Boles v. Collins (In re Collins)

In re AARON M. COLLINS, Debtor.

RICHARD BOLES Plaintiff, v. AARON M. COLLINS Defendant.

Case No. 17-10049 (MEW)

Adv. Pro. No. 17-1015 (MEW)

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

March 10, 2017

Chapter 7

MEMORANDUM DECISION CONCERNING CREDITOR'S REQUEST FOR A WAIVER OF THE ADVERSARY PROCEEDING FILING FEE

Creditor Richard Boles has filed this adversary proceeding to object to a discharge of obligations owed to him. He has also asked the Court "for a poor person order to waive the fee of $350," which raises the question of whether the Court has the authority to waive (or postpone) that filing fee. The Court concludes that it has no such authority under 28 U.S.C. § 1930, but that the referral of the bankruptcy case and related proceedings to this Court includes the authority to grant in forma pauperis relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Such relief (if Mr. Boles qualifies for it) would only allow Mr. Boles to prosecute the adversary proceeding without prepaying the normal fee, and the filing fee would remain payable out of any monetary recovery on his claim. In addition, Mr. Boles must submit financial information showing that he qualifies for in forma pauperis relief. The Court will allow him to do so by completing and filing the Application to Proceed in District Court without Prepaying Fees and Costs that is available on the district court's website, a copy of which will be provided to Mr. Boles.

Discussion

Section 1930(b) of title 28 of the United States Code permits the Judicial Conference¹ to set fees for filings made by creditors in bankruptcy cases and proceedings. Section 1930(f)(3) contemplates that a bankruptcy court may waive fees for filings by creditors in accordance with policies of the Judicial Conference:

(f)(3) This subsection does not restrict the district court or the bankruptcy court from waiving, in accordance with Judicial Conference policy, fees prescribed under this section for other debtors and creditors.

28 U.S.C. § 1930. The Judicial Conference has published procedures under other parts of section 1930 for the waiver of fees payable by chapter 7 debtors. See Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 4, ch. 8, § 820. However, the Judicial Conference has not promulgated any procedures or policies under section 1930(f)(3) for the waiver of fees payable by creditors. See Bankruptcy Fee Compendium III (June 1, 2014 Edition) (available at http://jnet.ao.dcn/court-services/judges-corner/bankruptcy-judges/bankruptcy-fee-compendium) (last visited March 7, 2017) (hereafter the "Bankruptcy Fee Compendium").

Section 1930 therefore provides no affirmative authority for a fee waiver in this adversary proceeding. Does that end the matter, or may the Court consider whether theCourt has other authority to waive fees - such as 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), which authorizes in forma pauperis relief? One possible view is that section 1930(f)(3) is exclusive, so that if the Judicial Conference has set fees, and if the Judicial Conference has not affirmatively authorized exceptions to those fees, then the bankruptcy courts are barred from providing any exceptions. Some courts have so held. See Smith v. LeGare (In re LeGare), 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4064, at *4 (Bankr. N.D. Oh. Sept. 26, 2013) (holding that in the absence of a published policy the bankruptcy court "lacks authority to waive the filing fee for a creditor commencing an adversary proceeding"); In re Keven A. McKenna, P.C., 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 879, at *2 (Bankr. D.R.I. Mar. 19, 2010) (holding that the published fee schedule "sets forth the Judicial Conference's policy" and that if there are no exceptions to payment listed in the fee schedule a court may not grant any such exception). However, the Court does not believe it is proper to interpret section 1930(f)(3) in this way.

The Bankruptcy Fee Compendium makes it very clear that the Judicial Conference has not adopted any policy one way or the other with respect to waivers of fees for creditor filings. See Bankruptcy Fee Compendium, Part B, § 3(A), n. 265 and Part G, § 3(A), n. 123 (stating in both footnotes that the Judicial Conference "has not yet issued a policy concerning waiving fees for other debtors and creditors"). It goes too far to treat this absence of a policy as though it amounts to an affirmative policy directive that bars any deviation from the listed fees. In addition, nothing about the wording of section 1930 suggests that it was intended to be exclusive of authority that might be granted elsewhere. Section 1930(f)(3) says that its terms do "not restrict" a waiver of fees in accordance with Judicial Conference policy; it does not say that "section 1930 isthe only source of authority for a waiver of fees" or that "a bankruptcy court and district court may not waive any bankruptcy-related fee unless the Judicial Conference affirmatively authorizes such a waiver under this section, no matter what the rest of title 28 says." There was a time when section 1930 stated that a bankruptcy court and a district court could not use section 1915(a) to excuse a debtor from paying bankruptcy filing fees, but that limit was later deleted from section 1930, and no similar limitation has ever appeared as to fees payable by creditors.

