U.S. Trustee Program

The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) is pleased to have been recognized by the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable for its pilot project to permanently transition its statutorily required meetings of creditors to a video conference format. This pilot builds upon the USTP’s experience during the pandemic when it was forced to move from in-person meetings to primarily telephonic meetings to ensure the safety of all participants in the bankruptcy process. This transition to video will foster greater participation, result in substantial cost and time efficiencies for debtors and creditors, and better ensure the efficiency and integrity of the bankruptcy system. The USTP is currently evaluating the ongoing pilot to identify areas for improvement and, at its conclusion, will expand video meetings nationwide on a rolling basis.

The 2022 Roundtable Report—“Access to Justice through Simplification: A Roadmap for People-Centered Simplification of Federal Government Forms, Processes, and Language”—can be found here, and you can learn more about the USTP’s video meetings pilot in the “Important Notices” section below.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the position of the United States, acting as amicus, and held that section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code bars the discharge in bankruptcy of an individual debtor’s debt for money obtained by the actual fraud of her business partner, even in the absence of a finding that the debtor personally committed the fraud or intended or knew of its occurrence. The USTP assisted the Solicitor General’s office in briefing and preparing for argument. The case is Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S.---, 2023 WL 2144417 (2023).

The Administrative Expense Multipliers and 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 has been updated. The revised multipliers and standards will apply to cases filed on or after May 15, 2023.

The Census Bureau’s Median Family Income Data accessible through the “Means Testing Information” page has been updated. The U.S. Trustee Program will apply the updated data to all cases filed on or after April 1, 2023.

Effective March 13, 2023, the USTP will resume its designation of individual chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases for audit. These audits previously had been suspended in March 2020 due to public health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pursuant to its authority under 11 U.S.C. §§ 341(a) and 343, Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2003, and other authorities, the U.S. Trustee Program (“USTP”) will implement virtual section 341 meetings of creditors (“341 meetings”) for all chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming filed on or after December 1, 2022. The U.S. Trustee may approve alternative arrangements for 341 meetings when extenuating circumstances exist that preclude a debtor’s attendance by video. In addition, in rare cases, the U.S. Trustee may determine that an in-person 341 meeting is necessary. In such cases, appropriate health and safety protocols will be followed.

This move to virtual 341 meetings in Region 19 is a pilot program that will be implemented in USTP jurisdictions nationwide after this initial testing. Until then, 341 meetings in other USTP districts will continue under current protocols.

By Tracy Hope Davis, U.S. Trustee, Region 17; and Kelley Callard, Trial Attorney, Detroit, MI. Reprinted with permission from NACTT Quarterly (January/February/March, Vol. 35, No. 3, 2023).

U.S. Department of Justice Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta addressed the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys at their annual convention in Washington, DC, on April 28, 2023. ASG Gupta spoke about the Justice Department’s commitment to “ensur[ing] economic opportunity and fairness” for all, in the bankruptcy system and beyond.

By Adam G. Brief, Assistant U.S. Trustee, Region 11. Reprinted with permission from Business Law Today, a publication of the American Bar Association Business Law Section (March 2023).

By Daniel J. Casamatta, Acting U.S. Trustee, Region 13; and Michael J. Bujold, Associate General Counsel for General and Administrative Law, EOUST. Reprinted with permission from ABI Journal (Vol. XLI, No. 11, November 2022).

By Adam Herring, Associate General Counsel for Consumer Practice, EOUST; and Scott Bomkamp, Trial Attorney, Orlando, FL. Reprinted with permission from ABI Journal (Vol. LXI, No. 9, September 2022)

Ramona D. Elliott, Acting Director, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees

Ramona D. Elliott, Acting Director, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees.

Clifford J. White III, Director, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees.

Clifford J. White III, Director, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees.

By Clifford J. White III, Director, EOUST; Walter W. Theus, Jr., Trial Attorney, EOUST; and Nan Roberts Eitel, Associate General Counsel for Chapter 11 Practice, EOUST. Published in ABI Journal (Vol. XL, No. 8, August 2021).

By Robert S. Gebhard, Assistant Director for Oversight, EOUST; and Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee, Regions 10 and 21. Reprinted with permission from American Bankruptcy Trustee Journal (Spring 2021).

Clifford J. White III, Director, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees.