|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
         |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
You've entered the lobby of our historic court house. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southern District of California Bankruptcy Judgeship Opportunity Available— posted June 2, 2009 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals invites applications from highly qualified candidates for the position of Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of California. Click here for the complete announcement.
This is an open, competitive process. Application forms are available via the Ninth Circuit Web site at www.ce9.uscourts.gov. Applications also are available at all court clerks’ offices in the Ninth Circuit or by calling (415) 355-8910, by faxing (415) 355-8901, or by writing to U.S. Courts for the Ninth Circuit, Office of the Circuit Executive, P.O. Box 193939, San Francisco, CA 94119-3939, Attn: Bankruptcy Recruitment - CAS (mail). The deadline for the receipt of all completed application materials is 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 31, 2009. The United States Courts is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Additional Bankruptcy Judge Position Available— posted April 15, 2009 An additional bankruptcy judgeship opportunity is available in the Northern District of California. Click on the hyperlink for more information. Deadline for receipt of all completed application materials is 5 p.m. Monday, June 1, 2009. Bankruptcy Judge Positions Available— posted March 18, 2009 Click on the hyperlinks to view vacancy announcements concerning two Bankruptcy Judgeships currently available in the Central District of California. Another Bankruptcy Judgeship is available in the Eastern District of California. Deadline for receipt of all completed application materials is 5 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 2009. New CM/ECF Version 3.3— posted March 9, 2009 The CM/ECF system was upgraded to Version 3.3. Because case upload specs changed with this release, attorneys who upload cases from their petition software quite likely will need to upgrade their petition software. CM/ECF Down March 6 - 8, 2009— posted March 3, 2009 The CM/ECF system will be down from 6:00 p.m. Friday, March 6 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, March 8 so that we can upgrade to Version 3.3. Because case upload specs will change with this release, attorneys who upload cases from their petition software quite likely will need to upgrade their petition software. General Order 169a — posted December 17, 2008 New and amended Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure took effect on December 1, 2008. The 2008 Rules Amendments supersede the 2005 Interim Rules. On December 16, 2008 the Court entered amended General Order 169a, hereby vacating the 2005 Interim Rules (with the exception of Interim Rule 5012, which shall remain in effect until such time as Interim Rule 5012 is replaced by a permanent national rule). New Chapter 13 Confirmation Orders — posted November 25, 2008 The Court and the Chapter 13 trustees have been working to improve the processing of Chapter 13 Confirmation Orders. Two new template orders have been created, and Chapter 13 confirmation orders can now be uploaded for electronic review by the trustees and processing by the Clerk's Office and the Court. Both trustees and the Court expect that these orders will be filed electronically by authorized CM/ECF users to ensure efficient processing of the orders. The new Chapter 13 Confirmation Order Forms, CSD 1177 and CSD 1178, have been posted on the Forms page (click on Front Counter > Get the latest forms). Form CSD 1177, titled Application for Compensation and Confirmation of Chapter 13 Plan and Order Thereon, is the form in which the attorney requests approval of fees at the presumptive fee level as noted in the Court's "Guidelines Regarding Chapter 13 Attorney Fees." Form CSD 1178, titled Application for Confirmation of Chapter 13 Plan and Order Thereon, is the form in which the attorney will later submit a fee application (i.e., no later than 28 days from the date of entry of the order). These two forms can be filed electronically in CM/ECF under the Bankruptcy menu option (Order Upload > Upload Single; for order type, select Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation Order). Electronic filing instructions are available in the Court's online CM/ECF Manual. For questions regarding electronically filing these orders, please contact the Training Department at (619) 557-7535. CM/ECF Version 3.2 Upgrade / CM/ECF postponed — posted September 30, 2008 CM/ECF Version 3.2 has some changes in the case-opening process, so you'll want to check with your petition vendor to ensure that your current software is compatible. New menu and navigational features will make it easier to find what you're looking for. For more information on the changes, visit our Web site's CM/ECF page:
