Contact: John Hartgen
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RESPONDENTS DIVIDED OVER SCHEDULING REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESS BANKRUPTCY CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

June 2, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — Respondents to the latest ABI Quick Poll were closely divided over whether a court must dismiss a case if the confirmation hearing for a small business debtor is set beyond the statutory 45-day deadline and the debtor does not seek an extension until after the deadline. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 established the requirement in §1129(e) that a small business debtor must have a confirmation hearing scheduled within 45 days of filing a proposed reorganization plan.
 
Forty-five percent of respondents thought that the court retained discretion over whether or not to dismiss the case if the hearing for a small business debtor is held beyond 45 days after filing the proposed plan and the debtor did not seek an extension until after the deadline. Thirty-two percent “strongly disagreed” and 13 percent “somewhat disagreed” that a court had no discretion but to dismiss the case if the court did not schedule a hearing and the debtor did not seek an extension until after the required 45-day deadline.
 
Forty-three percent of respondents, however, thought that a court must dismiss a case if the court scheduled the conformation hearing for a small business debtor well beyond the 45-day requirement and the debtor did no seek an extension until after the deadline. Twenty-two percent “strongly agreed” and 21 percent “somewhat agreed” with dismissing a case if the court did not schedule a hearing and the debtor did not seek an extension until after the 45-day deadline. Ten percent of respondents did not know or no opinion on the issue.
 
ABI members and members of the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement: “If the court schedules the confirmation hearing for a small business debtor well beyond the §1129(e) 45-day deadline and debtor does not seek an extension until after the deadline, the court has no discretion but to dismiss the case. (In re Caring Heart Home Health Corp., Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1/31/08).”
 
ABI’s Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 11,700 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.