Help With Proof of Claim Form

If you are a creditor of The Tulving Company (e.g. you never received a order, or payment for metal you sent), I understand that you must fill out a Proof of Claim form (now that it has been converted to Chapter 7). This must be received by the court by the bar date (September 30, 2014 per Docket 117).

Please understand that I cannot give out legal advice. However, I want to help those who need to fill out the Proof of Claim form.

What I have done is obtained sample entries of Proof of Claim forms already submitted in The Tulving Company's bankruptcy, to assist.

Where to Get Form

You can get a copy directly from the court's website at http://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/how-file-claim. Click on 'Proof of Claim', and select the link next to 'Download Form (pdf version):'.

Sample Form Entries

These are samples I saw on real Proof of Claim forms; entries in bold are what I would put in if I were filing a Proof of Claim.

Section	Sample Entries
Bankruptcy Court:	Central District of California
Name of Debtor:	The Tulving Company Inc The Tulving Company The Tulving Company, Inc.
Case Number:	8:14-bk-11492-ES 14-bk-11492 8:14-bk-11492
Name of Creditor:	[Your Name]
Name and address...:	[Your address, telephone #, E-mail]
Section 1:	[Dollar amount you are owed]
Section 2:	"Purchase of [Silver Coins] that were never delivered" "Goods Sold" "never received order; see invoice #xxxxxx attached" "Purchases never delivered" "return of the purchase price for goods not delivered" "ordered 500 oz silver coins - which we did not receive" "Purchase of gold coins" "Did not receive product or money returned"
Section 3:	(blank) (some entered last 4 digits of order #)
Section 4:	(blank)
Section 5:	(blank) (some people checked 'Other' without specifying the applicable paragraph)
Section 6:	(blank).
Section 7:	(blank) (see 'Privacy Concerns' below).
Section 8:	"I am the creditor" checked, print name, sign, date.

Privacy Concerns

The paperwork you send is considered a public record. Although few people would likely go to the trouble of obtaining copies of the paperwork, you should be aware that anything you mail in could be seen by the public.

If this is a concern for you, I would recommend the following:

[1] Rent a post office box to use as your address on the paperwork you send (the PO box could be in a different town if you are overly concerned). Alternatively, you could have the address care of someone else (e.g. "My Name, c/o Someone Else, 1234 Main St...").
[2] I cannot recommend not attaching an invoice or other documentation, as you risk losing your claim and may risk paying attorney's fees (although that should be unlikely). However, the trustee (R. Todd Neilson) has access to Tulving's records. Simply writing something like "For safety; can be confirmed with Tulving invoice #xxxxxx" may be OK. Again, I cannot recommend doing this. Alternatively, you can consider redacting any information you would not want to be seen by the public (I do not know if there are any ramifications for over-redacting, however).

[3] If you do attach documentation, be sure to 'redact' it (e.g. mask out private information; look at the definition of 'redacted' on the instructions for the form for further details).

[4] If you really value your privacy, you can consider choosing not to file a Proof of Claim form, and not getting any money. Your name may still appear in court documents, but it would be unlikely anyone would see it. If you think of going this route, you should check a couple weeks before the bar date (September 30, 2014) to make sure that there has not been a significant recovery of funds (or the expectation that there will be).

After Filling Out the Form

After filling out the form, double-check that it looks right (and is signed).

Then, mail the form and supporting documentation. I have seen 3 different addresses for sending the Proof of Claim; the address shown in the notice of the Creditors' Meeting is:


U. S. Bankruptcy Court
411 West Fourth Street, Suite 2030
Santa Ana, CA 92701-4593

Notes

Again, I am not a lawyer, and this is not intended to be legal advice. At worst, a mistake could cost you any money you might otherwise receive.

I originally thought that it might be appropriate to check the "Up to $2,775" box in Section 5. However, I have changed my mind on that. None of the Proof of Claim forms submitted so far have this box checked (at least several of the forms were filled in by attorneys).

For my protection, I need to add that I also cannot be responsible for misinformation that may be on this page as a result of R. Todd Neilson neglecting to respond to my questions about how to ensure that the form is filled out correctly an consistently.

Feel free to E-mail me at if you have questions. I do need to be carerful in my responses, as this is a legal form, and I want to be certain that I do not inadvertently give you legal advice. I would be happy to look over the form to see if I notice anything I would have done differently if I were filing a Proof of Claim form.