BRITTON, Bankruptcy Judge
A creditor's claim arising from an adverse judgment, on appeal at the time the bankrupt's deadline for claims has expired, may be filed anytime within thirty days after the judgment against it becomes final in accordance with Bankruptcy Rule 302(e)(3). See Rule 302(e)(3) at ¶ 20,102.
[Digest of Opinion]
In this case, the creditor bank advanced $30,000 in a letter of credit as security for a performance bond covering the bankrupt, which was written by an indemnity company. The indemnity company, having satisfied the bond, sued the bank and received judgment for the secured amount. At the time the deadline for claims became final, the creditor had appealed the judgment.
The creditor-bank sought to file a late claim arising from the adverse judgment. Relying on Bankruptcy Rule 302(e)(3), the bank argued that a "claim which . . . becomes allowable because of a judgment for the recovery of money . . . from such person . . . may be filed within thirty days after such judgment becomes final." Contrary to this argument, the trustee contended that the motion, filed three months after the judgment was rendered, was not filed within the statutory thirty days. Further, the trustee argued, that since the bank's claims were not based on a recovery against it "by the trustee" under the avoidance provisions of Section 57n of the Bankruptcy Act, Rule 302(e)(3) had no application to the bank's claims. Finally, the bank, according to the trustee, had an ample remedy under Bankruptcy Rule 304 to file a timely contingent claim as a surety.
The deadline for claims is nearly inflexible. "There is no room for judicial power either to extend or shorten the statutory period unless expressly conferred by the Act or Rules." However, the court determined pursuant to Rule 302(e)(3) that the thirty day period for filing claims had not yet commenced since the judgment, on appeal, was not final. Moreover, the bank's claims were deemed to have clearly fallen within the provisions of Rule 302(e)(3) due to the fact that the Rules, to the extent that they conflict, supersede the conflicting provisions of the Act. Consequently, the creditor was permitted to file a claim anytime within thirty days after the judgment against it became final.