U.S. Code » Title 11 » Chapter CHAPTER 3— CASE ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— OFFICERS

11 U.S.C. § 323

Role and capacity of trustee

Read at: OLRCuscode.house.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov JustiaTitle 11 CasesGoogle Scholar
(a) The trustee in a case under this title is the representative of the estate.(b) The trustee in a case under this title has capacity to sue and be sued.(Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2562.)Historical and Revision Notessenate report no. 95–989

Subsection (a) of this section makes the trustee the representative of the estate. Subsection (b) grants the trustee the capacity to sue and to be sued. If the debtor remains in possession in a chapter 11 case, section 1107 gives the debtor in possession these rights of the trustee: the debtor in possession becomes the representative of the estate, and may sue and be sued. The same applies in a chapter 13 case.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 841 cases (94 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Looney v. Hyundai Motor Mfg. Alabama, LLC., 330 F. Supp. 2d 1289 (M.D. Ala. 2004).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Looney v. Hyundai Motor Mfg. Alabama, LLC., 330 F. Supp. 2d 1289 (M.D. Ala. 2004). · cites it 11× “Furthermore, the legislative history of 11 U.S.C. § 323 bolsters the view that a Chapter 13 debtor has standing.”
Sandra Slater v. United States Steel Corp., 820 F.3d 1193 (11th Cir. 2016). · cites it 4× “In Chapter 7 proceedings, only the trustee has standing to pursue claims on behalf of the estate, 11 U.S.C. § 323 (a); Barger v. City of Cartersville, 348 F.”
Dorr, Keller, Bentley & Pecha v. Dorr, Bentley & Pecha, 841 P.2d 811 (Wyo. 1992). · cites it 8× “" 11 U.S.C. § 323 (a) (1988) (emphasis added).”
In Re VistaCare Grp., LLC, 678 F.3d 218 (3d Cir. 2012). · cites it 2× “Finally, although the Bankruptcy Judge did not raise this concern here, in his decision in In re Lambert, he noted that 11 U.S.C. § 323 (b) provides that a trustee “has capacity to sue and be sued,” but says nothing about a leave-of- *229 court requirement.”
Hays & Co., as Tr. for Monge Oil Corp. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 885 F.2d 1149 (3d Cir. 1989). · cites it 2× “The trustee is the representative of the estate, 11 U.S.C.A. § 323 (a), and it (or the debtor-in-possession) is authorized, with or without court approval, to "commence and prosecute any action or proceeding in behalf of the estate in any tribunal.”
Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison, PC v. Banks, 716 F.3d 404 (6th Cir. 2013). · cites it 2× “11 U.S.C. § 323 ; see also Fed. R. BaNKR.”
Anderson v. Acme Markets, Inc., 287 B.R. 624 (E.D. Pa. 2002). · cites it 4× “See 11 U.S.C. § 323 (a). As such, the Trustee has the exclusive right to prosecute causes of action that are property of the bankruptcy estate.”
Jaeger v. Clear Wing Prods., Inc., 465 F. Supp. 2d 879 (S.D. Ill. 2006). · cites it 4× “, 11 U.S.C. § 323 . Additionally, the Seventh Circuit has declared that the bankruptcy trustee “has the sole responsibility to represent the estate, by bringing actions on its behalf to marshal assets for the benefit of the estate’s creditors.”
Rieser v. Hayslip (In Re Canyon Sys. Corp.), 343 B.R. 615 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 2006). · cites it 2× “To accomplish the goal of marshaling all available assets of the bankruptcy estate, the trustee is given statutory power to sue and be sued, both as an estate representative, see 11 U.S.C. § 323 (b); Bauer, 859 F.2d at 441 , and as a creditor of the estate, see 11 U.”
Stephenson Ex Rel. Al-Mansoob v. Malloy, 700 F.3d 265 (6th Cir. 2012). · cites it 2× “In the same opinion and order, however, the court granted Al-Mansoob’s motion to substitute the bankruptcy trustee as the real party in interest pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 323 and 541(a)(1). Twenty-eight days later, the trustee filed a motion for reconsideration pursuant to Rule…”
Lamont Wilson v. Dollar Gen. Corp., 717 F.3d 337 (4th Cir. 2013). “While the bankruptcy code is silent as to the debtor’s capacity to maintain these non-bankruptcy causes of action, the bankruptcy trustee, as representative of the estate, 11 U.S.C. § 323 (a), generally “has capacity to sue and be sued.”
Ron Sommers, as Chapter 7 Tr. for Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd., Flat Stone II, Ltd., & Flat Stone, Ltd., & as Successor in Interest to Jay Cohen, Individually & as Tr. of the Jhc Trusts I & Ii v. Sandcastle Homes, Inc., 521 S.W.3d 749 (Tex. 2017). “The bankruptcy court recognizes Sommers’s authority to pursue claims against Sandcastle and NewBiss on behalf of the estate. 8 So do we. B 1 Pending the outcome of an action involving proper title to, establishing an interest in, or enforcing an encumbrance against real…”
Show all 841 citing cases →
11 U.S.C. § 323(a): 4 cases
In Re Hughes Drilling Co., 75 B.R. 196 (Bankr. W.D. Okla. 1987).
In Re Se. Banking Corp., 314 B.R. 244 (Bankr. S.D. Florida 2004).
Happel (W.D. Pa. 2026).
Dymarkowski (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2026).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.