§589b — Title 28 Judiciary and Judicial Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

The Attorney General must, within a reasonable time after this takes effect, make and update standard forms for two kinds of bankruptcy reports: final reports by trustees in cases under subchapter V of chapter 11 and chapters 7, 12, and 13 of title 11; and regular (periodic) reports by debtors in possession or trustees in chapter 11. The forms must be set up so data can be easily collected and the public can view it at one or more central filing places and online. The rules must balance public need for information, simplicity and low cost for filers, and privacy. Final reports must cover things like how long the case ran, assets abandoned or exempted, money in and out, administration costs (including under section 707(b) and chapter 13 costs), claims made and allowed, and payments or discharges. Periodic chapter 11 reports must show the debtor’s industry (per the Department of Commerce), time pending, employee counts, cash receipts and payouts and profits (recent and total), tax filing/payment compliance, court‑approved professional fees (recent and total, split between fees that would exist without bankruptcy and fees that would not), and reorganization plans and recoveries by class in dollars and percentages.

Title 28, §589b

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Attorney General shall, within a reasonable time after the effective date of this section, issue rules requiring uniform forms for (and from time to time thereafter to appropriately modify and approve)—

(1)final reports by trustees in cases under subchapter V of chapter 11 and chapters 7, 12, and 13 of title 11; and

(2)periodic reports by debtors in possession or trustees in cases under chapter 11 of title 11.

(b)Each report referred to in subsection (a) shall be designed (and the requirements as to place and manner of filing shall be established) so as to facilitate compilation of data and maximum possible access of the public, both by physical inspection at one or more central filing locations, and by electronic access through the Internet or other appropriate media.

(c)The information required to be filed in the reports referred to in subsection (b) shall be that which is in the best interests of debtors and creditors, and in the public interest in reasonable and adequate information to evaluate the efficiency and practicality of the Federal bankruptcy system. In issuing rules proposing the forms referred to in subsection (a), the Attorney General shall strike the best achievable practical balance between—

(1)the reasonable needs of the public for information about the operational results of the Federal bankruptcy system;

(2)economy, simplicity, and lack of undue burden on persons with a duty to file reports; and

(3)appropriate privacy concerns and safeguards.

(d)The uniform forms for final reports required under subsection (a) for use by trustees under subchapter V of chapter 11 and chapters 7, 12, and 13 of title 11 shall, in addition to such other matters as are required by law or as the Attorney General in the discretion of the Attorney General shall propose, include with respect to a case under such title—

(1)information about the length of time the case was pending;

(2)assets abandoned;

(3)assets exempted;

(4)receipts and disbursements of the estate;

(5)expenses of administration, including for use under section 707(b), actual costs of administering cases under chapter 13 of title 11;

(6)claims asserted;

(7)claims allowed; and

(8)distributions to claimants and claims discharged without payment,

(e)The uniform forms for periodic reports required under subsection (a) for use by trustees or debtors in possession under chapter 11 of title 11 shall, in addition to such other matters as are required by law or as the Attorney General in the discretion of the Attorney General shall propose, include—

(1)information about the industry classification, published by the Department of Commerce, for the businesses conducted by the debtor;

(2)length of time the case has been pending;

(3)number of full-time employees as of the date of the order for relief and at the end of each reporting period since the case was filed;

(4)cash receipts, cash disbursements and profitability of the debtor for the most recent period and cumulatively since the date of the order for relief;

(5)compliance with title 11, whether or not tax returns and tax payments since the date of the order for relief have been timely filed and made;

(6)all professional fees approved by the court in the case for the most recent period and cumulatively since the date of the order for relief (separately reported, for the professional fees incurred by or on behalf of the debtor, between those that would have been incurred absent a bankruptcy case and those not); and

(7)plans of reorganization filed and confirmed and, with respect thereto, by class, the recoveries of the holders, expressed in aggregate dollar values and, in the case of claims, as a percentage of total claims of the class allowed.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

For the

Effective Date

of this section, referred to in subsec. (a), see

Effective Date

note set out below.

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–54, § 4(b)(2)(A), inserted “subchapter V of chapter 11 and” after “cases under”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–54, § 4(b)(2)(B), inserted “subchapter V of chapter 11 and” after “trustees under” in introductory provisions and “subchapter V of chapter 11 and” after “cases under” in concluding provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2019 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 116–54 effective 180 days after Aug. 23, 2019, see section 5 of Pub. L. 116–54, set out as a note under section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.

Effective Date

Section effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under Title 11, Bankruptcy, before such

Effective Date

, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Pub. L. 109–8, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2005 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 11.

§589b Bankruptcy data

Summary

Title 28, §589b

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Effective Date

Effective Date

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata