WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for people who say they cannot repay their student loans to receive bankruptcy protection. But the case arose in an unusual way, and the ruling is unlikely to have a broad impact. The case involved Francisco J. Espinosa, an airline ramp agent who took out four student loans in 1988 and 1989 for a total of $13,250 to attend a trade school in Arizona. Four years later, he filed for protection under the bankruptcy laws, proposing to repay the principal over five years without interest. Neither Mr. Espinosa nor the judge who approved his proposal followed the procedures contemplated by the law. Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code allows student loans like Mr. Espinosa’s to be discharged only if a bankruptcy judge finds that repayment would impose an ‘undue hardship. But the judge in his case made no such finding. Nor did Mr. Espinosa notify his lender in the way required by law, which calls for the service of a summons and complaint like those in a civil lawsuit. But the lender did receive notices from the court about Mr. Espinosa’s proposal and the court’s approval […]