave to amend. I.

Prior to the petition date, Defendant received housing assistance from Plaintiff. Defendant allegedly misrepresented her income to Plaintiff and paid less than what she would have been obligated to pay had she completed associated paperwork correctly. Plaintiff discovered what it believed to be underreported income through an audit. At present, Defendant is a debtor in a chapter 13 proceeding.2 She is

significantly below South Carolina’s median income, so her applicable plan commitment period is three years. Defendant filed a five-year plan and is paying all allowed claims in full through that confirmed plan. Plaintiff received proper notice of the bankruptcy case and would receive full satisfaction of its debt had it timely

2 C/A 25-02176-JD. filed a proof of claim. It filed this action, seeking to have the debt excepted from discharge under § 523(a)(2), on the last day to oppose dischargeability. After Plaintiff filed its Complaint, the Clerk of Court issued a summons on

September 23, 2025. Plaintiff failed to serve the summons and Complaint on Defendant. The Court issued an Order to Appear and Show Cause for Plaintiff to show cause as to why this case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. Plaintiff’s counsel appeared at the hearing and requested a reissued summons to cure the deficiency. The Clerk of Court reissued the summons on December 5, 2025. Plaintiff filed a certificate of service on January 7, 2026, indicating that counsel served Defendant

with the summons and Complaint on December 5, 2025, by regular mail at the address listed in her petition; however, the certificate of service misstates Defendant’s name in both the mailing and the caption, calling into question whether the Court obtained personal jurisdiction over Defendant.3 Further, the certificate of service was not timely filed. See SC LBR 9013-3(b) (requiring a certificate of service to be filed within seven days of matters delegated to a party).

Defendant did not file an answer, a motion to dismiss, or any other pleading in response to the Complaint. Despite Defendant’s failure to respond to the Complaint, Plaintiff did not request an entry of default or move for default judgment. The Court set a status hearing to address the lack of prosecution and the

3 ECF No. 13. While Plaintiff served Defendant’s chapter 13 attorney, that attorney does not represent her in this matter. SC LBR 9011-1(b). absence of responsive pleadings. 4 Plaintiff failed to appear for that hearing. The Court thereafter issued another Order to Appear and Show Cause, requiring Plaintiff to appear and show cause why this case should not be dismissed for failure

to prosecute.5 This order prompted Plaintiff to seek an entry of default6 and to move for a default judgment.7 Plaintiff’s counsel attended the show cause hearing and the Court subsequently dissolved the order to show cause.8 The Court took the issue of Plaintiff’s motion for entry of default judgment under advisement. Thereafter, a detailed order was issued denying the motion and dismissing this case with limited leave to amend (“Prior Order”).9 In the Prior Order, the Court highlighted the following issues:

1. Plaintiff’s error in service of the summons; 2. Plaintiff’s failure to identify the subsection of § 523(a)(2) it relied upon; and 3. Plaintiff’s failure to plead, with particularity, fraud, reliance, and other elements that are essential to a cause of action under § 523(a)(2). The Prior Order expressly warned that failure to cure these specific deficiencies— including failure to plead all essential elements with the particularity required by

Rule 9(b)—would result in dismissal with prejudice: Plaintiff is granted limited leave to file an amended complaint curing the deficiencies identified herein and complying with Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) on or before 5:00 pm on April 24, 2026. If such an amended complaint is filed, Plaintiff must request a reissued summons within two days

4 ECF No. 14. Plaintiff’s counsel was offered the opportunity to attend the status hearing remotely. 5 ECF No. 17. 6 ECF No. 26. 7 ECF No. 28. 8 ECF No. 32. 9 ECF No. 34. of amending the complaint. Plaintiff must serve the amended complaint and reissued summons in strict compliance with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004 and file a certificate of service within seven days of the reissued summons, consistent with SC LBR 9013-3(b). If Plaintiff fails to timely file an amended complaint, timely request the reissued summons, timely serve and file evidence of service, or otherwise strictly comply with this Order, the dismissal shall be converted to a dismissal with prejudice without further notice.

Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia v. Harley (In re Harley), Ch. 13 Case No. 25-02176, Adv. No. 25-80056, slip op. at 8 (Bankr. D.S.C. Apr. 17, 2026) (emphasis added).10 Plaintiff timely amended the complaint on April 23, 2026 (“Amended Complaint”)11 and filed a certificate of service on the same date.12 Although Plaintiff served the Amended Complaint, it failed to comply with the Court’s explicit directive to obtain and serve a reissued summons with the Amended Complaint, a requirement imposed to ensure proper service and personal jurisdiction after a potential service defect noted in the Prior Order. See In re Hutto, 647 B.R. 294, 296 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2022) (citing Koehler v. Dodwell, 152 F.3d 304, 306 (4th Cir.

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In re: Allison Monique Harley v. The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Georgia, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-allison-monique-harley-v-the-housing-authority-for-the-city-of-scb-2026.