Article: What is in a Trustee's Arsenal for Objecting to Proofs of Claim? An Analysis of In Re Kirkland
8/12/2009 Colin T. Darke
Do creditors need to follow the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (FRBP) in bankruptcy court? The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) for the Tenth Circuit answered this question with a resounding "no." In the controversial decision of In re Kirkland, the BAP reversed a lower court decision that allowed a trustee's claim objection based solely on the creditor's failure to attach supporting documentation to its claim as required by the FRBP. The BAP held that this basis alone was not sufficient for the bankruptcy court to disallow the claim. This article (1) reviews the basic framework of a claim objections; (2) summarizes the Kirkland decision (including its thorough and unforgiving dissent); and (3) assesses the impact of the Kirkland decision.
