Standing Trustee Must Sit

A Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the U.S. Bankrutcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia was suspended for three months by the Georgia Supreme Court. The trustee admitted making a false statement to a tribunal and requesting that a non-client refrain from voluntarily giving relevant information to another party. The trustee had conducted a tape-recorded settlement conference with the knowledge of the participants. He agreed to contact the creditors of the debtor’s former wife. When the ex-wife asked for a copy of the tape, the trustee destroyed the disc and “instructed his staff to delete the original recording from the computer system.” He then filed a pleading “stating that no recording of the settlement conference existed due to mechanical error.” He late corrected this statement and provided the former wife with a transcript.

Motivation here is not clear. The misconduct was admitted. Two judges dissent but do not write to explain their basis for doing so. (Mike Frisch)