Chapter Ten. Trustees, Official Creditor Committees, and Examiners After reading this chapter, you will be able to: Describe the role and basic duties of the bankruptcy trustee. Define the role of the debtor-in-possession in Chapter 11 proceedings Identify the United States Trustee Describe the Official Creditors Committee Identify the Examiner

Trustees Section 321 provides that a competent individual who has an office or resides in the district or in an adjacent district where the proceeding is pending may be a trustee in a Chapter 7, 12, or 13 case.

Practice Pointer Remember, a ‘‘disinterested person’’ is a defined term under the Bankruptcy Code. It includes a person who is not a creditor, an insider, or someone who holds ‘‘an interest materially adverse to the interest of the estate.’’ 11 U.S.C. §101(14).

Practice Pointer Remember, once the debtor files for bankruptcy, all legal interests or actions that the debtor could have maintained prepetition now belong to the bankruptcy estate. Once appointed, the trustee represents the estate and may pursue those actions on behalf of the estate.

Office of the United States Trustee The Office of the United States Trustee is charged with monitoring the progress of all cases, regardless of Chapter, and to act appropriately to ‘‘prevent undue delay.”

Debtor-in-Possession The debtor-in-possession is the fiduciary entity created by a debtor filing a Chapter 11 reorganization proceeding. The debtor acts as its own trustee.

Official Creditors Committee The official creditors committee is an entity created in a Chapter 11 proceeding to act on the collective behalf of unsecured creditors.

Examiner An examiner is an individual appointed in a Chapter 11 proceeding to conduct an independent investigation of some or all of a debtor’s financial affairs.

Ombudsmen An ombudsman may be appointed in two discrete situations. First, where an asset sale involves the sale of personally identifiable information, then the court shall order the appointment of an ombudsman to review the seller’s privacy policy and report on the potential losses or gains to consumers and the estate by the proposed sale. Second, in a health care business bankruptcy, the court shall order an ombudsman to represent the interests of patients where necessary to regularly report to the court on the quality of patient care.