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Suggestions on Submitting Effective Comments
Proposed Amendments for Comment (Comments due by February 15,
2007)
- Proposed Amendments to the Federal
Rules of Bankruptcy and Criminal
Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence - Aug. 2006
- Bankruptcy Rules 1005, 1006, 1007, 1009,
1010, 1011, 1015, 1017, 1019, 1020, 2002, 2003, 2007.1,
2015, 3002, 3003, 3016, 3017.1, 3019, 4002, 4003, 4004,
4006, 4007, 4008, 5001, 5003, 6004, 8001, 8003, 9006,
and 9009, and new Bankruptcy Rules 1021, 2007.2, 2015.1,
2015.2, 2015.3, 5008, 5012, and 6011, and Official Forms
1, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16A, 18, 19A, 19B, 21,
22A, 22B, 22C, 23, and 24, and new Official Forms 25A,
25B, 25C, and 26, and Exhibit D to Official Form 1;
- Criminal Rules 1, 12.1, 17, 18, 29, 32,
41, 60, and 61; and
- New Evidence Rule 502.
Bankruptcy Rules and Official Forms:
Bankruptcy
Rule 1005 (Caption of Petition) (requires disclosure of
all names used by the debtor in the past eight years and last
four digits of debtor’s taxpayer-identification number)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1006 (Filing Fee) (allows courts to waive payment of filing
fees or allows debtor to pay in installments) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1007 (Lists, Schedules, Statements, and other Documents;
Time Limits) (requires debtor to file additional documents mandated
under the Act and limits extensions of time for small business
debtors to file schedules and statements. Also requires debtor
filing a petition under chapter 15 to include a list of entities
with whom the debtor is engaged in litigation) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1009 (Amendments of Voluntary Petitions, Lists, Schedules,
and Statements) (technical amendment correcting cross reference)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1010 (Service of Involuntary Petition and Summons; Petition
For Recognition of a Foreign Nonmain Proceeding) (requires service
of summons and petition on debtor and other entity against whom
the representative is seeking provisional relief in a pending
foreign nonmain proceeding) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1011 (Responsive Pleading or Motion in Involuntary and Cross-Border
Cases) (technical amendment, including a requirement that corporation
involved in cross-border insolvency file corporate disclosure
ownership statement) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1015 (Consolidation or Joint Administration of Cases Pending
in Same Court) (technical amendment re change in numbering)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1017 (Dismissal or Conversion of Case; Suspension) (permits
parties to move to dismiss chapter 7 consumer-debtor case for
abuse) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1019 (Conversion of a Chapter 11 Reorganization Case, Chapter
12 Family Farmer’s Debt Adjustment Case, or Chapter 13
Individual’s Debt Adjustment Case to a Chapter 7 Liquidation
Case) (preserves creditor’s right to bring actions to
determine dischargeability under § 523 and motion to dismiss
under § 707 upon conversion of a case from chapter 13 to
chapter 7) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1020 (Small Business Chapter 11 Reorganization Case) (provides
new procedures to determine whether debtor is a small business)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
1021 (Health Care Business Case) (provides procedures for
designating debtor as a health-care business) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2002 (Notices to Creditors, Equity Security Holders, Administrators
in Foreign Proceedings, Persons Against Whom Provisional Relief
is Sought in Ancillary and Other Cross-Border Cases, United
States, and United States Trustee) (requires court to promptly
provide all creditors with statement by trustee re whether debtor’s
case is presumed abusive. Implements other parts of 2005 Act)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2003 (Meeting of Creditors or Equity Security Holders) (authorizes
court to order that a meeting of creditors not be convened if
the debtor has solicited acceptances of a plan prior to the
commencement of a case) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2007.1 (Appointment of Trustee or Examiner in a Chapter
11 Reorganization Case) (requires elected trustee to file an
affidavit with information on that person’s connection
with creditors and others with an interest in the case) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2007.2 (Appointment of Patient Care Ombudsman in a Health
Care Business Case) (requires the appointment of a health care
ombudsman in the first 30 days of all health care business cases
unless the court finds it unnecessary. Also provides for parties
in interest to file motions to object to the appointment) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2015 (Duty to Keep Records, Make Reports, and Give Notice
of Case or Change of Status) (requires small-business chapter
11 debtors to file periodic financial and operating reports.
