In re Faber
In re Faber
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
This matter came before the Court on the Motion by Trustee to Approve Administrative Expense (“Motion”) filed by Lori Patton, the Chapter 7 Trustee (“Trustee”), seeking authority to pay $300.00 as an administrative expense pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 503 for an asset report provided by American Infosource (“AIS”). (DE 22). Donald F. Walton, as the United States Trustee for Region 21, and United States Trustee Jill Kelso (“UST”) object to the Motion asserting the Trustee has not established the charge should be an expense of the estate assets. (DE 33).
A hearing was held on June 18, 2012; arguments were heard from the UST, the Trustee and AIS. The UST filed a supplemental brief on July 2, 2012. (DE 36). AIS filed a third party memorandum in support of the Trustee’s motion on July 3, 2012.
The expenses must confer a “concrete benefit to the debtor’s estate” to be payable on a priority basis as an administrative expense. In re Sports Shinko, 333 B.R. 483, 490 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2005)(quoting In re Beverage Canners Intern. Corp., 255 B.R. at 92). “The claimant must show that the claim arose from a post-petition transaction and that the transaction actually benefitted the estate.” In re Section 20 Land Group, Ltd., 261 B.R. 711, 715 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2000) (citing In re Finevest Foods, Inc., 159 B.R. 972, 975 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 1993)).
The Trustee is seeking a $300.00 administrative expense for the asset report based upon AIS initiating a program providing asset reports to the Trustee in every case. The administrative expense would pay for this service by seeking reimbursement for reports in cases with assets above $3,000.00, regardless if the asset report actually benefitted the estate being charged. (DE 22).
Lawrence Friedman, on behalf of AIS, estimated the cost of preparing each report is $9.00 per case and competing services provide reports for a subscription fee plus $16.50 for per case.
The Trustee’s motivation is “to help offset the cost for the global benefit ... being received.”
The report in this case did not discover additional assets not previously disclosed in the Debtor’s schedules. The estate did not receive any measurable benefit from the report provided by AIS.
This estate should not be responsible for expenses attributable and beneficial to other estates; an expense must confer a “concrete benefit to the debtor’s estate” to be payable on a priority basis as an administrative expense. In re Sports Shinko,
The Court has reviewed the evidence and the parties’ briefs and finds the Trustee has failed to establish the $300.00 asset report charge was an actual, necessary cost and expense of preserving the estate, conferring a concrete benefit to the Debtor and the bankruptcy estate according to 11 U.S.C. § 503(b).
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the UST’s Objection (DE 33) is hereby SUSTAINED; and it is further
ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the Trustee Motion for Approval of Administrative Expense (DE 22) is DENIED; and it is further
ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that any claim asserted by AIS is hereby DISALLOWED.
. AIS did not file the brief in this case but in In Re Hodges, Case Number 6:ll-bk-14376,
. See Transcript of June 18, 2012 Hearing ("Tr.”) at 20:20-23
. Tr. at 22:7-21
.Tr. at 6:16-17
. Tr. at 4: 21-23
. Id.
. Id.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re Scott J. FABER, Debtor
- Status
- Published