The Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Geo v. HarleyThe Housing Authority for the City of Augusta, Geo v. Harley
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
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 initiatеd this action against Allison Monique Harley (“Defendant“), a chapter 13 debtor, seeking a determination that a prepetition debt is excepted from discharge pursuant to
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
The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to
I.
Prior to the petition date, Defendant received housing аssistance 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
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 Comрlaint 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, а 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
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:
- Plaintiff‘s error in service of the summons;
- Plaintiff‘s failure to identify the subsection of
§ 523(a)(2) it relied upon; and - 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
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 daysof 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 Cаse 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. 1998) for its holding that “[a]bsent waiver or consent, a failurе to obtain proper service on the defendant deprives the court of personal jurisdiction over the defendant.“). During the period since Plaintiff filed the Amended Complaint, it has taken no other action in this proceeding to move it towards a conclusion.
The Court has two primary concerns regarding the Amended Complaint. First, whether Plaintiff complied with the Prior Order by filing a well-pleaded
II.
The central purpose of the Bankruptcy Code is to provide a fresh start to the honest but unfortunate debtor by providing a procedure through which a debtor “can reorder their affairs, make peace with their creditors, and enjoy ‘a new opportunity in life with a clear field for future effort, unhampered by the pressure and discouragement of preexisting debt.‘” Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 287 (1991) (quoting Local Loan Co. v. Hunt, 292 U.S. 234, 244, (1934)). In keeping with that purpose, exceptions to discharge under
Defendant has not made an appearance in this action, but Plaintiff has not requested an entry of default or moved for default judgment on the Amended Complaint. In the Prior Order, Plaintiff received clear notice of the pleading deficiencies identified by the Court and was afforded an opportunity to cure those deficiencies through amendment. The Prior Order also warned Plaintiff that failure
III.
In evaluating whether the Amended Complaint states a claim upon which relief can be grantеd, the Court applies
These requirements are the baseline pleading standard. However, when an action sounds in fraud, the enhanced pleading standard of
Accordingly, when the gravamen of the claim is fraudulent conduct, the complaint must satisfy both (1) Rule 8(a)‘s plausibility standard as articulated in Iqbal/Twombly and (2) Rule 9(b)‘s particularity requirement as to the circumstances of the fraud. Put differently, a fraud-based claim may be dismissed where it fails either to plead enough factual content to render liability plausible under Rule 8(a) or to plead the circumstances of the allеged fraud with the specificity demanded by Rule 9(b). See In re Derivium Capital, LLC, 380 B.R. 407, 422 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2006); Nationwide Judgment Recovery, Inc. v. Tyndall (In re Tyndall), Ch. 13 Case 23-02014-5-JNC, Adv. Pro. No. 23-00094-5-JNC, 2024 WL 973469, at *2 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 6, 2024).
To start, the Amended Complaint again fails to identify whether Plaintiff is seeking an order of nondischargeability under
Notwithstanding meeting the Rule 8 threshold, Plaintiff‘s cause of action sounds in fraud. The Amended Complaint fails under the particularity standard of Rule 9(b). Sections 523(a)(2)(A) and (B) share some common elements, but they are distinct in their purpose and application. Reliance, as noted in the Prior Order, is an essential element of a claim under either subsection. See Harley, slip op. at 5. “[R]easonable, detrimental reliance upon a misrepresentation is an essential element of a cause of action for fraud, and such reliance must be pleaded with particularity.” Learning Works, 830 F.2d at 546 (internal citations omitted). The Fourth Circuit reaffirmed this principle when it found “no textual basis to give plaintiffs extra wiggle room in pleading the reliance elements of their state and federal fraud claims.” Xia Bi v. McAuliffe, 927 F.3d 177, 185 (4th Cir. 2019).
Plaintiff does not plead, with the particularity required by Rule 9(b), that it actually relied on the alleged misstatements in making or continuing to provide housing benefits, nor does it plead facts showing that any such reliance was justifiable under
IV.
