Anthony Shelton and Rachel Shelton

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
RALEIGH DIVISION
IN RE:
ANTHONY SHELTON and
RACHEL SHELTON,
DEBTORS.
CASE NO.
09-04765-8-JRL
ORDER DENYING TRUSTEE'S MOTION TO DISMISS
The matter before the court is the motion filed by the chapter 13 trustee, John Logan, to
dismiss the debtors' case. A hearing was held in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 15, 2009.
Anthony Shelton and Rachel Shelton filed a petition for relief under chapter 13 of the
Bankruptcy Code on June 9, 2009. The debtors' Schedule E lists Child Support Enforcement as
having an unsecured priority claim for arrearage on a domestic support obligation as defined by 11
U.S.C. §§ 101(14A) and 507(a)(1). 	The debtors provided the address for Child Support
Enforcement, but did not provide contact information for the actual holder of the claim and the
eventual recipient of the funds paid to Child Support Enforcement, Ms. Martha Thorne. The debtors
attempted to discover Ms. Thorne's contact information from the Department of Social Services
SO ORDERED.
SIGNED this 17 day of September, 2009.
________________________________________
J. Rich Leonard
United States Bankruptcy Judge
____________________________________________________________
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("DSS"), but were informed by a letter dated August 12, 2009 that "it goes against our unit's rules
and procedures" to provide this information to Mr. Shelton or any other parties.
The trustee contends that the debtors must provide him with the direct contact information
of Ms. Thorne, even if this means subpoenaing the DSS for the information, so that the trustee can
provide the notices required by 11 U.S.C § 1302(b)(6) to Ms. Thorne. In the alternative, the trustee
asks that the court to provide an order that states the trustee has complied with § 1302(b)(6) by
providing the required notices to the DSS with information for the DSS to forward the information
to Ms. Thorne. The debtors contend that a plain reading of the § 1302(b)(6) permits the trustee to
fulfill his notice duties by providing the notices to DSS. The debtors further contend that if the
contact information of Ms. Thorne is required, the trustee should bear the costs of discovering this
contact information because the debtors have complied with the duties required of them by 11
U.S.C. § 521.
Section 1302(b)(6) requires the trustee to provide notice as provided in subsection (d).
Subsection (d)(1) states that
the trustee shall–
(A)(i) provide written notice to the holder of the claim described in subsection (b)(6)
of such claim and of the right of such holder to use the services of the State child
support enforcement agency established under sections 464 and 466 of the Social
Security Act for the State in which such holder resides, for assistance in collecting
child support during and after the case under this title; and
(ii) include in the notice provided under clause (i) the address and telephone number
of such State child support enforcement agency;
(B)(i) provide written notice to such State child support enforcement agency of such
claim; and
(ii) include in the notice provided under clause (i) the name, address, and telephone
number of such holder; and
(C) at such time as the debtor is granted a discharge under section 1328, provide
written notice to such holder and to such State child support enforcement agency of–
(i) the granting of the discharge;
(ii) the last recent known address of the debtor;
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(iii) the last recent known name and address of the debtor's employer; and
(iv) the name of each creditor that holds a claim that–
(I) is not discharged under paragraph (2) or (4) of section 523(a); or
(II) was reaffirmed by the debtor under section 524(c).
The court agrees with the debtors that a plain reading of § 1302 (b)(6) and (d) permits the
trustee to provide the required notices of this section to the DSS with directions for the DSS to
forward the notices to Ms. Thorne. Furthermore, it is understandable that the DSS has a policy not
to provide contact information for a recipient of a domestic support obligation to the payer of this
obligation or to other parties. This policy would be defeated were the court to require the debtor to
subpoena the contact information directly to provide it to the trustee. If for some reason the trustee
has need of direct contact information of Ms. Thorne, the cost of discovering this contact
information will fall upon the trustee.
Accordingly, the trustee's motion to dismiss the debtors' case is DISMISSED.
END OF DOCUMENT
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