James Musselman (South Texas) has published Is Income from Discharge of Indebtedness Really Income at All? A Proposal for a More Reasoned Analysis, 34 U. Mem. L. Rev. 607 (2004). Here is part of the Introduction:

This article traces the judicial history of the concept of income from discharge of indebtedness, identifying and discussing the opinions and rationale that the courts have so far offered for this concept. It then reviews and discusses relevant commentary regarding the theoretical basis and application of the concept. Next, the article proposes a more reasoned and logical approach to the determination of when and whether a discharge of indebtedness will result in inclusion in gross income, and the amount of any such inclusion. Specifically, the article suggests that the issue of income from discharge of indebtedness is no different from other gross income issues, requiring at the outset an inquiry into whether gross income conceptually exists pursuant to an analysis under section 61 of the Code. That inquiry, as this article proposes, simply requires a determination whether a discharge of indebtedness has resulted in a clearly realized accession to wealth and in what amount. Finally, the article discusses the application of this proposed approach to the factual situations identified in the cases previously discussed and to additional hypothetical factual situations yet to appear in reported cases.