The United States is frequently a creditor in bankruptcy proceedings. Because the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure provide short deadlines for certain actions to be taken and for appeals, Department attorneys and USAOs should take special care to see that no rights of the United States are lost by default in bankruptcy proceedings. The USAOs’ authority with respect to litigating, compromising, and closing bankruptcy cases is set forth in 28 C.F.R. Part 0, Subpart Y, and Appendix.

The Corporate/Financial Litigation Section of the Commercial Litigation Branch has expertise in bankruptcy litigation and maintains internal guidance.

[updated April 2018]