Request for Admissions in Preference Actions

Summary

This request for admissions (RFA) template is for use by a plaintiff that is seeking discovery in a preference action. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. Section 547(b) of the Bankruptcy Code sets forth the required elements that a trustee or debtor-in-possession (or other party with standing to bring a preference action) must establish to recover a preferential payment. Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code authorizes the trustee to avoid and recover the transferred property or its value from the transferee post-petition. Section 502(d) requires a court to disallow a creditor's claim if the estate is entitled to recover property from that creditor, including as a result of a voidable preference, and that creditor has failed to first transfer the property back to the estate. Requests for admission are used to establish admission of facts about which there is no real dispute. Fed. R. Civ. P. 36. These can be particularly helpful in expediting and streamlining litigation and can save litigants valuable time and substantial money. Counsel may serve a written request for the admission of matters about the following: • Statements or opinions of fact • The application of law to fact • The genuineness of documents For a full listing of key content on important topics when litigating disputes in bankruptcy cases, see Bankruptcy Litigation Resource Kit. For more information on preference actions, see Preferences, Calculating Preference Defenses, and Fraudulent Conveyances versus Preference Actions. For related templates, see Complaint to Avoid and Recover Preferential Transfers, Answer to Preference Complaint, Interrogatories in Preference Action, Request for Production of Documents in Preference Actions, and Settlement Agreement for Avoidance Actions (Bankruptcy Rule 9019). For more on RFAs, see Requests for Admission: Drafting and Serving RFAs (Federal) and Requests for Admission: Responding to RFAs (Federal).