§2178 Disclosure by Professional Persons Seeking Approval of Compensation Under Section 2176 or 2177 of This Title

Summary

Professionals who want to be paid under sections 2176 or 2177 in a case started under section 2164 must file a sworn written statement, before asking for payment, saying how they are connected to anyone on the List of Material Interested Parties. This applies to lawyers, accountants, appraisers, auctioneers, agents, and other professionals. They must quickly update the statement if they learn new facts. If they do not file, do not update, or the court finds their statement was not a real effort to comply, they must say so in other required filings that follow Rule 2014(a). The Oversight Board must make the List of Material Interested Parties within 30 days after January 20, 2022, subject to court approval and a chance for the United States trustee or any interested party to be heard. The list will include the debtor, creditors, other parties in interest, their lawyers and accountants, the U.S. trustee and staff, and Oversight Board members and employees, but the court may set a dollar cutoff to leave out very small claims. The U.S. trustee will review and may comment on or object to the statements and to fee requests. The court may deny payment if required disclosures are missing or inadequate, or if a professional is not a "disinterested person" (see section 101 of title 11) or has an adverse interest.