The 9th Circuit ruled that a Chapter 13 trustee gets nothing in a case dismissed, pre-confirmation. Every circuit court that has weighed in agrees. The emotional argument of “we work hard and are good people” did not fly in any of the appeals. They also floated: administrative claim under Section 503, the code is ambiguous, Congress made a mistake, what about the children – all non-availing.
The trustee in the 9th Circuit asked the BAP to visit the issue from a new angle–forget the clear language of the code, let’s go with due process. You know–the one that criminals invoke.
That went nowhere. The BAP held the trustee lacks standing to invoke constitutional rights. (Those rights are best left to matters of religion, speech, assembly, arms, quartering – you know, important shit.)
What next…the Mann Act?
It’s comical how these trustees can not read the tea leaves. Congress wants the Chapter 13 process to work, folks. Think carrot and stick. Reward a job well done. Emphasis on well.
And it helps NO ONE – not the debtor, not counsel, not priority or secured or unsecured claim holders, not the trustee – when a case is dismissed. Get it?
Message…be reasonable. Compromise. Back off on budget objections when eggs cost $6 a dozen and milk $4 a gallon. A studio apartment in Denver is $2,100 a month.
Denver. Studio. Not Paris.
And stop playing the objection game that the math is wrong, and I am thinking of a number between one and one thousand.
Trustees…what planet do ya’ll live on? I often think these fly-specking collection agents, who self-romanticize as upholding their duties, can not have children of their own, or they would know how expensive it is to raise a family. On the other hand, and on behalf of society, thank you for not reproducing. 👍👍👍
One of our trustees remains unfazed by our version of the ruling (In re Doll.) Mr. Doll, a man who repaired forklifts (we all know how fruitful that industry is), kept no business records. Case dismissed for budget reasons. I argued trustee must disgorge his fee. Bankruptcy court disagreed. Cited the now-retired Chevron doctrine.
I got the court reversed, went to the 10th Circuit as appellee (armed with talking points from the brilliant Henry Sommer), and started my oral argument with Congress knows how to pay a trustee when it wants to. Doesn’t want to pay that guy.
Still, today, the confirmation process remains this side of waterboarding. An audit the GAO would not do. Colleagues for whom I respect will no longer file a 13 lest the brain damage.
Last year, that trustee laid off two long-time employees, one of whom had been there for 20 years, due to a lack of revenue. (The laid-off man told me that trustee now has it in for us. Cute.)
The next time I get an objection demanding receipts for supplies for a 50-year-old lady who cleans offices on the side, I am calling Donald Trump.
Get rid of these clowns, Mr. President. Make us great again. 😃
(From the brilliant mind of Bill Rochelle)
