Bar Date

A bar date is the deadline set by a bankruptcy court for creditors to file proofs of claim. In most asbestos bankruptcies, personal-injury claims are handled by the trust after the plan is confirmed, so injured people usually are not required to meet a bar date, but some cases have set bar dates for certain asbestos claims.

Origin

Bar dates are part of ordinary bankruptcy practice under the Bankruptcy Code and federal bankruptcy rules, letting the debtor learn the size of its debts before a plan is confirmed. In asbestos cases, courts have had to adapt the practice to claims that may not exist yet because the disease has not appeared.

Significance in Asbestos Context

In an ordinary bankruptcy, missing the bar date can mean losing the right to be paid. Asbestos cases are different because many people with valid future claims are not yet sick and cannot know they have a claim. Plans under Section 524(g) generally channel present and future asbestos personal-injury claims to the trust, which then sets its own filing procedures and deadlines. Some bankruptcies, however, have set bar dates for particular categories, such as property damage claims or claims by people already diagnosed, and notice of those deadlines matters. The more practical deadlines for most claimants are the trust's own limitations rules, which often run from the date of diagnosis or death, and the state statute of limitations for any lawsuit against other companies.

Example Sentence

The bankruptcy court set a bar date for asbestos property damage claims, but personal-injury claimants were told their claims would be handled later by the trust.

Related Terms

Proof of Claim, Chapter 11, Plan of Reorganization, Bankruptcy Trust Claim, Statute of Limitation, Channeling Injunction

Notes

• If you get a bankruptcy notice that mentions a bar date, give it to your lawyer right away.
• Trusts have their own filing deadlines; do not assume there is unlimited time after a diagnosis.