Also requires foreign representatives to report to court and
sets the time for filing reports) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2015.1 (Patient Care Ombudsman) (governs reports issued
by health- care ombudsman and protects patient’s privacy
when ombudsman requests access to patient records) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2015.2 (Transfer of Patient in Health Care Business Case)
(requires trustee to issue notice when relocating patients from
a health-care business debtor’s facility that is closing)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
2015.3 (Reports of Financial Information on Entities in
Which a Chapter 11 Estate Holds a Controlling or Substantial
Interest) (requires debtors to file periodic reports re value
and profitability of any entity in which the debtor has a substantial
or controlling interest) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
3002 (Filing Proof of Claim or Interest) (conforms time
period for filing proofs of government claims under § 1308
to time periods under § 502. Also gives court discretion
for extending time for foreign creditor to file proof of claim)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
3003 (Filing Proof of Claim or Equity Security Interest
in Chapter 9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Cases)
(requires court to grant additional time to creditor with foreign
address to file proofs of claim in chapter 9 or chapter 11 cases)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
3016 (Filing of Plan and Disclosure Statement in a Chapter
9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Case) (small-business
debtor need not file disclosure statement in a chapter 9 or
11 case if the plan itself includes adequate information and
court finds that separate disclosure statement is unnecessary)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
3017.1 (Court Consideration of Disclosure Statement in a
Small Business Case) (court in a small-business chapter 11 case
may conditionally approve plan if adequate information is provided)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
3019 (Modification of Accepted Plan Before or After Confirmation
in a Chapter 9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Case)
(establishes procedures for filing and objecting to a proposed
modification of a confirmed plan) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
4002 (Duties of Debtor) (requires debtor to provide additional
evidence of personal identity, current income, recent Federal
income tax returns or tax transcripts, and financial account
information existing at commencement of the case, consistent
with the 2005 Act) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
4003 (Exemptions) (extends deadline for filing objections
to exemptions from 30 days to 60 days and allows trustee to
object to an exemption up to one year after case closed if the
exemption was fraudulent) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
4004 (Grant or Denial of Discharge) (requires debtor to
complete a financial management program before court enters
discharge, and allows court to postpone discharge to determine
whether debtor committed a felony or owes money arising from
certain causes of action) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
4006 (Notice of No Discharge) (requires clerk to notify
parties in interest, including the debtor, that no discharge
was entered if debtor failed to complete financial management
course) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
4007 (Determination of Dischargeability of a Debt) (expands
the exceptions to discharge upon completion of a chapter 13
plan) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
4008 (Filing of Reaffirmation Agreement; Statement in Support
of Reaffirmation Agreement) (establishes a deadline for filing
a reaffirmation agreement. Also requires debtor to file a signed
statement showing total income and expense from schedules and
an explanation of any discrepancies so that the court can evaluate
the reaffirmation for undue hardship) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
5001 (Courts and Clerks’ Offices) (permits bankruptcy
judges in emergency situations to hold hearings outside of the
district in which the case is pending) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
5003 (Records Kept By the Clerk) (allows taxing authorities
to designate addresses to use for the service of a request under
§ 505(b)(1)) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
5008 (Notice Regarding Presumption of Abuse in Chapter 7
Cases of Individual Debtors) (requires clerks to give written
notice to all creditors not later than 10 days after the filing
