Opinion ID: 770524
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Copies of any documents supporting the claim.

Text: 17 Official Form 10. The failure to file a proof of claim is grounds for disallowance under the Bankruptcy Code. 11 U.S.C. § 502(b)(9). The bankruptcy court may extend the time for filing a proof of claim for good cause shown or excusable neglect. Fed. R. Bankr. P. §§ 3303(c)(3) and 9006(b). However, Barlow's claim is not based on either of these claims; rather, he seeks to invoke the common law doctrine of informal proof of claims. 3 18 The notion of informal proof of claims has been in existence for nearly a century 4 . See Hutchinson v. Otis, 190 U.S. 552, 555 (1903); see also J.B. Orcutt Co. v. Green, 204 U.S. 96, 102 (1907). It permits a bankruptcy court to treat the pre-bar date filings of a creditor as an informal proof of claim which can be amended after the bar date so that it is in conformity with the requirements of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3001(a). 19 Creditors who have failed to adhere to the strict formalities of the Bankruptcy Code but who have taken some measures to protect their interests in the bankruptcy estate may be able to preserve those interests by showing that they havecomplied with the spirit of the rules. As one court has stated: 20 The intent of the informal Proof of Claim concept is to alleviate problems with form over substance; that is, equitably preventing the potentially devastating effect of the failure of a creditor to formally comply with the requirements of the Code in the filing of a Proof of Claim, when, in fact, pleadings filed by the party asserting the claim during the claims filing period in a bankruptcy case puts all parties on sufficient notice that a claim is asserted by a particular creditor. 21 In re WPRV-TV, Inc., 102 B.R. 234, 238 (Bankr. E.D. Okla. 1989). 22 Creditors who ignore the formalistic requirements of the Code do so at their own peril, however, as they run the risk of being denied use of the informal proof of claims doctrine if their pre-bar date actions do not meet the standards imposed in their jurisdiction. These standards are designed to protect the interests of the debtor as well as the other creditors who saw fit to follow the Code's rules and whose interests may be directly affected by the delinquent creditor's failure to file in a timely fashion. It is a delicate balance. On the one hand we do not wish to enact too heavy-handed a measure to punish a creditor who may not have strictly adhered to the formalities of the filing requirements, but whose actions were sufficient to put the court and the debtor on notice of his or her intention to seek to hold the debtor liable. On the other hand, we must protect the rights and interests of the parties at interest whose diligence entitles them to a timely distribution of the estate. 23 The standards used by courts varies throughout the country, but this jurisdiction has settled on a four element test articulated in In re Vaughn Chevrolet, 160 B.R. 316 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1993): 24 1.The proof of claim must be in writing; 25 2.The writing must contain a demand by the creditor on the debtor's estate; 26 3.The writing must express an intent to hold the debtor liable for the debt; and 27 4.The proof of claim must be filed with the bankruptcy court. 28 In re Vaughn, 160 B.R. at 319 (citing In re McCoy Management Servs., Inc., 44 B.R. 215, 217 (Bankr. W.D. Ky. 1984)). The Vaughn court went on to state that if a filing meets the above considerations, the court may examine a fifth factor - whether it would be equitable to allow the amendment of the informal proof. Id. at n. 2. We note at the outset that the first four factors under Vaughn are indicative only of the proposed claim's validity, while the fifth factor deals with the question of whether the amendment should be allowed once the informal proof of claim is determined to be valid. Id. They are separate inquiries, as will be discussed below.