§557 Expedited Determination of Interests In, and Abandonment or Other Disposition of Grain Assets

Summary

When a bankrupt company owns or runs a grain storage facility, the court must move quickly to decide who has rights to the grain and to the money from selling it. It only covers grain and the money from grain, not other property. Definitions used here: grain — certain dry crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, grain sorghum, and dry edible beans; grain storage facility — a place regularly used to store grain for farmers or to buy and resell grain; producer — someone who grows grain. The court can speed up claims and decisions when a trustee or anyone claiming an interest asks, and must set a timetable that normally finishes within 120 days (which can be extended for good reason if the case is complex and claimants aren’t harmed). Faster handling can cover who owns the grain, proofs of claim, requests to abandon or sell, whether grain is estate property or must be turned over, sales or distributions, hiring trustees or experts, and related disputes. Regulators with oversight must be told, may be heard, and must be consulted before grain is disposed. If an expedited order is not paused for appeal, actions taken before the appeal remain valid. The trustee can recover reasonable preservation or sale costs from the grain or its proceeds, and if one type of grain exceeds 10,000 bushels, the trustee must sell it.