What is a Notice of Appearance in a Bankruptcy Case?

 

There are a number of different documents that various parties may file with the bankruptcy court in a typical bankruptcy case.  One of them is a “Notice of Appearance.”

 

This is basically a document, usually filed by an attorney for a creditor, indicating that the attorney is representing the creditor in the bankruptcy case, and that the attorney, on behalf of his client, would like to be served with copies of all documents that the debtor and other parties may be required to serve in the case.  A notice of appearance usually contains language requesting service of papers.

 

A notice of appearance is a very standard and routine type of filing, and is very common in all bankruptcy cases.  In consumer cases, they are most often filed by secured creditors, especially mortgagees, who have a vested interest to follow the events in a bankruptcy proceeding.

 

Bankruptcy Rule 2002 creates certain statutory requirements for how counsel should serve notice, and this section provides that creditors may designate certain addresses by providing notice.

 

Bankruptcy Rule 9010(b) provides that an attorney appearing for a party in a case shall file a notice of appearance with the attorney’s contact information unless the attorney previously filed a document containing that information.

 

A creditor will often file a notice of appearance at the same time it files a motion or proof of claim.  Frequently, attorneys who file motions for relief from the bankruptcy stay will also contemporaneously file a notice of appearance if they didn’t do so previously.

 

Generally, if you are an individual consumer debtor in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you do not need to take any action if a creditor files a notice of appearance in your case.  However, if you serve a motion, you must serve it on all parties in interest (typically the trustee, U.S. Trustee, and all creditors listed in the petition) including those who filed a notice of appearance.

 

If you are a creditor, and you want to be assured of receiving notices in a bankruptcy case, you should file a notice of appearance and demand for service of papers.