Videos that demonstrate the new features will be loaded shortly on the Web site. Revised Chapter 7 Standing Administrative Guidelines — posted September 10, 2008 Amended and revised Standing Administrative Guidelines for Chapter 7 have been posted to the Law Library page of our Web site. Potential Fraudulent Activity — posted August 14, 2008 On August 4, 2008, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts was notified by the bankruptcy clerk in Utah of a fraudulent scheme that might be affecting victims throughout the country. We are alerting you to be on the lookout for activity possibly related to this scheme. CM/ECF Unavailable August 16 - 17 — posted August 14, 2008 CM/ECF and the Court's Web site will be down this weekend from 6:00 a.m. Saturday, August 16 through 6:00 p.m. Sunday, August 17. Amended General Order 168-A / Restrict Public Access to Proof of Claim — posted May 12, 2008 Pursuant to amended General Order 168-A, a new document type is now available in the CM/ECF system at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of California. The new document type is the “Restrict Public Access to Proof of Claim” and is located in the CM/ECF Bankruptcy menu option (Motions/Applications). Should a proof of claim be filed containing personal identifying information that is not in compliance with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037, a party interest may request that the Clerk's Office restrict general public access to the proof of claim and attachments and notice the claimant to file an amended proof of claim and attachments with the redacted information. Also, a written request can be made to the Clerk's Office for non-CM/ECF users. Please note that the Clerk's Office delegation of authority regarding restricting public access is limited to proofs of claim and attachments. All other requests to restrict public access shall be made by motion consistent with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037. Changes to Electronic Filing Procedures — posted April 14, 2008 B 21 — Statement of Social Security Number Commencing on May 1, 2008, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California will require Form B 21 — Statement of Social Security Number to be filed at the time the Petition is filed. (See Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007 (f).) After May 1, Case Upload will not allow you to file a case without the B 21. (You also can open the case without Case Upload by entering the case-opening information the “long way”.) To facilitate this change, the B 21 may be filed electronically with an s/ signature. The CSD 1800 — Administrative Procedures for Filings, Signing and Verifying Pleadings and Papers by Electronic Means has been modified to reflect this change. All petition software vendors seem to support the s/ signature for the B 21, so we set the May 1 date to allow you to “tweak” your software settings. New case filings without the B 21 will be set for dismissal, but that should not be necessary. May 1 is the deadline but the system is now set to accept these, so don't wait for the deadline to file your B 21s with the Petition!
CSD 1801 — Declaration Re: Electronic Filing of Petition, Schedules, & Statements A new version of the CSD 1801, which better reflects the attorney signature block on the current B1 Petition, also has been issued. Original signatures still are required for these, and to AVOID DISMISSAL electronic filers should scan the CSD 1801 and file them at the time you open the case. We are now issuing formal 15-day deficiency notices when the CSD 1801 is not there at time of filing.
General Order 173 is now in effect (as of January 14, 2008) — posted January 23, 2008 The Court has completed work on revising the Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Guidelines & Rights and Responsibilities of Chapter 13 Debtors and Attorneys for Consumer and for Business Cases. The final versions approved by the Court are accessible by clicking on the hyperlinks. Welcome, Judge Laura S. Taylor — posted January 10, 2008 San Diego bankruptcy attorney Laura S. Taylor has been officially “sworn-in” and is now a bankruptcy judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California. Judge Taylor succeeds Judge John J. Hargrove who retired on January 4, 2008 after approximately 22 years of service. Prior to joining the bankruptcy court, Judge Taylor was the administrative partner of the San Diego office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP where she practiced in the banking and finance practice group. She has primarily represented secured creditors, but also has represented Chapter 11 debtors and senior secured lenders in a large Chapter 11 case. She specialized in commercial and bankruptcy law with an emphasis on the representation of lenders holding real or personal property, agricultural lenders, and creditors' committees. She managed 32 lawyers, legal assistants, and support personnel