Shelley K. Abel

Section 01Role of the Bankruptcy Administrator

Shelley K. Abel serves as Bankruptcy Administrator for the Western District of North Carolina. The Bankruptcy Administrator program is authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 156(b) and was originally established by § 302 of Pub. L. 99-554 (the Bankruptcy Judges, United States Trustees, and Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act of 1986). At that time, the six federal judicial districts in North Carolina and Alabama elected not to participate in the United States Trustee Program. The Bankruptcy Administrator program covering those six districts was originally a pilot program; Pub. L. 106-518 (Federal Courts Improvement Act of 2000) made it permanent.

Functionally, the Bankruptcy Administrator performs in the W.D.N.C. the duties that the United States Trustee performs in the 88 UST districts: supervising the administration of bankruptcy cases under chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13; appointing and supervising panel trustees; reviewing applications for compensation by professionals; participating in matters concerning fees, dismissals, and conversions; appointing committees of unsecured creditors and equity security holders under 11 U.S.C. § 1102; and acting on behalf of the United States as an interested party in bankruptcy proceedings.

Section 02Appointment and Oversight

Under 28 U.S.C. § 156(b), the Bankruptcy Administrator is appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Compare this with the United States Trustee, who in the 88 UST districts is appointed by the Attorney General for a five-year term under 28 U.S.C. § 581. The structural difference matters in two ways. First, the Bankruptcy Administrator answers to the judicial branch rather than to the Department of Justice; the office sits within the federal court system, not within the Executive Office for United States Trustees (EOUST). Second, oversight of the office is performed by the circuit court of appeals through its standard administrative apparatus rather than through the EOUST chain of command.

The substantive duties the Bankruptcy Administrator performs in bankruptcy cases nonetheless track the United States Trustee duties closely. Title 11 references to “the United States Trustee” are read to include the Bankruptcy Administrator in the six BA districts; see 28 U.S.C. § 581 note and the implementing local rules of the W.D.N.C..

Section 03Office of the Bankruptcy Administrator

Section 04Practical Differences From UST Districts

For most ordinary case-administration purposes, a debtor or creditor in the W.D.N.C. interacts with the Bankruptcy Administrator’s office in substantively the same way as a counterpart in a UST district interacts with the United States Trustee. Section 341 meetings of creditors are noticed and conducted; chapter 13 plans are reviewed for confirmation objections; chapter 11 fee applications are reviewed for compliance with applicable fee guidelines; abuse motions under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) are filed where the facts warrant.

The principal differences for practitioners are administrative rather than substantive:

• Reporting and oversight. The office reports up through the circuit court of appeals rather than through EOUST. Complaints about the conduct of a Bankruptcy Administrator or a panel trustee are addressed within the judicial branch.
• UST Program publications. EOUST handbooks, fee guidelines, and operating instructions are reference materials in BA districts but do not formally bind the Bankruptcy Administrator; the office may adopt parallel guidance or its own.
• Quarterly fees. Chapter 11 quarterly fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(6) apply in both UST and BA districts; the Bankruptcy Administrator collects and remits fees pursuant to the applicable schedule.
• Subchapter V. The Bankruptcy Administrator appoints Subchapter V trustees under 11 U.S.C. § 1183(a), performing the function that the United States Trustee performs in UST districts.

Section 05Statutory Framework

The statutory architecture of the Bankruptcy Administrator program is short but consequential. The key provisions:

Section 06Official Resources