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HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES (FRBP 3004)
ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOTES — 1983
This rule is adapted from former Bankruptcy Rule 303 but conforms with
the changes made by § 501(c)
of the Code.
Rule 303 permitted only the filing of tax and wage
claims by the
debtor. Section
501(c)
of the
Code,
however, permits the filing by the
debtor or Trustee on behalf of any
creditor.
It is the policy of the
Code
that debtors'
estates should be administered for the benefit of
creditors without regard to the dischargeability of their
claims. After their estates have been closed, however, discharged
debtors
may find themselves saddled with liabilities, particularly for taxes,
which remain unpaid because of the failure of
creditors
holding nondischargeable
claims
to file proofs of
claim and receive distributions thereon. The result is that the
debtor is deprived of an important benefit of the
Code
without any fault or omission on the
debtor's part and without any objective of the
Code
being served thereby.
Section 501(c) of the
Code
authorizes a
debtor or Trustee to file a proof of
claim for any holder of a
claim. Although all claims may not be nondischargeable, it may be
difficult to determine, in particular, whether tax
claims survive discharge. See Plumb, Federal Tax Liens and
Priorities in Bankruptcy, 43 Ref. J. 37, 43-44 (1969); 1 Collier,
Bankruptcy 17.14 (14th ed. 1967); 3 id. 523.06 (15th ed. 1979). To
eliminate the necessity of the resolution of this troublesome issue, the
option accorded the
debtor by the
Code does
not depend on the nondischargeability of the
claim. No serious administrative problems and no unfairness to
creditors seemed to develop from adoption of Rule 303, the
forerunner to § 501(c).
The authority to file is conditioned on the
creditor's failure to file the proof of
claim
on or before the first date set for the meeting of
creditors, which is the date a claim must ordinarily be filed in
order to be voted in a chapter
7
case. notice to the
creditor is provided to enable him to file a proof of
claim
pursuant to Rule 3002, which proof, when filed, would supersede the proof filed by
the
debtor or Trustee. notice to the Trustee would serve to alert the
Trustee to the special character of the proof and the possible need for
supplementary evidence of the validity and amount of the
claim. If the Trustee does not qualify until after a proof of
claim
is filed by the
debtor pursuant to this rule, he should be notified as soon as
practicable thereafter.
To the extent the
claim
is allowed and dividends paid thereon, it will be reduced or perhaps
paid in full. If the claim is also filed pursuant to Rule
3005, only
one distribution thereon may be made. As expressly required by Rule
3005 and by
the purpose of this rule such distribution must diminish the
claim.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOTES — 1987 AMENDMENT
Under the rule as amended, the
debtor or Trustee in a chapter 7 or
13
case
has 120 days from the first date set for the meeting of
creditors to file a claim for the
creditor. During the first 90 days of that period the
creditor in a chapter
7
or
13
case
may file a claim as provided by Rule 3002(c). If the
creditor fails to file a claim, the
debtor
or Trustee shall have an additional 30 days thereafter to file the
claim. A proof of
claim filed by a
creditor supersedes a claim filed by the
debtor
or Trustee only if it is timely filed within the 90 days allowed under
Rule
3002(c).
ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOTES — 2005 AMENDMENT
The rule is amended to conform to § 501(c)
of the
Code.
Under that provision, the
debtor or Trustee may file proof of a claim if the
creditor fails to do so in a timely fashion. The rule previously
authorized the
debtor and the Trustee to file a claim as early as the day after the
first date set for the meeting of
creditors under § 341(a).
Under the amended rule, the
debtor and Trustee must wait until the creditor’s opportunity to
file a claim has expired. Providing the
debtor and the Trustee with the opportunity to file a claim ensures
that the claim will participate in any distribution in the case. This is
particularly important for claims that are nondischargeable.
Since the
debtor and Trustee cannot file a proof of claim until after the
creditor’s time to file has expired, the rule no longer permits the
creditor to file a proof of claim that will supersede the claim
filed by the
debtor or Trustee. The rule leaves to the courts the issue of
whether to permit subsequent amendment of such proof of claim.
Other changes are stylistic.
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