and also served on the firm's recruiting and diversity committee. A native of Jamestown, North Carolina, Judge Taylor received her B.A. in English and political science in 1979, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her J.D. in 1983 from Duke University. Judge Taylor will maintain her chambers and courtroom in Department 3 in the Jacob Weinberger U.S. Courthouse. She will begin her bankruptcy judge duties and receive case assignments on Friday, January 11, 2008. Judge Taylor will also assume Judge Hargrove's pending caseload, with the exception of cases in which she has appeared before Judge Hargrove. General Order 173 Revision to Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Guidelines and Rights and Responsibilities Adopted — posted December 7, 2007 On December 7, 2007 the Court entered General Order 173 to revise the fee guidelines for attorneys filing Chapter 13 cases. The Court conducted an extensive review of guideline fees adopted by the three other California Bankruptcy Courts and select courts within and outside the Ninth Circuit; analyzed the results of the Chapter 13 Attorney Fee survey that was distributed to all Chapter 13 debtor's attorneys filing cases since October 2005; and reviewed correspondence received by the United States Trustee regarding the fee guidelines. Comments on the proposed changes will be accepted through January 7, 2008. Absent any further order by the Court, the revisions will become effective January 14, 2008. Any comments should be submitted to the Clerk of Court at 325 West F Street, San Diego, California 92101-6991. Please note on the envelope: “In re: 13 Guidelines.” The Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Guidelines and the “Rights and Responsibilities of Chapter 13 Debtors and Their Attorneys” for both Chapter 13 consumer and business cases have been updated to reflect these changes. New Forms Effective December 1, 2007 — posted November 28, 2007 At its September 2007 meeting, the Judicial Conference approved amendments to Official Bankruptcy Forms B 1, B 3A, B 3B, B 4, B 5, B 6, B 7, B 9, B 10, B 16A, B 18, B 19, B 21, B 23, and B 24. These revised forms will become effective on December 1, 2007, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of California will require the use of the new forms starting on that date. CM/ECF Filers — Please note that you may need to upgrade your petition preparation software and/or templates in order to file petitions, schedules, or other amended documents. Attorneys are encouraged to contact their software providers to ensure access to the new forms starting December 1, 2007. The new forms will be made available by December 1 on the Court’s Forms Web page (Front Counter > Get The Latest Forms). On this page, the updated, downloadable forms will be in PDF-fillable format and also included in the petition forms package. Also, the new forms in printed format will be available at the Weinberger U.S. Courthouse, located at 325 W. F Street, San Diego, CA 92101 and can be obtained at the Intake Counter Monday through Friday during our regular business hours of 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. You can find more information regarding the revised form changes at the Federal Judiciary’s Web site. Section 341 Examinations Continued — posted October 24, 2007 Due to the wildfires, Section 341 examinations for the week of October 22, 2007 are currently rescheduled to the dates below and will be held at the same times and place (except as noted):
Department 2 Matters Continued to October 30 — posted October 23, 2007 Due to the fires, the Calendar for Thursday, October 25 in Department 2, Judge Louise DeCarl Adler Re: The Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego — All matters will be continued to Thursday, November 1 at 10:30 a.m. (Please note this change made on 10/24/07.) All Law and Motion matters set at 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. will be continued to Tuesday, October 30 at 2:00 p.m.
Chapter 13 Law and Motion Continued to October 30 — posted October 22, 2007 Due to the fires, the Chapter 13 Law and Motion calendar set for Tuesday, October 23 has been continued. The 10:00 a.m. matters are now set for 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 in Department 4 and the 11:00 a.m. matters are moved to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 30, also in Department 4. For any other matters set for Tuesday, October 23, the Courtroom Deputy will contact parties with new hearing information.
Chapter 13 Confirmations Continued to November 7 — posted October 23, 2007 Due to the fires, the Chapter 13 Confirmation calendar set for Wednesday, October 24 has been continued. The matters are now set for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7, 2007.
New Judge Appointed — posted September 25, 2007 San Diego attorney Laura Taylor has been appointed to serve as a judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California.
