Opinion
No. B-76-366
May 4, 1979
Proof and Allowance of Claim — Informal Claim — Sufficient Notice
An informal proof of claim, filed with a trustee within the six month statutory period for filing claims, and sufficient to show the existence, nature and amount of a creditor's claim against a bankrupt's estate, may be amended by the filing of a formal proof of claim after expiration of the six month period for filing claims.
The trustee objected to the allowance of the claim filed by the creditor on the ground that no claim was filed within the statutory period of time fixed by Section 57n of the Bankruptcy Act. The creditor, the Internal Revenue Service, had sent a communication to the trustee, within the statutory period, addressed to the bankrupt and his wife, in which it was indicated that a deficiency and fraud penalty were being assessed against the bankrupt for a period of years. The deficiency and penalty were itemized in the communication. The trustee returned the communication to the I.R.S. with a letter in which he expressed his belief that the papers had been sent to him in error, being meant instead for the bankrupt and his wife, as they were the original documents. The I.R.S. telephoned the trustee and stated that the papers were intended for him and that the bankrupt and his wife had been sent their set of papers. The documents were returned to the trustee, and the I.R.S. then failed to file a formal proof of claim until after expiration of the statutory period.
While proofs of claim must be filed within six months after the first date set for the first meeting of creditors, and claim not filed within that six month period shall not be allowed pursuant to Section 57n and Rule 302(e) of the Bankruptcy Rules of Procedure, this court held that the claim of the Internal Revenue Service be allowed. The court reasoned that Bankruptcy Rules 301(a) defines a proof of claim as a "statement in writing setting forth the creditor's claim". Rules 302(b) and 509 state that the filing of a proof of claim with a trustee in bankruptcy constitutes a filing in a proper place. Because within the six month period for filing claims there was a writing filed that was sufficient to show the existence, nature and amount of a claim asserted by a creditor against a bankrupt's estate, the court found that "the law is liberal in permitting such informal claim to be amended after expiration of the six months' period so long as the amendment is `germane to the claim and facts as originally stated, and (does) not attempt to set up an entirely new claim.'" Therefore, the creditor's claim was allowed to the extent of the deficiencies listed in the communication received by the trustee within the statutory period. See Sec. 57n at ¶ 2523, Rule 301 at ¶ 20,101, Rule 302 at ¶ 20,102 and Rule 509 at ¶ 20,149.