Trustee 341 Constipation

[mccaverty]

How is it that the number of 341 meetings can be such that all of the 9:00 a.m. meetings weren't finished until 11:00? Is this typical everywhere?

Now, I realize some cases are more complicated than others and that's just how it is - but when I arrived at 8:50 there was a crowd of people waiting and I overheard a couple of lawyers talking about how this particular trustee is always running behind schedule, and they were just chuckling ruefully - "That's just how Joe (not his real name) is." Some people drive an hour to be at these incredibly stressful meetings - and make an effort to be on time!

[nervousss]

Mine was behind too, but it wasn't because of the trustee.

They were on the last debtor from the previous hour when I got to the courthouse, 25 minutes before my scheduled hour. BUT THEN. BUT THEN!

That final couple's schedule was SO messed up. They had not disclosed many, many things, several of them being legal issues that had documents that the trustee easily found. They came across looking like huge liars. The trustee just had to ask a few leading questions, and it all fell apart. Their meeting didn't end until 30 minutes into my hour. Their poor lawyer had a legal pad full of notes that the trustee was commanding him to write down. He was blindsided, you could tell. In the end, the trustee continued their meeting for a month from then, demanded tons of documentation, and told them that if their schedule was not completely accurate by then it would be dismissed.

I was listed in the middle of my hour, but I was called up first of the group, immediately after the "messed up" case left the table. The trustee asked me literally five questions and then sent me on my merry way.

That one couple slowed e'rybody down!!

[JRScott]

Sadly this is becoming the normal in many districts.

Keep in mind the courts are overworked. Even before the last 6 months bankruptcies were up and now they are skyrocketing as more folks lose jobs or have hours cut.

Even back when I had mine we didn't even start my time until a half hour after it was suppose to as other cases held up the court. (What's even sadder is one person wasn't even there yet at roll call....or when they called his name the next time or the next time...finally he showed up and the trustee casually cast aside his folder and said you'll be last....I wasn't there to see what happened to him)