of a petition that a presumption of abuse has arisen) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
5012 (Communication and Cooperation With Foreign Courts
and Foreign Representatives) (provides opportunity for parties
in a cross-border insolvency case to participate on timely request
in a court’s communication with a foreign court or foreign
representative) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
6004 (Use, Sale, or Lease of Property) (requires the appointment
of a consumer privacy ombudsman in certain circumstances when
a debtor proposes to sell personally identifiable information)
(PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
6011 (Disposal of Patient Records in Health Care Business
Case) (requires trustee to notify patients before destroying
their medical records) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
8001 (Manner of Taking Appeal; Voluntary Dismissal; Certification
to Court of Appeals) (authorizes appeals directly to the courts
of appeals upon certification either by the bankruptcy or district
court or the bankruptcy appellate panel) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
8003 (Leave to Appeal) (implements the direct appeal provisions
of the Act) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
9006 (Time) (extensions of time for filing schedules and
a statement of financial affairs by small business debtors cannot
be extended beyond the time set in the Code) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule
9009 (Forms) (plan proponent in a small business chapter
11 case need not use an Official Form of a plan of reorganization
and disclosure statement) (PDF)
Official
Form 1 (Voluntary Petition) (requests for information about
the debtor have been revised and the statutory definition of
“consumer debt” has been added) (PDF) Exhibit
D to Official Form 1 (Individual Debtor’s Statement
of Compliance with Credit Counseling Requirement) (alerts debtors
to the prepetition credit counseling requirement) (PDF)
Official
Form 3A (Application to Pay Filing Fee in Installments)
(amended to state that, until the filing fee is paid in full,
the debtor will not make any additional payment or transfer
any additional property for services in connection with the
case) (PDF)
Official
Form 3B (Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing
Fee for Individuals Who Cannot Pay the Filing Fee in Full or
in Installments) (courts permitted to waive the filing fee or
permit the debtor to pay in installments in a case under chapter
7) (PDF)
Official
Form 4 (List of Creditors Holding 20 Largest Unsecured Claims)
(provides more information concerning notification to a guardian
or other adult when a minor child is a creditor in a bankruptcy
case) (PDF)
Official
Form 5 (Involuntary Petition) (facilitates collection in
an involuntary case the same statistical information as in a
voluntary case) (PDF)
Official
Form 6 (Schedules) (facilitates statistical reporting requirements
and other conforming amendments) (PDF)
Official
Form 7 (Statement of Financial Affairs) (conforms to proposed
new Bankruptcy Rule 9037) (PDF)
Official
Form 8 (Chapter 7 Individual Debtor’s Statement of
Intention) (adds section covering personal property subject
to an unexpired lease and an option labeled “lease will
be assumed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(h)(1)(A)”
to the choices a debtor may make) (PDF)
Official
Form 9 (Notice of Commencement of Case, Meeting of Creditors
and Deadlines) (adds “family fisherman” as a category
of debtor eligible for bankruptcy relief under chapter 12 of
the Bankruptcy Code. Also allows Internal Revenue Service to
assert a claim in a chapter 13 case based on a debtor’s
income tax return filed during the three to five years the case
is pending) (PDF)
Official
Form 10 (Proof of Claim) (conforms with the changed priority
scheme in the Code. Also provides more accurate addresses for
transmittal of payments and notices and updates the Instructions
and Definitions portions of the form) (PDF)
Official
Form 16A (Caption (Full)) and Official
Form 18 (Discharge of Debtor in a Chapter 7 Case) (requires
disclosure of all names used by the debtor in the past eight
years and last four digits of debtor’s taxpayer-identification
number. Also reflects changes to the Bankruptcy Code governing
nondischargeability of certain obligations) (PDF)
Official
Form 19A (Declaration and Signature of Non-Attorney Bankruptcy
Petition Preparer) (changes the former “certification”
to “declaration” and contains additional language
mandated by the 2005 Act) (PDF)
Official
Form 19B (Notice to Debtor by Non-Attorney Bankruptcy Petition
Preparer) (contains the notice that a non-attorney bankruptcy
petition preparer is required to give a debtor) (PDF)
Official
Form 21 (Statement of Social-Security Number) (requires
