Debra R. Rich

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
DEBRA R. 	RICH,
Debtor.
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Case No. 09-00331
(Chapter 7)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER
GRANTING APPLICATION TO WAIVE THE FILING FEE
The debtor has filed an amended application for a waiver of
the filing fee (Docket Entry (“DE”) No. 23), which the court will
grant for the reasons stated below.
I
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1930 as amended by § 418 of the
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005,
Pub. L. 109-8 (effective October 17, 2005), this court
may waive the filing fee in a case under
chapter 7 of title 11 for an individual if
the court determines that such individual has
income less than 150 percent of the income
official poverty line . . . applicable to a
family of the size involved and is unable to
pay that fee in installments.
28 U.S.C. § 1930(f)(1).
The document below is hereby signed.
Signed: May 22, 2009.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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The debtor’s amended application indicates that she earns
$474 in monthly income, or $5,688 annualized, but has $2,968.32
in monthly expenses for her one-person household. 	Her annual
income is less than 150% of the applicable poverty guideline
figure maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services
for a one-person household living in the District of Columbia. 1
Thus, the debtor has met the first requirement for waiver under
28 U.S.C. § 1930.
To qualify for waiver of the filing fee, the debtor must
also demonstrate that she is unable to pay the fee in
installments. 	Because her monthly expenses far exceed her
monthly income and because she only has $74.90 combined in a
checking and a savings account, she does not have disposable
income or other liquidity with which to pay the filing fee, even
in installments.
According to the debtor’s application and schedules,
however, she does have some equity in her home, which raises the
1 	Section 1930(f) specifies that the “official poverty
line” figures used for purposes of the chapter 7 fee waiver refer
to those “defined by the Office of Management and Budget [“OMB”],
and revised annually in accordance with [§] 673(2) of the Omnibus
Reconciliation Act of 1981 . . . .” 	The Judicial Conference of
the United States interprets this language to refer to the
poverty guidelines maintained annually by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (“HHS”) because the OMB has never
issued poverty guidelines or thresholds. 	Under the most recent
HHS guidelines, the poverty line for a one-person family living
in the District of Columbia is $10,830 per year, making 150% of
the applicable poverty line $16,245.
2
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issue of whether she could pay the filing fee by refinancing her
home or selling it. 	Her application states that the value of her
home is $272,000 while her schedules (DE Nos. 8 and 22) indicate
a value of $279,480 with a lien in the amount of $217,457.08.
Congress likely intended that an evaluation of the debtor’s
ability to pay the filing fee in installments is to be based on
the debtor’s current financial circumstance of how much the
debtor is paying on an existing mortgage and other necessary
expenses, and not based on the possibility that the debtor could
embark on the uncertain and extraordinary path of attempting to
raise funds via a refinancing or sale of the property to enable
her to raise funds by day 180 of the case with which to pay the
filing fee. 	See In re Taliaferro, 2009 WL 512325 (Bankr. D.D.C.
March 2, 2009) (distinguishing home equity from an exempt
automobile which can be readily liquidated). 	The court therefore
concludes that absent facts suggesting that either a refinance or
sale of the property is planned or underway, which would enable
the debtor to pay the filing fee in installments by day 180 of
the case, there are no extraordinary circumstances that warrant
denying the application based on the equity in the debtor’s real
property.
II
Notwithstanding the court’s ruling, the trustee can conduct
an inquiry at the meeting of creditors probing more deeply into
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whether the fee waiver is warranted. 	A fee waiver should be
subject to revocation on a motion of the chapter 7 trustee if
circumstances demonstrating that a waiver was unwarranted are
discovered after due diligence by the trustee during the
administration of the case, and promptly brought to the court's
attention by the trustee’s motion.
III
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the debtor’s application is granted, subject,
however, to reconsideration upon seasonable motion by the trustee
showing that a waiver was unwarranted.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to:
Debtor; Chapter 7 Trustee; Office of the United States Trustee.
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