The recent case of In re Mu’Min, 2007 WL 2791364 (Bkrtcy.E.D.Pa. 2007) the court held that the refusal of University of Pennsylvania to provide a transcript to a debtor, due to the existence of an unpaid, student loan debt that is nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8), violates the automatic stay provision of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(6). The court further held that regardless whether the facts giving rise to Penn’s asserted “good faith” would have constituted a defense to monetary liability under the standard set forth in by the Third Circuit in In re University Medical Center, 973 F.2d 1065 (3d Cir.1992), after the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, Penn’s defense was no longer legally viable and awarded actual damages to the Debtor.

The Debtor in the case was a student at Penn, financing her education through student loans granted or guaranteed by Penn. The principal amount of the loans was in excess of $33,000. The Debtor became delinquent in the repayment of her Penn student loans and has transcript was placed “on official hold.” Several months after the filing of her Chapter 13 case, the Debtor requested that Penn provide her with a certified copy of her transcript so that she could apply to a masters degree program in clinical psychology commencing in the fall of 2007. The debtor’s request was referred to Penn’s lawyers, and a lengthy letter-writing campaign ensued.

The court sided with the majority of courts that hold a university’s refusal to release a debtor’s transcript due to the existence of a default on a nondischargeable student loan owed to the university violates the automatic stay.

For other cites holding this view, you may look to In re Merchant, 958 F.2d 738, 741 (6th Cir.1992) (holding that refusal to provide chapter 7 debtor transcript because of default on student loan was a violation of the automatic stay based on the plain language of 11 U.S.C. § 362); In re Hernandez, 2005 WL 1000059, at *1 (Bankr.S.D.Tex. Apr. 27, 2005) (concluding that denial of transcript to chapter 13 debtor because of outstanding student loans was a violation of the automatic stay); Loyola Univ. v. McClarty, 234 B.R. 387, 386 (E.D.La.1999) (university’s act of withholding chapter 13 debtor’s transcript violated automatic stay); In re Scroggins, 209 B.R. 727, 730 (Bankr.D.Ariz.1997) (act of parochial school withholding transcript of chapter 13 debtor’s minor child violated the automatic stay); In re Carson, 150 B.R. 228, 231 (Bankr.E.D.Mo.1993) (holding that college violated stay by not delivering transcript to chapter 7 debtor when debt had not yet been determined dischargeable); In re Gustafson, 111 B.R. 282, 288 (9th Cir.BAP1990), rev’d on other grounds, 934 F.2d 216 (9th Cir.1991) (holding that university violated the automatic stay by withholding chapter 7 debtor’s transcripts because the debts were not yet determined nondischargeable); In re Parham, 56 B.R. 531, 534 (Bankr.E.D.Va.1986) (holding that university violated automatic stay by withholding chapter 13 debtor’s student transcript, but that such action at bar did not rise to the level of contempt). See generally In re Parker, 334 B.R. 529, 536, 538 (Bankr.D.Mass.2005) (concluding that university’s act of refusing to allow chapter 7 debtor from registering for class and from graduation was both violation of the automatic stay and the discharge injunction); In re Walker, 336 B.R. 534, 536 (Bankr.M.D.Fla.2005) (considering whether private university violated 11 U.S.C. §§ 362 and 525 by withholding chapter 13 debtor’s transcript); In re Reese, 38 B.R. 681, 683 (Bankr.N.D.Ga.1984) (holding that state university violated 11 U.S.C. §§ 362 and 525 by withholding debtor’s transcript where debt was dischargeable); In re Ware, 9 B.R. 24, 25 (Bankr.W.D.Mo.1981) (on objection to confirmation found that 11 U.S.C. § 525 was inapplicable but that college violated automatic stay by denying transcript to chapter 13 debtor); In re Howren, 10 B.R. 303, 305 (Bankr.D.Kan.1980) (on motion requesting order for immediate release of transcript, held that state university was in violation of 11 U.S.C. §§ 362 and 525 for withholding chapter 7 debtor’s official transcript for purpose of debt collection); In re Heath, 3 B.R. 351, 354-55 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.1980) (state university act of refusing to issue academic record to chapter 13 debtor frustrated fresh start policies of the Bankruptcy Code and violated both 11 U.S.C. §§ 362 and 525).