A Bite. A Bankruptcy. A $100,000 Bill.

Over the years, Bankruptcy Beat has seen plenty of reasons offered as to why individuals and corporations file for bankruptcy. Recently, a peculiar one caught our eye.

In 2012, a New York man, Sultan Soliman, sought Chapter 7 protection in the face of a $110,000 court judgment issued against him following an incident in which he bit a neighbor (yes, bit him) on the nose in an elevator. In bankruptcy, many debts, including some court judgments, can be erased.

But the story didn’t end there. The man who unwittingly found himself in the crosshairs of Mr. Soliman’s teeth, Lev Vyshedsky, since last year has been urging a bankruptcy court judge to rule that Mr. Soliman still needs to pay the $110,000 bill.

In court filings, Mr. Vyshedsky points to a section of the bankruptcy code that prevents the discharge of debts that came about because of “willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity.”

So, is biting someone on the nose considered willful and malicious? It’s a question Judge Martin Glenn in New York is still grappling with. In a decision published Thursday, Judge Glenn said he needs to hear more evidence to determine whether Mr. Soliman’s actions were “a deliberate and intentional injury” to Mr. Vyshedsky, and “not merely a deliberate or intentional act that leads to injury.”

According to the decision, the bite in question, which took place in July 2000, came about while Mr. Soliman was attacking another man who had already obtained an order of protection against Mr. Soliman. Mr. Vyshedsky, meanwhile, “unfortunately happened to be present in the same elevator,” the decision says.

After the incident, Mr. Soliman pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, earning him probation and 15 days of community service. Mr. Vyshedsky launched a civil action, which ended in July 2011 with a more than $110,000 default judgment against Mr. Soliman, who failed to show up to court for the trial. (He said his lawyer at the time never told him about the court date.)

Judge Glenn said it’s a close call as to whether the guilty plea in the criminal matter helps prove Mr. Vyshedsky’s case and makes the judgment enforceable even in bankruptcy. To settle the matter, he said he plans to schedule further hearings.

Mr. Soliman has some high-powered legal help in the matter: a pro bono team from Perkins Coie led by Schuyler Carroll, the head of the firm’s New York office. A request for comment to three Perkins Coie lawyers was intercepted by a firm spokesman, who said it was premature to comment.

An attorney for Mr. Vyshedsky did not return a request for comment Friday.

Mr. Soliman’s bankruptcy petition lists $255,500 in liabilities against $447,775 in assets. The filing shows that, as of 2012, both he and Mr. Vyshedsky resided in the same apartment building in upper Manhattan.

Write to Sara Randazzo at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @sara_randazzo.