Student must repay $350,000, court says

Student must repay $350,000, court says

A Grand Marais lawyer tried to discharge his loan debt through bankruptcy, but an appeals court says no way.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/5 ... :_Yyc:aUUT

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the 45-year-old Grand Marais man cannot escape more than $350,000 of student debt he piled up over more than a decade.

Jesperson had hoped to discharge the debt in bankruptcy and won the first couple rounds in court. But last week a three-judge panel reversed the lower courts' decision and said he must pay the money back.

Struggles with alcohol brought him in and out of college; it took 11 years to complete his undergraduate degree.

Jesperson "borrowed heavily from government and private lenders" to finance his degrees, court documents state. Since passing the bar exam, he's never made more than $48,000 per year.