(a) The
clerk of the district court, or the clerk of the bankruptcy court if one
is certified pursuant to section
156(b) of this title,
shall collect statistics regarding debtors who are individuals with primarily
consumer debts
seeking relief under chapters
7,
11, and
13 of title
11. Those statistics shall be
in a standardized format prescribed by the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts (referred to in this section as the ‘Director’).
(b) The
Director shall—
(1) compile
the statistics referred to in subsection
(a);
(2) make
the statistics available to the public; and
(3) not
later than July 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, prepare, and submit to
Congress a report concerning the information collected under subsection
(a) that contains an analysis of the information.
(c) The
compilation required under subsection
(b) shall—
(1) be
itemized, by chapter, with respect to title
11;
(2) be
presented in the aggregate and for each district; and
(3) include
information concerning—
(A)
the total assets and total liabilities of the debtors described in subsection
(a), and in each category of assets and liabilities,
as reported in the schedules prescribed pursuant to section
2075 of this title and filed by debtors;
(B)
the
current monthly
income, average income, and average expenses of debtors as reported
on the schedules and statements that each such debtor files under sections
521 and
1322 of title
11;
(C)
the aggregate amount of
debt discharged
in cases filed during the reporting period, determined as the difference
between the total amount of
debt and obligations
of a debtor reported on the schedules and the amount of such
debt reported
in categories which are predominantly nondischargeable;
(D)
the average period of time between the date of the filing of the petition
and the closing of the case for cases closed during the reporting period;
(E)
for cases closed during the reporting period—
(i)
the number of cases in which a reaffirmation agreement was filed; and
(ii)(I)
the total number of reaffirmation agreements filed;
(II)
of those cases in which a reaffirmation agreement was filed, the number
of cases in which the debtor was not represented by an
attorney; and
(III)
of those cases in which a reaffirmation agreement was filed, the number
of cases in which the reaffirmation agreement was approved by the court;
(F)
with respect to cases filed under chapter
13 of title
11, for the reporting period—
(i)(I)
the number of cases in which a final order was entered determining the value
of property securing a claim in an amount less than the amount of the claim;
and
(II)
the number of final orders entered determining the value of property securing
a claim;
(ii)
the number of cases dismissed, the number of cases dismissed for failure
to make payments under the plan, the number of cases refiled after dismissal,
and the number of cases in which the plan was completed, separately itemized
with respect to the number of modifications made before completion of the
plan, if any; and
(iii)
the number of cases in which the debtor filed another case during the 6
year period preceding the filing;
(G)
the number of cases in which creditors were fined for misconduct and any
amount of punitive damages awarded by the court for creditor misconduct;
and
(H)
the number of cases in which sanctions under rule
9011 of the Federal Rules of
Bankruptcy Procedure were imposed against
debtor's
attorney
or damages awarded under such Rule.
(Added P.L.
109-8, Title VI, § 601(a), April 20, 2005,
119 Stat. 119.)
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