The
appointment, announced by Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is contingent upon approval of background clearances. She
Proposed Changes to Chapter 13 Discharge Process - General Order 172 — posted July 5, 2007 On June 26, 2007, the Court entered General Order 172 to amend Bankruptcy Local Rule 4004-1 requiring ALL Chapter 13 Debtors to file a Certification of Eligibility for Discharge (Local Form CSD 2120) before a Discharge is entered in a BAPCPA Chapter 13 case. This meets the new requirements of BAPCPA for certification regarding the existence of any Domestic Support Obligations and the status of payments. Absent any further order by the Court, the rule will become effective July 26, 2007. Any comments should be submitted to the Clerk of Court at 325 West F Street, San Diego, California 92101-6991. Please note on the envelope: “In re: LOCAL RULES”. Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Survey - posted July 5, 2007 On July 3, 2007 the Court distributed a survey to bankruptcy attorneys who have filed Chapter 13 cases during the past 12 months. The survey was created to obtain basic fee information in consumer and business cases Chapter 13 cases. The survey data will be used as an initial step toward reviewing the Interim Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Guidelines established by the Court on April 13, 2007. The first part of the survey gathers data that would be found in a Fee Application. The Court has broken out the tasks defined in the current fee guidelines and Rights and Responsibilities into categories to record estimates of task, time, and position performing the work and hourly rates. Attorneys completing the survey are requested to apply these elements to current BAPCPA Chapter 13 cases. The second part of the survey includes a series of questions regarding the additional fees for services that may occur in a Chapter 13 case, as well as some more open-ended questions about changes in Chapter 13 debtor work. If you are a bankruptcy attorney with recent experience in filing Chapter 13 cases in the Southern District of California and are interested in completing the Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Survey, the PDF-fillable version of the survey is available by clicking on the hyperlink. Your participation in completing the survey is voluntary, and we appreciate your feedback. Please complete the survey and submit it to the Clerk's Office by Friday, August 31, 2007. Updated Chapter 13 Interim Fee Guidelines — posted May 8, 2007 The Chapter 13 Interim Fee Guidelines have been adjusted to reflect additional fee increases which were updated by the U.S. Trustee's Office and have now been adopted on an interim basis by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of California in the following categories:
In addition, there is a new category for fees and expenses of all services rendered for preparing, filing, noticing and attending hearings in regard to a motion to impose/extend the automatic stay. The interm fee guideline for these types of motions is $575. Please refer to the updated Interim Guidelines Regarding Chapter 13 Attorney Fees for additional information. Forms B 21 and CSD 1801 Now Accepted Electronically Commencing on May 1, 2007, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California will accept electronically Forms B 21 — Statement of Social Security Number and CSD 1801 — Declaration Re: Electronic Filing of Petition, Schedules & Statements. Please note that Forms B 21 and CSD 1801 shall be filed electronically providing the original signatures in a scanned format; /s/ signatures are not acceptable for these documents. Please review the requirements for the electronic filing of these two forms in the newly updated Form CSD 1800 — Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing and Verifying Pleadings and Papers by Electronic Means, which is available on the Court's Forms site under the Front Counter page. Also, please note that CSD 1800 — Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing and Verifying Pleading and Papers by Electronic Means has been amended to adopt the same document retention period of five years as the U.S. District Court - Southern District of California. The old retention period was based on the previous requirements of the District Court for fax filings. This change enables the court to offer the electronic filing of scanned B 21 and CSD 1801 pleadings. Related Documents Posted — posted April 30, 2007 The Bankruptcy Court has adopted, as an interim step, the Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Guidelines and the "Rights and Responsibilities of Chapter 13 Debtors and Their Attorneys" for both Chapter 13 consumer and business cases that were previously maintained by the U.S. Trustee. The following documents reflect this change:
