Local Rule 6005-1: STANDING AUCTIONEERS
Bankr. D. Utah — General rule
RULE 6005-1 STANDING AUCTIONEERS
(a) General. This court may appoint any number of standing auctioneers pursuant to the procedures set forth below for a term of [three or five] years. All pleadings or documents pertaining to standing auctioneers, including without limitation, applications, objections, requests for notice or orders of appointment shall be filed in the miscellaneous proceeding of In re Standing Auctioneers. The court shall maintain a list of all current appointed standing auctioneers and of any person requesting special notice of standing auctioneer proceedings at https://www.utb.uscourts.gov/standing-auctioneers.
(b) Appointment. To be appointed as a standing auctioneer, an auctioneering company, whether a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation, must submit an Application for Appointment as a Standing Auctioneer with the court and serve a copy of the application on the United States Trustee, all Chapter 7 Trustees, the Chapter 13 Trustee and any party requesting special notice as reflected at https://www.utb.uscourts.gov/standing-auctioneers.
(1) The Application shall include a declaration signed by an individual, that at least one person employed by such company has met the following qualifications:
(A) The candidate has 3 or more years of experience as an active auctioneer during the 4-year period prior to making the application. "Active auctioneer" experience is defined as devoting the majority of such person's work time to the auctioneering business, including the preparation for, promoting of, and conducting of auctions;
(B) The candidate is duly licensed by a state, municipality, or some other governmental entity;
(C) The candidate is at least 21 years of age;
(D) The candidate has not been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor involving forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, or other like offenses;
(E) The auctioneering company maintains property damage and theft coverage of no less than $100,000, or in a higher amount if requested by the United States Trustee. The policy must cover only estate property;
(F) The auctioneering company maintains an on-site liability insurance policy with limits for bodily injury of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence; and
(G) The auctioneering company has posted or will post with the United States Trustee a $100,000 bond in favor of the United States and conditioned on the faithful performance of its official duties. If at any time the aggregate value of goods in the auctioneer's custody exceeds the amount of the bond, then the auctioneer shall obtain a separate bond or bonds so that the full amount of all goods of various bankruptcy estates in the auctioneer's custody is covered.
(2) The Application shall include letters of reference from at least 2 individuals, other than relatives, who have personal knowledge of the candidate's honesty, truthfulness, and good repute as an auctioneer.
(3) The Application shall include a declaration that the application and all accompanying documents have been served on the United States Trustee, all Chapter 7 Trustees, the Chapter 13 Trustee, and any party requesting special notice.
(4) Within 21 days after service of the Application, any party may file an objection to the Application and set the objection for a hearing. The objecting party must give notice of the hearing to the Applicant, the United States Trustee, the Panel Trustees, the Standing Trustee, and any party requesting special notice.
(5) If no objection is filed, the Court may set the Application for hearing, deny the application, or enter an order appointing the applicant as a standing auctioneer for a period of three years.
(c) Effect of Appointment. In a Chapter 7 case where the gross sale proceeds of an auction are reasonably anticipated by the trustee to be less than $50,000, trustees may use any of the standing auctioneers to liquidate personal property of the estate without further permission of the court. The use of a standing auctioneer is subject to the limits of § 327(a) that the auctioneer not hold any interest adverse to the estate and that the auctioneer is disinterested. The fact that an auctioneer has been appointed as a standing auctioneer should not be construed as an order directing the trustees to employ the auctioneer. Trustees retain the privilege of selecting, subject to the requirements of § 327, auctioneers and others to serve the estate.
(d) Procedure for Sales by Appointed Standing Auctioneers. The following procedures apply to all sales held by a standing auctioneer:
(1) Any motion to approve a sale to be conducted by a standing auctioneer should include a declaration that the auctioneer is disinterested and does not hold any interest adverse to the estate.
(2) The auctioneer must comply with any order regarding the sale;
(3) The auctioneer must give appropriate public notice of the sale and give the trustee evidence of the notice with the final accounting;
(4) The auctioneer must not, without the trustee's consent, incur expenses for transporting property. Unless otherwise agreed or ordered, the debtor must transport property to the auctioneer;
(5) All sales must be for cash, unless the trustee directs otherwise; and
(6) Immediately after the sale, the auctioneer must forward the proceeds, less a commission, to the trustee with a full accounting.
(e) Commissions. The commission of any standing auctioneer must not exceed 15% of the gross proceeds of the sale, with the exact rate to be negotiated by the trustee and the standing auctioneer on a case-by-case basis.
(f) Expenses. Notwithstanding the limitation on compensation set forth in subsection (e), if a standing auctioneer, at the express direction of the trustee, incurs expenses related to the sale of property, he or she is entitled to reimbursement for actual expenses out of the estate.
(g) Termination, Removal and Resignation.
(1) An appointment as a standing auctioneer shall be for a period of [three or five] years and shall terminate five years after the date of appointment, without prejudice to the rights of a standing auctioneer to reapply for appointment as a standing auctioneer at any time after 90 days before the end of the term.
(2) A standing auctioneer must notify the court and the United States Trustee immediately if he or she no longer qualifies for appointment as a standing auctioneer, in which event the court shall terminate the appointment without further notice or hearing.
(3) A standing auctioneer may tender his or her resignation at any time by submitting it in a writing to the court and the United States Trustee, in which event, the court shall terminate the appointment without further notice or hearing.
(4) After such notice and opportunity for a hearing as the court deems appropriate, the court may terminate the appointment as a standing auctioneer before the end of the [three or five] year period for cause and on such terms as the court deems appropriate. Such termination of such appointment may be raised sua sponte or on motion the United States Trustee, a Panel Trustee, a Standing Trustee, or any other party in interest.
(h) Hearings on Sales Conducted by a Standing Auctioneer. A hearing scheduled on a sale to be conducted by a standing auctioneer may be stricken if no objection to the sale is timely filed.