11 U.S.C. § 549

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)

Section 549 - Postpetition transactions

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the trustee may avoid a transfer of property of the estate-

(1) that occurs after the commencement of the case; and

(2)

(A) that is authorized only under section 303(f) or 542(c) of this title; or

(B) that is not authorized under this title or by the court.

(b) In an involuntary case, the trustee may not avoid under subsection (a) of this section a transfer made after the commencement of such case but before the order for relief to the extent any value, including services, but not including satisfaction or securing of a debt that arose before the commencement of the case, is given after the commencement of the case in exchange for such transfer, notwithstanding any notice or knowledge of the case that the transferee has.

(c) The trustee may not avoid under subsection (a) of this section a transfer of an interest in real property to a good faith purchaser without knowledge of the commencement of the case and for present fair equivalent value unless a copy or notice of the petition was filed, where a transfer of an interest in such real property may be recorded to perfect such transfer, before such transfer is so perfected that a bona fide purchaser of such real property, against whom applicable law permits such transfer to be perfected, could not acquire an interest that is superior to such interest of such good faith purchaser. A good faith purchaser without knowledge of the commencement of the case and for less than present fair equivalent value has a lien on the property transferred to the extent of any present value given, unless a copy or notice of the petition was so filed before such transfer was so perfected.

(d) An action or proceeding under this section may not be commenced after the earlier of-

(1) two years after the date of the transfer sought to be avoided; or

(2) the time the case is closed or dismissed.

11 U.S.C. § 549

Pub. L. 95-598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2601; Pub. L. 98-353, title III, §464, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 379; Pub. L. 99-554, title II, §283(o), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3117; Pub. L. 103-394, title V, §501(d)(18), Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4146; Pub. L. 109-8, title XII, §12141214,, 119 Stat. 195.

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

LEGISLATIVE STATEMENTSSection 549 of the House amendment has been redrafted in order to incorporate sections 342(b) and (c) of the Senate amendment. Those sections have been consolidated and redrafted in section 549(c) of the House amendment. Section 549(d) of the House amendment adopts a provision contained in section 549(c) of the Senate amendment.

SENATE REPORT NO. 95-989This section modifies section 70d of current law [section 110(d) of former title 11]. It permits the trustee to avoid transfers of property that occur after the commencement of the case. The transfer must either have been unauthorized, or authorized under a section that protects only the transferor. Subsection (b) protects "involuntary gap" transferees to the extent of any value (including services, but not including satisfaction of a debt that arose before the commencement of the case), given after commencement in exchange for the transfer. Notice or knowledge of the transferee is irrelevant in determining whether he is protected under this provision.

EDITORIAL NOTES

AMENDMENTS2005-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109-8 inserted "an interest in" after "transfer of" in two places and substituted "purchaser of such real property" for "purchaser of such property" and "such interest" for "the interest". 1994-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-394 inserted "the trustee may not avoid under subsection (a) of this section" after "involuntary case,".1986-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-554 substituted "made" for "that occurs", and "to the extent" for "is valid against the trustee to the extent of", and inserted "is" before "given". 1984-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-353, §464(a)(1), (2), substituted "(b) or (c)" for "(b) and (c)" in provisions preceding par. (1) and inserted "only" between "authorized" and "under" in par. (2)(A). In the original of Pub. L. 98-353 subsec. (a)(2) of section 464 thereof ended with a period but was followed by pars. (3), (4), and (5). Such pars. (3), (4), and (5) purported to amend subsec. (a) of this section in ways not susceptible of execution. In a predecessor bill [S. 445], these pars. (3), (4), and (5) formed a part of a subsec. (b) of section 361 thereof which amended subsec. (b) of this section. Such subsec. (b) of section 361 of S. 445 was not carried into Pub. L. 98-353, §464.Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98-353, §464(c), amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: "The trustee may not avoid under subsection (a) of this section a transfer, to a good faith purchaser without knowledge of the commencement of the case and for present fair equivalent value or to a purchaser at a judicial sale, of real property located other than in the county in which the case is commenced, unless a copy of the petition was filed in the office where conveyances of real property in such county are recorded before such transfer was so far perfected that a bona fide purchaser of such property against whom applicable law permits such transfer to be perfected cannot acquire an interest that is superior to the interest of such good faith or judicial sale purchaser. A good faith purchaser, without knowledge of the commencement of the case and for less than present fair equivalent value, of real property located other than in the county in which the case is commenced, under a transfer that the trustee may avoid under this section, has a lien on the property transferred to the extent of any present value given, unless a copy of the petition was so filed before such transfer was so perfected."Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 98-353, §464(d), substituted "or" for "and".

STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 109-8 effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before such effective date, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Pub. L. 109-8 set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 103-394 effective Oct. 22, 1994, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before Oct. 22, 1994, see section 702 of Pub. L. 103-394 set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1986 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 99-554 effective 30 days after Oct. 27, 1986, see section 302(a) of Pub. L. 99-554 set out as a note under section 581 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98-353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Pub. L. 98-353 set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

debt: The term "debt" means liability on a claim.(12A) The term "debt relief agency" means any person who provides any bankruptcy assistance to an assisted person in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, or who is a bankruptcy petition preparer under section 110, but does not include-(A) any person who is an officer, director, employee, or agent of a person who provides such assistance or of the bankruptcy petition preparer;(B) a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;(C) a creditor of such assisted person, to the extent that the creditor is assisting such assisted person to restructure any debt owed by such assisted person to the creditor;(D) a depository institution (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) or any Federal credit union or State credit union (as those terms are defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act), or any affiliate or subsidiary of such depository institution or credit union; or(E) an author, publisher, distributor, or seller of works subject to copyright protection under title 17, when acting in such capacity.
lien: The term "lien" means charge against or interest in property to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation.
petition: The term "petition" means petition filed under section 301, 302, 303 and 3 1504 of this title, as the case may be, commencing a case under this title.(42A) The term "production payment" means a term overriding royalty satisfiable in cash or in kind-(A) contingent on the production of a liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon from particular real property; and(B) from a specified volume, or a specified value, from the liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon produced from such property, and determined without regard to production costs.
purchaser: The term "purchaser" means transferee of a voluntary transfer, and includes immediate or mediate transferee of such a transferee.
transfer: The term "transfer" means-(A) the creation of a lien;(B) the retention of title as a security interest;(C) the foreclosure of a debtor's equity of redemption; or(D) each mode, direct or indirect, absolute or conditional, voluntary or involuntary, of disposing of or parting with-(i) property; or(ii) an interest in property.(54A) The term "uninsured State member bank" means a State member bank (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) the deposits of which are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.