Kia Cabos

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
KIA CABOS,
Debtor.
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Case No. 08-00682
(Chapter 7)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING
APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF THE CHAPTER 7 FILING FEE
The debtor, Kia Cabos, has filed an application for waiver
of the chapter 7 filing fee (Docket Entry (“DE”) No. 13, filed
October 16, 2008). 	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 she is from a
household of seven and that she has a combined monthly income of
The order below is hereby signed.
Signed: October 27, 2008.
_____________________________
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 2008 HHS
guidelines, the poverty line for a seven-person family living in
the District of Columbia is $32,000.00 per year, making 150% of
the applicable poverty line $48,000.00. 	The debtor’s stated
income falls well below this threshold.
2
$979.00 or $11,748.00 per annum. 	This figure is less than 150%
of the applicable poverty guideline figure maintained by the
Department of Health and Human Services for a seven-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. 	The debtor’s application reflects a monthly income
of $979.00 and expenses of $1,392.00, leaving the debtor without
sufficient funds to meet her monthly expenses and with no monthly
disposable income. 	It further appearing that the debtor does not
have any non-essential exempt assets from which she can pay the
fee in installments, the court concludes that the debtor is
unable to pay the filing fee in installments. 	It is thus
ORDERED that the debtor’s application for waiver of the
chapter 7 filing fee (DE No. 13) is GRANTED.
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3	O:\TEEL\Laura\ORDERS\Waiver of Filing Fee\Order_filing fee _waiver_grant_Cabos.wpd
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Chapter 7 Trustee; Office of United States
Trustee.
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