Chapter 15 Petitions

Official Procedure Last Change December 29, 2015

Chapter 15 Petitions for Recognition of a Foreign Proceeding

  • 11 USC 1501-1532
  • FRBP 1012, 2002(q)(1)

General Information

  • A Chapter 15 case is intended to provide effective mechanisms for dealing with insolvency cases involving debtors, assets, claimants, and other parties of interest involving more than one country.
  • Generally, a chapter 15 case is ancillary to a primary proceeding brought in another country, typically the debtor's home country.
  • After notice and a hearing, the court is authorized to issue an order recognizing the foreign proceeding as either a "foreign main proceeding" (a proceeding pending in a country where the debtor's center of main interests are located) or a "foreign non-main proceeding" (a proceeding pending in a country where the debtor has an establishment, but not its center of main interests).
  • Immediately upon the recognition of a foreign main proceeding, the automatic stay and selected other provisions of the Bankruptcy Code take effect within the United States.

Filing Requirements

  • Official Form 401 must be used.
  • The petition must be accompanied by documents showing the existence of the foreign proceeding and the appointment and authority of the foreign representative.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Log into CM/ECF.

2. Select Bankruptcy > File Voluntary Bankruptcy Case.

3. Select 15 in the Chapter drop down box, and the relevant entry in the Main/Nonmain box.

4. If any of the following required documents are not being filed at this time, select y from the drop-down box. If all these documents are being filed, leave the selection as n.

Required documents:

  • F.P. Administrator List
  • F.P. Litigation List
  • F.P. Provisional Relief List

5. Enter name of debtor and click Search.

Note: The party name cannot be in ALL CAPITALS, and cannot be longer than 50 characters.

6. Select Create New Party.

7. Enter all Debtor/ Joint Debtor information. For County of Debtor, select OUTSIDE U.S. The postal/ZIP code and any other information (except for the country name) such as a state/province should be entered along with the city in the City field.

8. Click Alias to add any aliases.

9. Click Corporate Parent / affiliate to add any corporate parent or affiliate.

10. Click Review to proof added information. Click Return to Party Screen after review.

11. Click Submit.

12. Assigned divisional office is displayed. Ensure that Indianapolis is selected and click Next.

13. Select type of debtor and click Next.

14. If you indicated in step 4 that some documents are not being filed, select those documents and click Next.

15. Select appropriate radio buttons for both questions and click Next.

16. Browse to select the document to be filed and click Next.

17. Filing fee is displayed. Click Next.

18. Final docket text is displayed. Click Next.

19. Verify the final docket text; if correct, click Next to submit your document(s).

Note: The Notice of Electronic Filing displays giving you the document number. Copies of this notice are immediately e-mailed to all participants who receive electronic notification in the case.