Important Notice Regarding Time Period Changes Effective December 1, 2009,
Including 14-Day Deadlines for Filing Schedules, Statements, Chapter 13 Plans, and
Bankruptcy Appellate Briefs (Posted 11/19/2009)
Among the time-computation amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure that will take effect on December 1, 2009, are changes to 12 rules that will result in a reduction by one day (from 15 to 14 days) of the time to take action. The affected rules are Bankruptcy Rules 1007, 1019, 1020, 2015, 2015.1, 2016, 3015, 4001, 4002, 6004, 6007, and 8009. Please take note of these changes and particularly of the new 14-day deadline for filing schedules, statements, and other documents under Rule 1007(c); for filing a chapter 13 plan under Rule 3015(b); and for filing appellate briefs under Rule 8009(a).
PACER Survey (posted 11/18/2009)
To assist with a current PACER program assessment, users of PACER may participate in a short survey regarding their satisfaction with current services and any suggestions for potential enhancements. This survey will remain available to users for approximately 30 days. Please click on the following link to take this survey, and we thank you in advance for helping to improve public access to federal court documents and information:
Click here to begin the survey
Orders on Trustees' Objections To Claims (Posted 11/4/09)
Effective November 4, 2009, most orders on trustees' objections to claims in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases will be text-only. This means that the text of the docket entry will serve as the order. There will not be a pdf order attached to the docket entry. Interested parties who are not registered ECF users will receive a copy of the docket entry by mail through the BNC (Bankruptcy Noticing Center).
Notice to Bar Re: Amendments to Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Effective 12/1/2009 (Posted 10/8/09)
Amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, as well as similar changes to the appellate, civil, and criminal rules, become effective 12/1/09. These Amendments address the method in which time is calculated in the federal courts, making it simpler and more consistent. A total of ninety-one bankruptcy rules were changed as well as nine sections of the Bankruptcy Code.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this Notice is provided only as a convenience to the bar and is not intended to be a complete statement of the law. The information should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority.
Effective December 1, 2009
New Official Forms (Posted 10/8/09)
Official Form B27- Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet
This new required form gathers certain financial information, including information necessary for the court to determine whether reaffirmation agreement creates a presumption of undue hardship under '524(m) of the Code, and it allows the debtor to provide additional information that may rebut such a presumption. To implement the requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 4008(b), the form also provides for a disclosure of any differences between the income and expenses reported on schedules I and J and the income and expenses reported in the debtor=s statement in support of the reaffirmation agreement, together with an explanation of any such differences. Finally, the form requires a certification that the information supplied is true and correct. This form can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.
Official Form 1, Exhibit D
Statement 3 at the top of page 2 is modified to conform to the new seven day deadline. This form can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.
Official Form B 23 Debtor=s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Financial Management
Modified to conform to a pending amendment of B.R. 1007 that extends the deadline for filing the form in a Chapter 7 case. This form can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.
Scanned Documents at 300 Pixels Per Inch (Posted 9/03/09)
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts works with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regarding archival preservation of documents filed in the Judiciary's CM/ECF systems. NARA has updated their standards recently. Therefore, effective immediately, we are requiring that scanned images filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois be produced on scanners that are set at 300 pixels per inch (ppi) or higher. This is the new NARA standard.
Questions related to this new standard should be directed to our Help Desk, 217-492-4114.
RECAP Software Usage (Posted 8/21/2009)
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois would like to make CM/ECF filers aware of certain security concerns relating to a software application or "plug-in" called RECAP, which was designed by a group from Princeton University to enable the sharing of court documents on the Internet.
Once a user loads RECAP, documents that he or she subsequently accesses via PACER are automatically sent to a public Internet repository. Other RECAP/PACER users are then able to see whether documents are available from the Internet repository. RECAP captures District and Bankruptcy Court documents, but has not yet incorporated Appellate Court functionality. At this time, RECAP does not appear to provide users with access to restricted or sealed documents. Please be aware that RECAP is "open-source" software, which can be freely obtained by anyone with Internet access and modified for benign or malicious purposes, such as facilitating unauthorized access to restricted or sealed documents. Accordingly, CM/ECF filers are reminded to be diligent about their computer security practices to ensure that documents are not inadvertently shared or compromised. The full implications of using RECAP or related-software are as yet unknown.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will continue to analyze the implications of RECAP or related-software and advise you of any ongoing or further concerns. If you have questions, you can call our Help Desk at 217-492-4114.
