Is a debtor entitled to an equitable discharge of a claim under section 502(b) of the Bankruptcy Code?

^29. See, e.g., Murgillo v. California State Bd. of Equalization (In re Murgillo), 176 B.R. 524, 532-33 (9th Cir. B.A.P. 1994) (rejecting debtor's attempt to equitably disallow a claim and finding that should the bankruptcy court "make an equitable exception to the general rule of 502(b) [it] would serve to bypass the specific code provision for equitable treatment of an allowed claim -- 510(c). . . . [T]he proper exercise of the bankruptcy court's equitable powers under 502 is through investigation into the existence, validity and enforceability of claims leading to their allowance or disallowance; and the proper exercise of equitable powers regarding allowed claims is through the equitable subordination provisions of 510(c).") (citations omitted).

^30. See, e.g., Keppel v. Tiffin Sav. Bank, 197 U.S. 356, 363 (U.S. 1905) ("[C]ourts of bankruptcy are guided by equitable considerations... The fallacy lies in assuming that courts have power to inflict penalties, although the law has not imposed them").