Reginald Seace

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
REGINALD SEACE,
Debtor.
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Case No. 09-00551
(Chapter 7)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING
APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF THE CHAPTER 7 FILING FEE
The debtor has filed an application for waiver of the
chapter 7 filing fee (Dkt. No. 5). 	For reasons explained in more
detail below, the court will deny the debtor’s application.
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 debtor’s application reflects that he is from a one-
The order below is hereby signed.
Signed: July 07, 2009.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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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 2009 HHS
guidelines, the poverty line for a one-person family living in
the District of Columbia is $10,830.00 per year, making 150% of
the applicable poverty line $16,245.00. 	The debtor’s stated
income exceeds this threshold.
Upon review of the debtor’s application and schedules, the
court questions whether the debtor’s total combined monthly
income is as high as stated. 	Specifically, the debtor’s
application states that the debtor has monthly income of
$1,556.77, and that his dependents have monthly income of
$2,400.00. 	Accordingly, the debtor has listed his “Total
Combined Monthly Income” as $3,956.77. 	The debtor’s application,
however, states that the debtor is from a one-person household.
Similarly, the debtor’s Schedule I states that the debtor is
single, and fails to identify any dependents. 	Even if the court
were to disregard the $2,400.00 identified by the debtor as
income generated by his dependents (it being unclear that the
debtor actually has dependents), that would still leave the
debtor with $1,556.77 in monthly income, or $18,681.24 per annum.
This amount exceeds 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.
Thus, if the court were to consider only the debtor’s stated
monthly income of $1,556.77, the court would nevertheless deny
the debtor’s application because the debtor’s income exceeds the
statutory limit for waiver.
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person household and that he currently has a combined monthly
income of $3,956.77, or $47,481.24 per annum. 	This figure is
more 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, and the
debtor is thus ineligible for waiver. 1 	It is thus
ORDERED that the debtor’s application for waiver of the
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3	O:\TEEL\Laura\ORDERS\Waiver of Filing Fee\Order_filing fee_waiver_deny_Seace.wpd
chapter 7 filing fee (Dkt. No. 5) is DENIED.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to:
Debtor; Chapter 7 Trustee; Office of United States Trustee.
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