Director Cliff White joined Honorary Members, Senator Richard Durbin and Representative Howard Coble, and others from the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 at its first public meeting. The purpose of the Commission and the topics it plans to address were discussed. The Director is a non-voting member who will offer assistance and perspectives as the Commission conducts its research and deliberations.

Today, the Attorney General announced that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general have reached a landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing, foreclosure, and bankruptcy abuses. In the agreement, the United States Trustee Program (USTP) settled claims for the servicers’ violations of bankruptcy requirements that protect debtors and ensure the integrity of the bankruptcy process. The USTP is proud to be a part of this unprecedented joint agreement that is the largest federal-state civil settlement in history.

Information on the settlement is available on the Department of Justice’s Web site.

Department of Justice press release:

Attorney General Holder’s press statement:

Daniel M. McDermott, the U.S. Trustee for Ohio and Michigan (Region 9), has been designated by Attorney General Eric Holder also to serve as the U.S. Trustee for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota (Region 12) for an interim period beginning on December 3, 2011, the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees announced today.

The IRS’s National Standards for Allowable Living Expenses and Local Standards for Transportation and Housing and Utilities Expenses accessible through the “Means Testing Information” page have been updated. The U.S. Trustee Program will apply the updated data to all cases filed on or after May 1, 2012.

The Census Bureau’s Median Family Income Data and Administrative Expense Multipliers accessible through the “Means Testing Information” page have been updated. The U.S. Trustee Program will apply the updated data to all cases filed on or after May 1, 2012.

On November 4, 2011, the United States Trustee Program posted for public comment the proposed guidelines for reviewing applications for attorney compensation in larger chapter 11 cases (“proposed guidelines”).  The comment period has been re-opened through May 21, 2012, and the USTP will host a public meeting on the proposed guidelines in Washington, DC on June 4, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, at the United States Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (7th Floor Conference Room). 

As required by section 603(a)(2)(D) of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Public Law 109-8, the United States Trustee Program has issued its annual public report on the aggregate results of debtor audits for Fiscal Year 2011.

As announced on November 4, 2011, the USTP drafted new proposed guidelines for reviewing applications for compensation and reimbursement of expenses filed by attorneys in larger chapter 11 cases.  The public comment period ran through January 31, 2012, and the public comments are now available for review.