In Re Jensen’s Empirical Analysis

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The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The Court agrees with those authorities holding that the Means Test is only the first step in determining whether a debt- or’s petition is abusive. The Means Test functions as an initial screen to weed out those Chapter 7 petitions that are most clearly abusive. As one court explains, ‘Congress intended that there be an easily applied formula for determining when the Court should presume that a debtor is abusing the system by filing a chapter 7 petition.’ In re Fowler, 349 B.R. 414, 420-21 (Bankr.D.Del.2006). However, as with any bright-line rule, the Means Test presumption does not always provide the most accurate snapshot of the debtor’s financial situation. That is to be expected; a formula complex enough to accurately predict every single debtor’s ability to pay would be impossible to effectively administer. The Means Test sacrifices some level of accuracy in the interest of administrative efficiency. Fortunately, the Bankruptcy Code anticipates that the Means Test alone cannot eliminate every single abusive filing and provides a backstop, the § 707(b)(3)(B) totality of the circumstances test. The totality of the circumstances test is best seen as providing a chance for the Court to refine the Means Test estimate. Since it permits individualized case-by-case examination, the totality of the circumstances test can weigh unusual circumstances that the Means Test does not-and could not reasonably be expected to-account for.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Hageney