NCBRC has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the NACBA membership in the Tenth Circuit case of Goodman v. Doll (In re Doll). The case addresses the issue of whether a chapter 13 standing trustee is entitled to keep pre-confirmation statutory fees when the case is ultimately dismissed prior to plan confirmation. Case No. 22-1004 (filed April 6, 2022). The bankruptcy court found in favor of the trustee and the district court reversed. Read More
Tag Archive: trustee fees
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NCBRC Files Amicus on Pre-Confirmation Trustee Fees when Plan Not Confirmed
Posted by NCBRC - April 6th, 2022
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Trustee in Dismissed Case May Keep Pre-Confirmation Fees
Posted by NCBRC - March 8th, 2022
In a cursory opinion, the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, found the chapter 13 trustee was entitled to retain his statutory fees despite the fact that the debtor’s bankruptcy was dismissed prior to confirmation. Soussis v. Macco (In re Soussis), No. 20-5673 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 24, 2022) (online publication only). Read More
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Standing Trustee Must Return Fee if Plan Not Confirmed
Posted by NCBRC - December 7th, 2021
The standing chapter 13 trustee must return his percentage fee to the debtor when the debtor’s plan is not confirmed. Doll v. Goodman (In re Doll), No. 21-731 (D. Colo. Dec. 6, 2021).
The debtor filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy and made $29,900 in plan payments to the standing trustee prior to confirmation. Of that amount, $19,800 went to his counsel, $7,503.30 was disbursed to the Colorado Department of Revenue on a priority tax claim, and the remaining $2,596.70 was retained by the standing trustee as part of his statutory 10% trustee fee. The plan was not confirmed and the bankruptcy court allowed the trustee to retain his fee over the debtor’s objection. The debtor appealed to the district court. Read More
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Standing Trustee Need Not Disgorge Fees when Plan Dismissed Prior to Confirmation
Posted by NCBRC - August 11th, 2021
“[A] standing trustee is entitled to collect the statutory fee under [28 U.S.C.] § 586(e) upon receipt of each payment under the plan and is not required to disgorge the fee if the case is dismissed prior to confirmation.” McCallister v. Harmon, No. 20-1168 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 20, 2021) (unpublished).
The debtors made several payments in accordance with their proposed plan but voluntarily dismissed their bankruptcy prior to plan confirmation. The bankruptcy court’s order of dismissal included provision for the debtors’ attorney to collect his fee from the funds held by the trustee. The original order also provided for the trustee to retain the statutory fees she collected under section 586(e). Upon reconsideration of that order, though, the bankruptcy court concluded that section 1326(a)(2), which requires the trustee to retain plan payments until confirmation and return those payments to the debtor after deducting unpaid administrative claims if the case is dismissed prior to confirmation, mandated that the trustee return the fees to the debtor upon dismissal. In re Harmon, No. 19-01424-TLM, 2020 WL 6037759 (Bankr. D. Idaho June 23, 2020). Read More
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Trustee Fee Cut Where No Meaningful Distribution
Posted by NCBRC - October 8th, 2014
In three consolidated chapter 7 cases, the Bankruptcy Court, finding that carve-out or short sale agreements did not lead to any meaningful distribution to creditors, reduced the trustee’s fee by 50% of the requested amount. In re Scoggins, No. 12-42158 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2014) (the court approved the fee request in a fourth, business, case). Read More
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Trustee Must Disgorge Fee Collected in Unconfirmed Chapter 13 Plan
Posted by NCBRC - September 4th, 2014
Addressing an issue that “has been percolating through the courts,” an Arkansas bankruptcy court found that when a chapter 13 plan is not confirmed, the standing trustee must return to the debtors his percentage fee based on undisbursed payments on that plan. In re Dickens, No. 12-16982 (Bankr. E.D. Ark. July 25, 2014). Read More
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HAVEN Act Guide
The Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019 (“HAVEN Act”) excludes certain benefits paid to veterans or their family members from the definition of current monthly income (“CMI”) found in the Bankruptcy Code. The HAVEN Act amends § 101(10A) of the Bankruptcy Code and supplements the 2005 amendments to the Code that excluded other government benefits, such as social security income.
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