The Judges, Clerk of Court, Chief Deputy Clerk, and staff offer these Select Court Observations on Practice (the “SCOOP”) highlighting common errors and helpful pointers to assist with your bankruptcy work. New content will be collected and posted at least quarterly and thereafter can be found on the Court’s website by word searching SCOOP in the upper right hand corner search box.

• Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011. Litigants are responsible for ensuring the content of legal documents is warranted by the facts and the law, even when such content is produced with the assistance of AI services. Such technologies can and have produced inaccurate content that was thereafter filed with the Court. If a litigant chooses to employ such technology, the requirements of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011 continue to apply. Accordingly, it remains the filer’s ultimate responsibility to review and verify the accuracy of computer-generated content to ensure compliance. Recent cases illustrating the consequences of non-compliance include In re Martin, No. 24 B 13368, 2025 WL 2017224 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. July 18, 2025).
• Notice of Contested Hearings. When (1) a hearing will take longer than 30 minutes; (2) testimony is necessary; (3) documentary evidence will be presented; OR (4) any exhibits to be introduced are subject to objection, file the CM/ECF event “Notice of Contested Hearing” no later than 10:00 AM three business days in advance of the hearing. When a Joint Statement of Dispute is requested, it must be filed jointly with opposing counsel to narrow down the issues and identify evidentiary objections. Consult SC LBR 9013-2.
• Exhibits in Contested Hearings and Trials. In advance of the hearing or trial, confer with opposing counsel to determine whether the admissibility of exhibits can be stipulated and mark exhibits for identification. Make sure you have enough copies of the exhibits at the hearing or trial for the Court (including the law clerks), any witnesses, and opposing counsel. (If voluminous, binders are preferred.) If there is no pre-trial order that specifies a deadline to submit exhibits, please contact the courtroom deputy several days prior to the hearing to coordinate the receipt of marked copies. For the submission of exhibits that fall outside the scope of SC LBR 9013-2, if not practical to submit exhibits earlier, please arrive sufficiently in advance of the hearing to allow the courtroom deputy time to receive exhibits. Consult SC LBR 9070-1.
• Continuance Requests. When filing the CM/ECF event “Request for Continuance,” the consent of all other affected parties (e.g., those that have filed an objection; in Chapter 13 cases, the trustee; and in Chapter 11 cases, the U.S. Trustee) is required and make sure to state a sufficient reason for the continuance. If you do not have the consent of all other affected parties, a motion must be filed that states what steps you have taken to obtain a consensual continuance, the reason for the continuance, and a proposed date and time for the continued hearing. Consult Chambers Guidelines.
• Certificates of Service. Utilize the CM/ECF mailing matrix for certificates of service. There is no need to type the list from scratch, and it is easily accessible in label-friendly print by selecting “Reports” and “Mailing Matrix by Case.” When the CM/ECF mailing matrix is not used, some parties in interest may not receive proper notice.
• Stay Relief Motions and Proposed Orders. When preparing a motion for relief from the automatic stay or order that involves a waiver of the 14-day stay of an order granting relief, the relevant rule as of December 1, 2024, is FRBP 4001(a)(4) (not (a)(3)).
• Motions to Extend or Impose the Automatic Stay. Motions to extend or impose the stay should be filed with the petition and scheduled for hearing within the first thirty days of the case. If you are unable to timely schedule a hearing on a motion to extend the stay, a temporary extension of the stay should be requested by a separate motion. The burden is on the party seeking an extension of the stay to request any necessary temporary extension. Consult 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3) and (4).
• Chapter 11 First Day Motions. In Chapter 11 cases—including Subchapter V cases—make sure to timely file any necessary first day motions, such as motions for authorization to use cash collateral, pay wages, pay critical vendors, etc. Note that the filing of a single motion to use cash collateral is not sufficient to seek relief to pay prepetition wages or make other payments on prepetition claims. You must also, if needed, file a Motion to Expedite Hearing and be prepared to serve the order setting the emergency hearing on the same day the motion is filed, even if it is filed late in the day. Consult SC LBR 9075-1(a).
• Chapter 11 Subchapter V Case Opening. If schedules/statements are included with Subchapter V petitions, the attorneys should include that selection in CM/ECF when filing the petition to open the case in order for the docket to accurately reflect that schedules/statements were filed and to avoid deadlines being automatically set for outstanding schedules/statements.
• Chapter 11 Subchapter V Status Report. The Subchapter V Status Report must be served on all parties in interest. Consult SC LBR 2083-1 and 11 U.S.C. § 1188(c).