You are here

COVID-19 Temporary Emergency Procedures for Conducting Section 341 Meetings

Wednesday, March 25, 2020
On March 16, 2020, the United States Trustee issued a notice cancelling all in-person Section 341 meetings and rescheduling those meetings to take place by telephone. This notice addresses the temporary procedures that will be utilized in the Eastern District of Wisconsin with respect to conducting Section 341 meetings going forward until further notice. These procedures are temporary in nature for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.
 
All Section 341 meetings will be conducted primarily by telephone (or by such other means as are arranged). No in-person meetings will take place. The audio of all meetings will be recorded. During this emergency, the notices of meetings or rescheduled meetings will contain the date and time of the meeting and a Meet-Me Line telephone number by which all parties can participate in the meeting for a given case.
 
The Debtor or Debtors (hereafter "Debtor") and his or her attorney are required to call the Meet-Me Line (and enter the passcode followed by the pound # sign) at least 10 minutes prior to the time the case is scheduled to be called. (The Debtor and attorney do not need to be in the same physical location – each can call in separately.) While waiting on the line, please remain quiet if there is another case in progress.
 
The trustee, after making a periodic announcement of date and time, will call the next case. When your case is called, the Debtor, Debtor's attorney, creditors and other parties appearing for the case should announce their presence. The trustee will then swear-in the Debtor.
 
After the oath has been administered, the Debtor's attorney is required to make a statement on the record indicating they have personally verified the Debtor's identity and social security number. It is expected that the attorney will have personally viewed the documents verifying the Debtor's identity and social security number, either in person or by video, in advance of the Section 341 meeting. The attorney must indicate what original documents they viewed, that the description on the documents matches the Debtor, and that the social security number matches the number that appears on the Section 341 meeting notice.
 
In the event that verification of the identity of the Debtor or the social security number is not possible, the meeting will be continued to another time and date.
 
Pro Se Cases
For cases in which the Debtor does not have an attorney, the Debtor must contact the trustee by telephone at least three (3) days prior to the Section 341 meeting to get instructions for the procedure to verify the Debtor's identity by video or other means.
 
In the event that verification of the identity of the Debtor or the social security number is not possible, the meeting will be continued to another time and date.
 
Bankruptcy Information Sheet
As a reminder, in Chapter 7 cases the trustee will ask whether the Debtor has reviewed the Bankruptcy Information Sheet and whether there are any questions about it. A copy is attached. It is important for Debtor's Counsel to make sure the Debtor reviewed the Information Sheet prior to
the Section 341 meeting so a continuance for that purpose is not necessary.
 
Interpreter Service
Interpreter services will be available, but it is important that Debtor or Debtor's attorney contact the trustee well in advance of the meeting to inform him/her of the need for such services. The interpreter will then be given the Meet-Me Line information to connect to the call.
 
Final Note
Please be patient and flexible during this COVID-19 Emergency. We are trying to meet the needs of all parties and avoid in-person meetings of any kind. These procedures are subject to change and we will notify you of any changes. We welcome any suggestions for improving or streamlining the
process.
 
Thank you!
David W. Asbach
Assistant U.S. Trustee for the Eastern
District of Wisconsin