Couple appeal judge's bankruptcy-case ruling

A former Northwest Arkansas real estate developer and his wife are appealing a Texas judge's decision to deny their request for discharge in their bankruptcy case.

According to a filing late Friday, Bill and Carolyn Schwyhart have appealed to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. The couple filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Texas in July 2018, claiming more than $80 million in debt, mostly related to business.

In late October, Judge Harlin Hale of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas said he wouldn't grant the Schwyharts' discharge request as the matter could not be finally adjudicated because there is an ongoing appeal by creditor CHP LLC. In August, attorneys for the Schwyharts asked the court for discharge, contending the couple had "fully performed and complied with all obligations of Chapter 7 debtors and are entitled to a discharge."

A discharge in a bankruptcy filing, with a few exceptions, effectively extinguishes the debtor's obligations, giving the debtor a fresh start.

In late July, after a three-day trial, Hale denied CHP's initial move to block the discharge of the bankruptcy, saying CHP failed to prove the couple tried to defraud their creditors. In August, CHP appealed Hale's decision.

During the Northwest Arkansas building boom, Bill Schwyhart worked with trucking magnate J.B. Hunt and Tim Graham on the Pinnacle Hills Promenade mall, which opened in 2006. After Hunt's death later that year, his widow, Johnelle Hunt, and Graham broke ties with Schwyhart.

Schwyhart was also one of the investors, along with J.B. Hunt, in the now-defunct charter-jet company Pinnacle Air LLC, which did business as Aspen JetRide. It filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in early 2009.

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