There is much confusion as to why we should wait to file a Proof of Claim form with the bankruptcy court, especially for those ex-Heller employees whose names were on the Verified List of Creditors and who have already received a blank form in the mail.
- The deadline is more than 3 months away, April 27, 2009.
- It is better to have accurate Proof of Claim information when submitting the form. And remember that you are signing the form with an “under penalty of perjury” statement.
- Heller Ehrman has not yet filed its schedules with the bankruptcy court. Technically, Heller can file its schedules and list your claim in an amount with which you agree and the claim can be allowed without you having to file a Proof of Claim form. I will post Heller’s schedules once they appear as filed on the court docket and then you can verify the amount of your claim before having to file a Proof of Claim.
I hope this makes sense, and again, this is not legal advice nor should it be a substitute for your own legal counsel. I am just as anxious as everyone else to get my claim filed but it appears there will be more value in waiting, having accurate information and getting it right the first time. Make sense?
Do it right, rather than do it as soon as you can, is good advice.
Caution re the debtor’s schedules, once they become available. The debtor can list you but make some check marks in certain columns of the schedule form. Then you are still required to file a proof of claim to have a claim, even though the debtor has listed you. Filing a proof of claim will also have the advantage that then the debtor will use the address (your current address) that you put on the POC; it’s one (good) way of updating your address in the case.
For those who haven’t seen bankruptcy schedules before, this will become clearer once those schedules are on file. At that time, an example of someone who is listed but is still required to file a proof of claim can be given as an illustration.