In Bankruptcy, a “case” refers to the bankruptcy action commenced by filing a bankruptcy petition, and “proceeding” refers to a specific matter, such as an adversary proceeding, that arises within the bankruptcy case.

The “debtor” is the party that either filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition or that had an involuntary petition filed against it.

The trustee, if any, must be distinguished from the US Trustee, who is a presence in every bankruptcy case. Generally, several United State Trustees work in each district office, and each bankruptcy case is assigned to an individual trustee. The United States Trustee has specific duties in bankruptcy cases under his or her watch – essentially these duties amount to an oversight function.