Gerard Q. Decker

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UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
In re
GERARD DECKER, 	No. 09-10655
Debtor(s).
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Memorandum on Motion to Surcharge Debtor’s Exemptions
_________________
The court declines to surcharge the debtor’s exemptions for actions voluntarily taken by the
Trustee, such as waiting for an offer that was supposedly forthcoming; the Trustee could have set time
limits. Likewise, the court declines to surcharge exemptions for legal actions, such as requesting a
hearing. Unless the action rises to the level of a Rule 11 violation, it would not be appropriate to
surcharge an exemption.
Just as postpetition appreciation belongs to the estate, postpetition expenses must be borne by
the estate. The Trustee cannot expect the debtor to bear them, especially where the Trustee voluntarily
delayed liquidation of the estate.
The court would surcharge the debtor for the expense incurred by the estate enforcing an order
the debtor violated. However, the declaration in support of the motion does not clearly establish that
there was a violation of an order or how much in attorneys’ fees were incurred by the estate in
enforcing (as opposed to obtaining) the order.
For the foregoing reasons, the motion will be denied without prejudice. Counsel for the debtor
shall submit an appropriate form of order.
Dated: May 10, 2010
SAlan Jaroslovsky
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Entered on Docket
May 10, 2010
GLORIA L. FRANKLIN, CLERK
U.S BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Case: 09-10655 Doc# 77 Filed: 05/10/10 Entered: 05/10/10 14:50:06 Page 1 of 1