Delores Yelverton

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
DELORES YELVERTON,
Debtor.
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Case No. 06-00270
(Chapter 13)
DECISION REGARDING MOTION TO FILE CLAIM AFTER CLAIMS BAR DATE
Rivendell on the Park (“Rivendell”), a condominium unit
owners association, has filed a Motion for Filing a Late Proof of
Claim, alleging that it was not given notice of the case, and
that the debtor owes condominium assessments, $2,262.05 for the
prepetition period and $1,792.23 for the postpetition period.
I
The court must deny Rivendell’s motion insofar as it relates
to the prepetition claim. 	Rivendell cites 11 U.S.C. §§ 501 and
726 as the provisions pursuant to which the court may authorize
the filing of a late proof of claim. 	Neither provision
authorizes the late filing of a proof of claim in a chapter 13
case. 	Section 501 does not address a creditor’s filing a late
claim, but recognizes that time limits apply to filing proofs of
The decision below is signed as a decision of
the court.
Signed: December 22, 2006.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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1 Section 501(b) provides that if a creditor does not
timely file a proof of claim, “an entity that is liable to such
creditor with the debtor, or that has secured such creditor, may
file a proof of such claim,” but Rivendell is obviously not such
an entity.
2 Rule 9006(b)(1) permits enlargement of the time for the
trustee or the debtor to file such a claim if they fail to act
timely under Rule 3004 and if the failure “was the result of
excusable neglect.”
2
claim. 1 	Section 726 is inapplicable in a chapter 13 case. 	11
U.S.C. § 103(b). 	Furthermore, Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9006(b)(3)
permits enlarging the time set forth in Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002(c)
for a creditor to file a proof of claim in a chapter 13 case only
as set forth in Rule 3002(c), but none of the bases for enlarging
time set forth in Rule 3002(c) apply here. 	Fed. R. Bankr. P.
3004 authorizes a trustee or a debtor to file a claim when a
creditor failed to file a timely claim, and they have until
January 10, 2007, within which to do so under that Rule.
Rivendell may wish to request the debtor or trustee to file a
claim by that deadline. 2 	However, there is no authority to grant
Rivendell’s motion to permit Rivendell itself to file a late
prepetition claim. 	See In re Mickens, 2005 WL 375661 (Bankr.
D.D.C. 2005).
II
Rivendell already has statutory authorization to file a
postpetition claim if the claim “is a consumer debt, that arises
after the date of the order for relief under [chapter 13], and
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3 If Rivendell’s1 claim was not a consumer debt or was not
necessary for the debtor’s performance under the plan, then no
authority would exist to permit a filing of a postpetition claim.
3	O:\Judge Temp Docs\Yelverton (Delores) Decision re Rivendell Motion to File Late Claim.wpd
that is for property or services necessary for the debtor’s
performance under the plan.” 	11 U.S.C. § 1305(a)(2). 3 	No
deadline applies to the filing of such a postpetition claim. 	In
re Wood, 316 B.R. 522 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2004). 	Accordingly, the
court will deny this part of the motion without prejudice to
Rivendell’s right, if any, to file a claim under § 1305.
An order follows.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Debtor’s attorney; Cynthia A. Niklas, Chapter
13 Trustee; Office of United States Trustee.
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