Opinion
CASE NO. 07-20374 JPK.
January 9, 2009
ORDER CONCERNING TRUSTEE'S NOTICE OF INTENT TO ABANDON ["NOTICE"]
The Notice was filed on November 24, 2008. There is no evidence in this record that notice of the filing of the Notice was provided to any party-in-interest in this case, including those required to receive notice pursuant to Fed.R.Bankr.P. 6007(a). The Notice is therefore ineffective.
In order to clarify procedures which may not have been made clear previously, the court states the following with respect to matters relating to Abandonment or Disposition of Property under the provisions of Fed.R.Bankr.P. 6007(a) and (b):
1. As stated in Rule 6007(a), a Trustee or a debtor-in-possession may file a document designated as a "Notice" in order to seek to abandon property from a bankruptcy estate.
2. As stated in in Rule 6007(b), a party-in-interest — other than a Trustee or a debtor-in-possession — may file a "Motion" in order to seek abandonment of property from the bankruptcy estate.
3. 11 U.S.C. § 554(a) requires "notice and a hearing" in order to allow a Trustee (including debtor-in-possession) to abandon property from a bankruptcy estate.
4. 11 U.S.C. § 554(b) requires "notice and a hearing" when a party-in-interest — other than a Trustee or a debtor-in-possession — seeks abandonment of property from a bankruptcy estate.
5. N.D.Ind.L.B.R. B-2002-2(a)(17) requires that the "drop dead" procedures of that rule be followed with respect to "Motions to abandon property of the estate". One might infer from the language of this rule that the provisions of Rule 2002-2 do not apply to "Notices" filed by a Trustee or a debtor-in-possession with respect to proposed abandonment of property from a bankruptcy estate. However, given that 11 U.S.C. § 554(a) requires that "notice and a hearing" be provided with respect to notices of abandonment filed by either a Trustee or a debtor-in-possession, the proper reading of N.D.Ind.L.B.R. B-2002-2(a)(17) is that it applies both to "Notices" with respect to abandonment filed by a Trustee or a debtor-in-possession, and to "Motions" with respect to abandonment filed by any other party-in-interest in a case. "Drop dead" procedures satisfy the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 102(1)(B), which allow an action required to be taken after "notice and a hearing" to be taken if proper notice of the action is provided and a party-in-interest does not timely request a hearing with respect to the matter for which notice was properly provided.
"Notices" of abandonment filed by Trustees and by debtors-in-possession thus require compliance with N.D.Ind.L.B.R. B-2002-2(a)(17), at least before this Judge.
In the instant case, there has been no compliance with the foregoing procedures.
IT IS ORDERED that the court will take no action with respect to the Notice filed by the Trustee on November 24, 2008 until the Trustee has complied with N.D.Ind.L.B.R. B-2002-2(a)(17) with respect to that Notice, and evidenced service on the parties designated in Fed.R.Bankr.P. 6007(a).