11 U.S.C. § 331 — Interim compensation

Page 61 TITLE 11—BANKRUPTCY § 333 district involved, see section 302(d), (e) of Pub. L. 99–554, set out as a note under section 581 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Amendment by section 257 of Pub. L. 99–554 effective 30 days after Oct. 27, 1986, but not applicable to cases commenced under this title before that date, see sec- tion 302(a), (c)(1) of Pub. L. 99–554. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Pub. L. 98–353, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. § 331. Interim compensation A trustee, an examiner, a debtor’s attorney, or any professional person employed under section 327 or 1103 of this title may apply to the court not more than once every 120 days after an order for relief in a case under this title, or more often if the court permits, for such compensation for services rendered before the date of such an ap- plication or reimbursement for expenses in- curred before such date as is provided under sec- tion 330 of this title. After notice and a hearing, the court may allow and disburse to such appli- cant such compensation or reimbursement. (Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2564.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES SENATE REPORT NO. 95–989 Section 331 permits trustees and professional persons to apply to the court not more than once every 120 days for interim compensation and reimbursement pay- ments. The court may permit more frequent applica- tions if the circumstances warrant, such as in very large cases where the legal work is extensive and mer- its more frequent payments. The court is authorized to allow and order disbursement to the applicant of com- pensation and reimbursement that is otherwise allow- able under section 330. The only effect of this section is to remove any doubt that officers of the estate may apply for, and the court may approve, compensation and reimbursement during the case, instead of being re- quired to wait until the end of the case, which in some instances, may be years. The practice of interim com- pensation is followed in some courts today, but has been subject to some question. This section explicitly authorizes it. This section will apply to professionals such as auc- tioneers and appraisers only if they are not paid on a per job basis. § 332. Consumer privacy ombudsman (a) If a hearing is required under section 363(b)(1)(B), the court shall order the United States trustee to appoint, not later than 7 days before the commencement of the hearing, 1 dis- interested person (other than the United States trustee) to serve as the consumer privacy om- budsman in the case and shall require that no- tice of such hearing be timely given to such om- budsman. (b) The consumer privacy ombudsman may ap- pear and be heard at such hearing and shall pro- vide to the court information to assist the court in its consideration of the facts, circumstances, and conditions of the proposed sale or lease of personally identifiable information under sec- tion 363(b)(1)(B). Such information may include presentation of— (1) the debtor’s privacy policy; (2) the potential losses or gains of privacy to consumers if such sale or such lease is ap- proved by the court; (3) the potential costs or benefits to con- sumers if such sale or such lease is approved by the court; and (4) the potential alternatives that would mitigate potential privacy losses or potential costs to consumers. (c) A consumer privacy ombudsman shall not disclose any personally identifiable information obtained by the ombudsman under this title. (Added Pub. L. 109–8, title II, § 232(a), Apr. 20, 2005, 119 Stat. 73; amended Pub. L. 111–16, § 2(3), May 7, 2009, 123 Stat. 1607.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2009—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–16 substituted ‘‘7 days’’ for ‘‘5 days’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2009 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–16 effective Dec. 1, 2009, see section 7 of Pub. L. 111–16, set out as a note under section 109 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before such effective date, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Pub. L. 109–8, set out as an Effective Date of 2005 Amendment note under section 101 of this title. § 333. Appointment of patient care ombudsman (a)(1) If the debtor in a case under chapter 7, 9, or 11 is a health care business, the court shall order, not later than 30 days after the com- mencement of the case, the appointment of an ombudsman to monitor the quality of patient care and to represent the interests of the pa- tients of the health care business unless the court finds that the appointment of such om- budsman is not necessary for the protection of patients under the specific facts of the case. (2)(A) If the court orders the appointment of an ombudsman under paragraph (1), the United States trustee shall appoint 1 disinterested per- son (other than the United States trustee) to serve as such ombudsman. (B) If the debtor is a health care business that provides long-term care, then the United States trustee may appoint the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman appointed under the Older Ameri- cans Act of 1965 for the State in which the case is pending to serve as the ombudsman required by paragraph (1). (C) If the United States trustee does not ap- point a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman under subparagraph (B), the court shall notify the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman ap- pointed under the Older Americans Act of 1965 for the State in which the case is pending, of the name and address of the person who is appointed under subparagraph (A). (b) An ombudsman appointed under subsection (a) shall— (1) monitor the quality of patient care pro- vided to patients of the debtor, to the extent necessary under the circumstances, including interviewing patients and physicians;