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Bankruptcy Fee, Form, and Rule Changes Effective 12/1/2014

Fee Changes

The Judicial Conference of the United States approved the following fee changes effective December 1, 2014:

  • a new fee of $25 per affected case for filing a motion for redaction.  The Judicial Conference clarified that if the case is closed, no reopening fee is required if the only purpose for reopening is redaction per Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037.
  • upon notice from the court of appeals that a direct appeal or cross-appeal has been authorized, a fee of $207 will be due.  This fee increased from $157. 

National Form Changes

The Judicial Conference of the United States approved the following form changes effective December 1, 2014:

  • Official Forms 3A (Application for Individuals to Pay the Filing Fee in Installments) and 3B (Application to Have the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waived) are revised to remove references to fee amounts.

  • Official Form B6Sum (Summary) is revised to update line number cross references to the revised means test forms (Official Forms 22A-1, 22A-1 Supp, 22A-2, 22B, 22C-1 and 22C-2).

  • Official Forms 17A (Notice of Appeal and Statement of Election), 17B (Optional Appellee Statement of Election to Proceed in District Court) and 17C (Certificate of Compliance with Rule 8015(a)(7)(B) or 8016(d)(2)) are new forms set to go into effect with the revised bankruptcy appellate rules.

  • Official Forms 22A-1 (Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income), 22A-1 Supp (Statement of Exemption from Presumption of Abuse Under §707(b)(2)), 22A-2 (Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation), 22B (Chapter 11 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income), 22C-1 (Chapter 13 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period) and 22C-2 (Chapter 13 Calculation of Your Disposable Income) are the revised means test forms. These forms are revised to accommodate changes in the law as a result of Supreme Court precedent and as part of the Bankruptcy Rules Advisory Committee’s ongoing Forms Modernization Project.

Prior to December 1, these forms may be viewed at http://www.uscourts.gov/FormsAndFees/Forms/BankruptcyForms/BankruptcyFormsPendingChanges.aspx

National Rule Changes

On April 25, 2014, the Supreme Court approved amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure which will take effect on December 1, 2014 absent Congressional action to the contrary.

The amendments to the bankruptcy rules address the following: 1) petitions involving the same debtors filed in different courts; 2) time limits for serving a summons and complaint; 3) general pleadings and judgments and costs; 4) bankruptcy appeals; and 5) new trials and relief from a judgment or order.

The amended rules are located at http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/RulesAndPolicies/rules/congressional-package-for-congress.pdf.

Local Bankruptcy Rule, Form, and ECF Event Changes

LBR and LBF changes effective 12/1/14 will be posted on the Court's website in early November.  Information about ECF event changes to implement the fee, form, and rule changes will follow.