taxpayers that do not have a social-security number to provide
a taxpayer-identification number on form) (PDF)
Official
Form 22A (Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income
and Means-Test Calculation) (deletes the phrase “in default”
in recognition that a debtor may be required to make additional
payments to a creditor even if the loan is not in default) (PDF)
Official
Form 22B (Chapter 11 Statement of Current Monthly Income)
(allows calculation of disposable income under judicially-determined
standards, rather than pursuant to the means-test deductions
specified for higher-income chapter 13 debtors) (PDF)
Official
Form 22C (Chapter 13 Statement of Current Monthly Income
and Calculation of Commitment Period and Disposable Income)
(requires all chapter 13 debtors, including those whose income
is below the applicable median, to complete Part III of the
form) (PDF)
Official
Form 23 (Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional
Course Concerning Personal Financial Management) (requires debtor
to provide number of the certificate of completion received
from the course, requires debtor to indicate any applicable
exception to the requirement to complete the course, and states
deadlines for filing the certification in a chapter 7 case and
a chapter 13 case) (PDF)
Official
Form 24 (Certification to Court of Appeals by All Parties)
(must be used to file any certification of an appeal, bankruptcy
court judgment, order, or decree directly to the United States
Court of Appeals by all the appellants and appellees acting
jointly) (PDF)
Official
Form 25A ([Name of Proponent]’s Plan of Reorganization,
Dated [Insert Date]) and Official
Form 25B ([Name of Proponent]’s Disclosure Statement,
Dated [Insert Date]) (new forms re reorganization plan and disclosure
statement to be used in small business cases under chapter 11)
(PDF)
Official
Form 25C (Small Business Monthly Operating Report) (new
form to assist small business debtors in chapter 11 cases to
fulfill their financial reporting responsibilities under the
Act) (PDF)
Official
Form 26 (Periodic Report Concerning Related Entities) (new
form to be used when required by proposed new Bankruptcy Rule
2015.3 to file periodic reports on the profitability of any
entities in which a chapter 11 debtor holds a substantial or
controlling interest) (PDF)
Criminal Rules:
Criminal
Rule 1 (Scope; Definitions) (incorporates definition of
“crime victim” from the Crime Victims’ Rights
Act and specifies legal representatives who may act on behalf
of victims under 18, incompetent, or deceased. Also clarifies
that a person accused of an offense cannot be a “victim”
under the rules) (PDF)
Criminal
Rule 12.1 (Notice of Alibi Defense) (provides that a victim’s
address and telephone number should not automatically be provided
to the defense when an alibi defense is raised) (PDF)
Criminal
Rule 17 (Subpoena) (requires court approval when defendant
subpoenas third party to provide personal or confidential information
about a victim. Also requires notice of subpoena to victim and
opportunity to quash or modify it) (PDF)
Criminal
Rule 18 (Place of Trial) (requires court to consider convenience
of victims as well as defendants and witnesses when setting
place for trial within the district) (PDF)
Criminal
Rule 29 (Motion for a Judgment of Acquittal) (allows government
to seek appellate review of preverdict judgment of acquittal)
(PDF)
Criminal
Rule 32 (Sentencing and Judgment) (several amendments implementing
the Crime Victims’ Rights Act) (PDF)
Criminal
Rule 41 (Search and Seizure) (authorizes magistrate judges
to issue search warrants for property located outside any state
or federal judicial district, including U.S. territories, possessions,
and commonwealths not within a federal judicial district as
well as certain premises associated with U.S. diplomatic and
consular missions)
Criminal
Rule 60 (Victim’s Rights) (consolidates in one rule
new provisions implementing the Crime Victims’ Rights
Act, including notice to victims of judicial proceedings, victim
attendance at these proceedings, victim’s right to be
heard, and enforcement of victims’ rights. Also incorporates
statutory provisions limiting relief and states that failure
to provide relief under the rule is not a basis for a new trial)
(PDF)
Criminal
Rule 61 (Title) (conforming amendment)
Evidence Rule:
Evidence
Rule 502 (Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations
on Waiver) (waiver of attorney-client privilege and work product
protection)
* Copyright 1998 The American Law
Institute. Reproduced with the permission from author and American
Law Institute - American Bar Association Continuing Professional
Education. |
Rules Published for
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