Accordingly, the Court believes that the better view is that the absence of an applicable Judicial Conference policy under section 1930(f)(3) just means that the authority to waive or postpone the payment of fees (if it exists) must be found elsewhere - not that such a waiver is barred. See, e.g., Ramono v. Stumpf, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122796 at *2-3 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 24, 2011) (concluding that a request for in forma pauperis relief could be made under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and that the court did not need to proceed under section 1930(f)(3)); Bernegger v. King, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48969 at *5-6 (E.D. Wis. May 6, 2011) (holding that section 1930(f)(3) permits bankruptcy courts and district courts to grant in forma pauperis relief under section 1915); Allen v. Stewart (In re Allen), 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 2122 at *8-9 (Bankr. D. Id. Apr. 28, 2009) (noting that the wording of section 1930(f)(3) "does not constitute some sort of implied restriction, prohibition or negation on other abilities of the district court or bankruptcy court" to waive fees and that a district court could consider a request for relief under section 1915).

As noted above, section 1915(a) of title 28 authorizes in forma pauperis filings. Section 1915(a) states:

(a)(1) Subject to subsection (b), any court of the United States may authorize the commencement, prosecution or defense of any suit, action or proceeding, civil or criminal, or appeal therein, without prepayment of fees or security therefor, by a person who submits an affidavit that includes a statement of all assets such prisoner possesses that the person is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor. Such affidavit shall state the nature of the action, defense or appeal and affiant's belief that the person is entitled to redress.

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Section 1915(a) refers to the assets that a "prisoner" possesses, but courts have held that the reference to a "prisoner" is an inadvertent transcription error and that in forma pauperis relief is available to all "persons" who qualify based on their financial circumstances. See Manning v. United States, 123 Fed. Cl. 679, 682 (2015); Floyd v. U.S. Postal Service, 105 F.3d 274, 275-77 (6^th Cir. 1997); In re Woodman, 213 B.R. 53, 54 n. 5 (Bankr. D. Conn. 1997).

There is a potential obstacle to the application of section 1915(a) by this Court, however. Section 1915(a) describes relief that may be granted by "any court of the United States." The term "court of the United States," as used in title 28, is defined in section 451 as follows:

The term "court of the United States" includes the Supreme Court of the United States, courts of appeals, district courts constituted by chapter 5 of this title, including the Court of International Trade and any court created by Act of Congress the judges of which are entitled to hold office during good behavior.

28 U.S.C. § 451. The bankruptcy courts are not themselves among the courts listed in the definition of "courts of the United States." On the other hand, the provisions of title 28 that establish and govern the bankruptcy courts make clear that bankruptcy courts are "units" of the district courts to which bankruptcy cases and bankruptcy-related proceedings may be referred. 28 U.S.C. §§ 151, 157(a).

There are a host of provisions in title 28 that describe powers that may be exercised by "courts of the United States" or that restrict what "courts of the United States" may do. The question of whether these provisions apply to bankruptcy courts, as units of the district court towhich bankruptcy-related matters are referred, has been the subject of many prior decisions. Some courts have held that since a bankruptcy court is not included in the definition of "court of the United States" it may not exercise the powers that title 28 makes available to a "court of the United States," including the right to waive filing fees under section 1915(a)(1). See, for example, Perroton v. Gray (In re Perroton), 958 F.2d 889, 896 (9th Cir. 1992) (concluding that a bankruptcy court could not waive a filing fee for an appeal under section 1915(a) because it is not a court of the United States); In re Buck, 157 B.R. 247, 249 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 1993) (concluding that a bankruptcy court could not waive an administrative fee under section 1915 because a bankruptcy court is not a court of the United States); see also Miller v. Cardinale (In re Deville), 280 B.R. 483, 494 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2004) (holding that a bankruptcy court may not award sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 because the bankruptcy court is not a "court of the United States"), judgment aff'd, 361 F.3d 539 (9^th Cir. 2004); Jones v. Bank of Santa Fe (In re Courtesy Inns, Ltd., Inc.), 40 F.3d 1084, 1086 (10^th Cir. 1994) (same)....