Syllabus
(c) Finally, Bartenwerfer insists that the preclusion of faultless debtors from discharging liabilities run up by their associates is inconsistent with bankruptcy law’s “fresh start” policy. But the Bankruptcy Code is not focused on the unadulterated pursuit of the debtor’s interest, and instead seeks to balance multiple, often competing interests. Bartenwerfer’s fairness-based critiques also miss the fact that §523(a)(2)(A) does not define the scope of one’s liability for another’s fraud. Section 523(a)(2)(A) takes the debt as it finds it, so if California did not extend liability to honest partners, §523(a)(2)(A) would have no role here. And while Bartenwerfer paints a picture of liability being imposed on hapless bystanders, fraud liability generally requires a special relationship to the wrongdoer and, even then, defenses to liability are available. Pp. 10–12.
860 Fed. Appx. 544, affirmed.