Case dismissed- attorney forgot to file credit counseling!

[socallife25]

hello everyone. I need some help, I hired an attorney to file a chapter 7 bk back in Dec 2007 and my case was dismissed in Dec 2008 for failing to submit the personal credit counseling form. I had to personally go to my attorney several times to get him to reopen the case and pay the fees himself since the error was on his behalf. I'm not sure if he has or has not done anything with my case, but when I call the bankruptcy court for information nothing has changed.

What can I do to verify that this attorney HAS in FACT filed the motion to reopen my case? I'm worried that he didn't do anything and he's just telling me this to get me off his back.


thanks,
Luis

[StartingOver08]

Register for PACER right now and check your case. It does cost 8 cents per page, but you do not get billed until you have used a min of ten dollars. You can enter your name in the right BK district to see what has happened. Download the case to your hard drive so you do not have to keep pulling it up.

http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov

[socallife25]

Thanks alot, I did find the information I was looking for. Anyone know how long it can take to receive the discharge once the motion has been filed to reopen a case to submit the credit counseling report?

[dingdong]

You might want to post this in the CH 7 forum instead of the FAQ section.

I might be able to help a little.


The timeline depends on the type of motion filed and the statuatory amount of time for hearing the motion and service required for notice to creditors.


You could look in the BK code and see whether it is say 30 days to rule on the motion. There are usually procedural requirements, and noticing requirements for different types of motions, for example an ex parte motion vs a general motion and an emergency motion vs a general motion.

If you look in PACER, there should be a hearing date set or some other time distinction such as "objections to motion due by so and so date".


Hope that helps a little.


Your attorney should really be keeping you informed, since it appears it was his failure to file the correct documents that caused the dismissal. Keep on him.