Implementation of General Order 171 Suspended - Interim Chapter 13 Fee Schedule and Rights and Responsibilities Adopted — posted April 16, 2007 On April 13, 2007 the Court entered General Order 171a to suspend implementation of fee applications as proposed in General Order 171. This followed the Court's review of the comments received following the publication of General Order 171. The implementation of General Order 171 is suspended to permit the additional gathering of information regarding the appropriate level of fees for Chapter 13 cases, and for further discussion with the Bar and other interested persons on this issue. The Court adopts the October 17, 2006 “United States Trustee Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Guidelines” and the “Rights and Responsibilities of Chapter 13 Debtors and Their Attorneys” as its own on an interim basis, and will publish same on the court’s Web site and will treat them as local court forms until further order of the Court. Automatic Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts in the Bankruptcy Code and Official Bankruptcy Forms — posted March 27, 2007 On April 1, 2007, automatic adjustments to the dollar amounts stated in various provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and one provision of Title 28 of the United States Code will become effective. The amended dollar amounts will apply to cases filed on or after April 1, 2007. We received this information on March 26, 2007. The amended dollar amounts will affect, among other matters, the eligibility of a debtor to file under chapters 12 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, certain maximum values of property that a debtor may claim as exempt, the maximum amount of certain claims entitled to priority, the calculation of the “means test” for Chapter 7 debtors, the duration of a chapter 13 plan, the definition of a small business debtor, the minimum aggregate value of claims needed to commence an involuntary bankruptcy, the value of “luxury goods and services” deemed to be nondischargeable, and the location where the trustee may commence certain proceedings to recover a money judgment or property. In the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994, as amended by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Congress provided for the automatic adjustment of these dollar amounts at three-year intervals. The relevant provisions are codified in 11 U.S.C. § 104(b). The adjustments reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the United States Department of Labor for the three-year period ending December 31, 2006, and rounded to the nearest $25. Use of this formula to adjust specified dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code is prescribed by 11 U.S.C. § 104(b)(1). On February 14, 2007, the Judicial Conference published the revised dollar amounts in volume 72, number 30, of the Federal Register, at page 7082, as required under 11 U.S.C. § 104(b)(2).1 The next three-year automatic adjustment of these dollar amounts will be published before March 1, 2010, and will take effect April 1, 2010. Here is a chart showing the affected sections of the Bankruptcy Code and Title 28 and a set of forms (see below) that display both the current and the revised dollar amounts in the petition, schedules, and statements. Seven of the official Bankruptcy Forms contain references to several of the affected dollar amounts:
These forms will be amended April 1, 2007, and will apply to cases filed on or after that date. Bankruptcy Judge Opening - Southern District of California— posted March 6, 2007 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals invites applications from highly qualified candidates for the position of Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of California. Click here for the complete announcement. This position will be available on January 5, 2008. The person selected will maintain chambers in San Diego, California. Appointment is for 14 years, subject to possible reappointment. No relocation expenses are provided. Qualifications include (1) admission to practice before the highest court of at least one state or the District of Columbia; (2) membership in good standing in every bar in which membership is held; and (3) at least five years of legal practice experience (certain other legal experience may be substituted). This is an open, competitive process. Application forms are available via court website at www.ce9.uscourts.gov. Applications also are available at all court clerks’ offices in the Ninth Circuit or by calling (415) 355-8900, by faxing (415) 355-8901, or by writing to U.S. Courts for the Ninth Circuit, Office of the Circuit Executive, P.O. Box 193939, San Francisco, CA 94119-3939, Attn: Bankruptcy Recruitment - CAS (mail). The deadline for the receipt of all completed application materials is Monday, April 16, 2007. EOE Proposed Changes to Chapter 13 Attorney Fee Process - General Order 171— posted February 27, 2007 On February 27, 2007, the Court entered General Order 171 to amend Bankruptcy Local Rule 2016-2(d) eliminating the reference to the U.S. Trustee Fee Guidelines and creating a process for fee applications in Chapter 13 cases. This change reflects the U.S. Trustee's decision to disband the current fee guidelines and will allow the court to gather the information necessary to set a new Chapter 13 Guideline Fee based on data collected from the fee applications. Details are contained in the General Order. Comments on this amendment will be accepted through March 30, 2007. Absent any further order by the Court, the rule will become effective April 9, 2007. Any comments should be submitted to the Clerk of Court at 325 West F Street, San Diego, California 92101-6991. Please note on the envelope: “In re: LOCAL RULES.”
Click here to view previous announcements:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