Federal Records Center (FRC) Case Information Search (Posted 8/19/2009)
Cases closed prior to April 4, 2004 are stored at the Federal Records Center (FRC) in Chicago. Form NAFT 90 is used to request copies of documents from these older cases If you are interested in retrieving a bankruptcy case or a bankruptcy document that has been archived to the FRC, there is a now a new search tool available on our webpage that can be used to look up the location number of the bankruptcy case you are interested in. The location number must be included on the Federal Records Center's Form NAFT 90.
To access this new search tool, select Case Info and Copy Requests from our main web page and then go to Federal Records Center Case Information Search . Search tool instructions are located on the main search page.
If you have any problems finding a case using the new tool, you can always call the Clerk's Office in Springfield (217-492-4551), Peoria (309-671-7035) or Danville (217-431-4820). We will be happy to find the locations numbers for you.
Important Procedural Changes in the Central District of Illinois (Posted 03/13/09)
1. Effective immediately, the Judges in this District will enter an Order Striking an Incorrect or Incomplete Document when a pleading is so deficient that it cannot be acted upon. Examples include: 1) document filed in the wrong case, 2) pdf is unreadable, incomplete, or missing 3) pdf does not match the docket entry or the case. If the stricken pleading was filed pursuant to a statutorily set or court ordered deadline, that deadline is not extended by the entry of the order striking. The striking of pleading is generally without prejudice. Stricken pleadings may not be amended but may be refiled. If a filing fee was required for the stricken pleading, it will not be refunded and a new filing fee may be required if a corrected pleading is filed.
2. Motions for Refund of Filing Fee- The Judicial Conference of the United States generally prohibits the refund of filing fees. However, fees may refunded when no fee was due for the relief requested; i.e the filer incorrectly selects a (fee) event in ECF to file a pleading that does not require a filing fee. Effective immediately, the court will enter a sua sponte order refunding a filing fee when no fee was due for the relief requested. A Motion for Refund of Filing Fee may be filed for any reason. The Judges will review such Motions and take whatever action on them they deem appropriate.
3. Practitioners should be reminded that pursuant to this court's Standing Order in re Filing of Payment Advices Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 521(a)(1)(B)(iv), copies of all payment advices or other evidence of payment received within 60 days before the date of the filing of the petition by the debtor from any employer of the debtor must be provided to the trustee at least seven days prior to the first date set for the meeting of creditors.
4. Judge Mary P. Gorman's procedural requirements for cases filed in the Springfield Division have been posted to the court's webpage. Go to www.ilcb.uscourts.gov and click on Judge Mary P. Gorman's Procedural Requirements for Cases Filed in the Springfield
Procedural changes include stricken pleadings; service of Chapter 13 Plans, Amended Plans, and Motions to Modify; and the discontinuance of 7 Day Notice Orders.
Court Notice re: Compliance with 11 U.S.C. 1328 (h) (Posted 11/21/2008)Upon completion of plan payments, the court will send a Notice re: Compliance with 11 U.S C. 1328 (h) in all Chapter 13 cases filed on or after 10/17/05. This Notice sets a 15 day deadline for any interested party to file a response to the notice and a request for a hearing if they have reasonable cause to believe that 11 U.S.C. 522(q)(1) is applicable to the case. If no such response is filed, the Court may enter a discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 1328(a) without further notice or hearing.
Amendments to Schedules Must Be Verified By the Debtor(s) (Posted 11/21/2008)
Effective immediately, the Judges in this District will require that amendments to all petitions, lists, schedules, and statements include an unsworn declaration signed by the debtor(s), pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 1008.
You may use either the last page of Official Form 6 -Declaration Concerning Debtor's Schedules or you may include the following statement at the bottom of the amendment:
"I have read the foregoing amendment consisting of ( ) pages and certify under penalty of perjury that it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief."
Signature ______________________
Debtor
Signature________________________
Joint Debtor (if any)
The debtor's signature, (if a joint case, both spouse's signatures) must be included on the unsworn declaration.
Pursuant to the Third General Order Authorizing Electronic Case Filing , documents requiring the signatures of non-Filing Users are to be filed electronically with the signature represented by a "/s/" and the name typed in the space where a signature would otherwise appear, or as a scanned image. Documents that are electronically filed and require original signatures other than that of the Filing User must be maintained in paper form by the Filing User until all time periods for appeals expire. On request of the court, the Filing User must provide original documents for review.
Attention Bankruptcy Practitioners (Posted 5/18/2008)
Please be aware of the requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 9037-Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court.
The responsibility to redact filings rests with counsel, parties, and others who file documents with the court.
The Bankruptcy Clerk's Office is not required to review documents filed with the court for compliance with this rule.
Click here for Important Privacy Act Information