Thanks to Michael Cox and Eddie McDonnell for volunteering for the November Ask-A-Lawyer program. The next Ask-A-Lawyer sessions are planned for December 30 and January 29. If you are able to volunteer for the December session, please e-mail Jeff Davis at scbcaskalawyer@scb.uscourts.gov.

The United States Bankruptcy Court posts these Local Rules for comment in anticipation of an effective date of December 1, 2008 and in conjunction with amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Comments should be submitted to scbc_lr_review@scb.uscourts.gov by no later than Thursday, November 20, 2008. The Judges and Clerk wish to thank the Local Rules Committee for their review and submissions made.

The final version of the Rules will contain explanatory notes appended to each Rule highlighting final changes made. While abrogations and re-numbering are indicated in the draft version of the Local Rules, the final version will not contain such references.

The primary change to the Local Rules removes the Interim Rules adopted by this Court in October 2005. The Interim Rules, as modified through the federal rulemaking process, will be superceded by the rule amendments and new rules that will take effect on December 1, 2008, with the exception of Interim Rule 5012 (Communication and Cooperation with Foreign Courts and Foreign Representatives (proposed Local Rule 5012-1). As previously noticed, further information on the pending amendments can be found on the Judiciary’s Federal Rulemaking site at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules. Other Local Rule changes include renumbering of Rules pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9029(a) and Judicial Conference prescribed numbering conventions, stylistic changes, and deletions of unnecessary or duplicative references. Substantive changes were made as well, including the addition of a new Form Plan, drafted with the assistance of the Chapter 13 Working Group, for use as provided in proposed Local Rule 3015-1. The Form Plan is recommended for use as soon as practicable following the effective date.

In order to assist the bar in its review, click here for a table of renumbered rules as well as a brief description of certain primary modifications to date. The prior version of the Rules will remain posted for a period following the effective date.

The Court will sponsor a paralegal seminar in the spring of 2009 to address these changes and other relevant topics. If there are particular questions or training needs prior to the seminar, please visit the Court's website for training information and help desk assistance.

Despite the development of processes to more efficiently address the issue of returned mail, the Court continues to receive an average of 900 pieces of returned mail weekly. After consultation with the Court’s Advisory Committee and following research on the practice of other bankruptcy courts, the Judges have approved a new policy on returned mail. Operating Order 08-05 supersedes Operating Order 07-03. As revised, the new Order allows for a select and limited group of orders and notices to be returned to debtor’s counsel but maintains the current process for docketing the returned mail that will continue to be received by the Court.

The Order also preserves the current procedure for mailing matrix modification but reflects a new time saving enhancements to CM/ECF where a request for an address change may be made by electronic docket entry as opposed to a PDF submission. See Participant’s Guide. Finally, the Order memorializes the duty of the debtor to serve returned and undeliverable mail in furtherance of due process. The method for modifying debtor addresses has also been clarified in the Order. Questions on the new procedures may be addressed to scbcreturnmail@scb.uscourts.gov.