The U.S. Trustee Program is proposing adjustments to quarterly fees for the largest chapter 11 debtors, TheStreet.com reported on Friday. The new structure would switch most payments to a percentage of disbursements instead of the current flat rate scheme and would significantly increase costs on the biggest-ticket cases. The proposed fee structure would increase quarterly fees paid by chapter 11 debtors with quarterly disbursements of at least $1 million to an amount equal to 1 percent of disbursements or $250,000, whichever is less. Beginning in 2021, the director would be permitted to adjust the fee once a year. Quarterly fees are currently set at a fixed amount, with the highest a debtor can owe being $30,000 per quarter for those whose quarterly disbursements top $30 million. The U.S. Trustee Program estimates that the fee increase would result in $289 million in revenue in 2018, $150 million more than what it would be under the current system. A DOJ spokesman said that cases with quarterly disbursements under $1 million are excluded from the proposed adjustment to ensure small businesses don't pay additional fees."It seems to go a pretty good way of making sure it's not affecting small businesses and organizations," said Anthony Casey, a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and former associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
