The filing of an insufficient cover sheet does not qualify as a “complaint” to beat the deadline for initiating an adversary proceeding challenging the dischargeability of a debt, according to an opinion by Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Berger of Kanas City.
Bankruptcy Rule 4007(c) requires a creditor to file a “complaint to obtain a determination of the dischargeability” of a debt within 60 days of the first meeting of creditors. In the case before Judge Berger, the creditor filed an “insufficient cover sheet” and an exhibit on the last day. The initial filing also included a request for the issuance of a summons.
The creditor did not file a document that Judge Berger could characterize as a complaint until more than a week after the deadline. The debtor filed a motion to dismiss, which Judge Berger granted in his opinion on June 9.
Judge Berger said that Rule 4007(c) sets a “strict deadline” that can be extended for cause if the motion is filed before the deadline expires. Regarding extensions for “excusable neglect,” he cited Rule 9006(b)(3) for the proposition that the court can extend the time for filing under Rule 4007(c) only to the extent allowed by that rule.
The cover sheet did not qualify as a complaint under Bankruptcy Rules 7008 and 7010 because it did not “describe the ‘conduct, transaction, or occurrence,’” the judge said.
Judge Berger dismissed the complaint, saying that filing “an incomplete cover sheet does not act as a substitute for the filing of a complaint.”