What is a Notice of Appearance and Request for Notices?

A Notice of Appearance and Requests for Notices is a pleading filed in a bankruptcy case by an attorney indicating that they are representing the particular party (frequently creditor) in the bankruptcy case. By doing so, they are not proposing any action to the bankruptcy court, but asking to be included on the creditor list to get notices that are sent out in the case--notices of hearing, confirmation motions, discharges, and so forth.

If there is a need from the debtor's perspective to communicate with the creditor, this notice alters the case dynamics slightly. For one, the Debtor's attorney ethically must communicate with the other attorney filing notice, as opposed to the creditor directly. For some creditors, this can be beneficial as there might otherwise not be a clear point of contact. Additionally, the notice may also allow certain types of motions to sent electronically to the creditor's attorney instead of by mail service.

Why does a creditor file such a notice?

It is difficult to read much into these notices. Oftentimes, there is nothing more going on than a party wishing to monitor the case to make sure they are well-advised of the events of the case. In chapter 13 cases, many creditors hire attorneys to file or facilitate filing of the proof of claim required in the bankruptcy case. In that event, a notice of appearance is routine prior to filing the proof of claim subsequently in the case. Most notices of appearance are filed in the first 4-5 months of a bankruptcy case.

Sometimes, a notice of appearance might foreshadow a motion for relief from the automatic stay. However, such predictive power is weak, and really only useful in the case where there (i) has been a post-filing default on secured loan and (ii) a claim was previously filed by a non-attorney agent. Otherwise, the notice might as well be part of the nature ebb-and-flow of creditor representation in bankruptcy cases.

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