UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF NORTH DAKOTA In re Case No. _______________ __________________________________, Chapter 7 Debtor(s) Motion to Reschedule § 341 Meeting of Creditors
(Submit to Trustee; do not file with Clerk of Court)
Recitals
Continuances of § 341(a) meetings are not mandated by the Bankruptcy Code and should be granted only under exceptional circumstances. Handbook for Chapter 7 Trustees, § 7.B. If requests for continuances are made at or before the meeting, the trustee may grant the request and continue the matter until another calendar date. The request to continue should only be granted if the trustee is convinced the reason given is truthful and could not have been avoided. All creditors must be given proper notice of the continued date. Norton Handbook for Chapter 7 Trustees § 6:48. The Bankruptcy Code provides no exception for limited notice to creditors absent court approval. Local Bankruptcy Rule 5071-1 addresses motions for continuances for all bankruptcy matters. The rule specifies that motions for continuance shall be presented as soon as the grounds therefor are known. The rule further specifies, “In the case of Section 341 meetings, the motion shall be directed to the presiding trustee or U.S. Trustee who shall in his or her discretion, grant or deny the motion. . . . If a continuance is granted the moving party shall be responsible for noticing all parties of the continuance and, if a continuance has been granted within five (5) days before the scheduled meeting, notice shall be by telephone in addition to the written notice. Any continued or rescheduled meeting should be held before the time for objection to discharge has expired unless an order for extension of time to object to the debtor’s discharge has been obtained.
Being advised by the trustee of the forgoing, I submit that the following exceptional circumstances exist which cannot be avoided and warrant the rescheduling of the § 341 Meeting:
Accordingly, I request that the § 341 Meeting scheduled for _______________________ [Date/Time] in _______________________ [City] be rescheduled to next calendar date in which § 341 Meetings will be held in such city. Dated this _____________________. _______________________________________ Counsel for Debtor(s) _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Phone: ________________________________ Return completed document to the trustee. Faxes and PDF files are acceptable.
Motion-341-Reschedule-MBT60.doc Rev. 6/04