Dismissal is also appropriate pursuant to
In this case, a clear warning was provided in the Prior Order that this case would be dismissed with prejudice if Plaintiff failed to make corrections and comply with that order. The order identified two primary deficiencies: 1) failure to plead elements of an action under
As previously discussed, the first issue was not corrected. The second issue was also not corrected. Plaintiff served the Amended Complaint but never sought the reissued summons, as ordered. A defendant has the right to be accurately
Applying the Lopez factors to Plaintiff‘s failure to comply with the Prior Order, each factor weighs heavily in favor of dismissal. Regarding the first factor, Plaintiff is responsible for prosecuting this adversary proceeding and for complying with the Court‘s orders; the failures described above occurred despite explicit directives and deadlines. To the extent counsel‘s conduct contributed, Plaintiff remains accountable for pleading the essential elements of its claim and for
The second factor tips slightly in favor of Defendant. Plаintiff has asked the Court to except some of Defendant‘s debt from discharge, but Plaintiff has failed to diligently prosecute the case. The proceeding clouds the administration of the chapter 13 case by prolonging uncertainty regarding the scope of discharge. Further, Plaintiff‘s failure to diligently prosecute the case imposes ongoing burdens on Defendant that are inconsistent with the Code‘s fresh start policy. For her part, Defendant is operating under the terms of a confirmed plan that pays all allowed claims in full and, though she is below median income, she is paying through a five year plan. She is prejudiced by this uncertainty and the burden of a stagnant adversary proceeding that seeks another opportunity to collect.
The third factor strongly favors dismissal. Plaintiff has failed to take the initiative in this case and has demonstrated a history of proceeding in a dilatory fashion. It failed to serve the initiаl complaint and only requested a reissued summons when prompted by the Court through an Order to Appear and Show Cause. Plaintiff violated the local rules of the Court by failing to timely file evidence of serving the reissued summons. After months of monitoring to see if Plaintiff would seek an entry of default against Defendant, the Court set a status hearing because Plaintiff took no such action. Plaintiff failed to attend that hearing and only sought a default after a subsequent Order to Appear and Show Cause. Plaintiff has made minimal efforts to advance its case, and often only did so at the Court‘s
The final factor weighs heavily against Plaintiff. Plaintiff failed to comply with the Prior Order, which detailed numerous defects in its pleadings and instructed Plaintiff to cure those defects in the Amended Complaint. Plaintiff then filed an Amended Complaint that failed to cure those very defects. Likewise, Plaintiff was specifically ordered to obtain a reissued summons following the filing of the Amended Complaint to ensure the Court had personal jurisdiction over the Defendant. Plaintiff failed to do so. Like the plaintiff in Ballard, Plaintiff was provided with a clear and specific warning that a failure to strictly comply with the Prior Order would result in the dismissal of this case with prejudice. Ballard, 882 F.2d at 95. Still, it failed to heed the Court‘s warning. The Court has already employed incremental measures—including status hearings, two orders to appear and show cause, and a detailed, targeted remedial order—without obtaining compliance. Lesser sanctions have proven ineffective and there is no reason to believe that further lesser sanctions would remedy the issue. Based on the foregoing, dismissal of this adversary proceeding is appropriate pursuant to
V.
Although Plaintiff alleges conduct that, if properly pleaded and proven, сould implicate
As the Prior Order noted, the procedural history reflects repeated failures to comply with procedural requirements and court direсtives, underscoring Plaintiff‘s lack of diligence. Plaintiff was afforded multiple opportunities to cure identified defects, including a specific opportunity to amend its complaint and to remedy service concerns. Plaintiff has failed to get this action off the ground in the nine months that it has been pending. Plaintiff was expressly warned that failure to comply with the Court‘s unambiguous directives in the Prior Order would result in dismissal with prejudice. Plaintiff also received other prior warnings thаt this case may be dismissed for failure to prosecute. Despite those opportunities and warnings, Plaintiff neither filed an amended complaint adequately pleading all essential elements of its claim nor complied with the Court‘s directive requiring Plaintiff to obtain and serve a reissued summons.
For the reasons stated above, the Amended Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and this action is dismissed pursuant to
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
FILED BY THE COURT
06/12/2026
S. Jefferson Davis IV
US Bankruptcy Judge
District of South Carolina
Entered: 06/12/2026