These are the Local Rules of Practice for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. They may be cited as BLR.
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Local Rules
BLR 1001-1 Title
These are the Local Rules of Practice for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. They may be cited as BLR.
These Rules govern all actions and proceedings pending on or commenced after September 1, 2019 unless the Bankruptcy Court orders otherwise.
These Rules supplement the Local Rules of Practice for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and must be construed so as to be consistent with those Rules and to promote the just, efficient, and economical determination of every case, proceeding, and matter, except that these Rules must not apply to those proceedings or matters where they may be inconsistent with other applicable rules and provisions of law.
(a) A voluntary petition submitted in an individual or joint case must be accompanied by either: (i) the full filing fee; (ii) the Local Form “Application to Pay Filing Fee in Installments for Individuals or Joint Debtors”; or (iii) a request for a waiver of the filing fee, in applicable cases.
(b) The Bankruptcy Court may waive the filing fee for any lists, schedules, pleadings, motions, and other papers filed after the petition, and any amendments to such documents, for cause shown.
If a debtor(s) fails to pay the case filing fee or an installment thereof if the Bankruptcy Court has granted the debtor(s) permission to pay the case filing fee in installments, the Bankruptcy Court may dismiss the case, without any further notice or hearing, where the fee or an installment of the case filing fee is not timely made in the required manner, no request for an extension of time is pending, and neither the debtor(s) nor any party in interest has requested a hearing thereon. The balance of the filing fee is due immediately upon the dismissal of a case unless the Bankruptcy Court orders otherwise.
The Bankruptcy Court may dismiss a voluntary case under any chapter, without further notice or hearing, for failure by the debtor to file a required schedule, statement, list, or other document upon determination that:
(a) notice of the deficiency stating that the case will be subject to dismissal without further notice has been provided to the debtor, the debtor’s attorney, if any, and the trustee prior to the expiration of the deadline for filing; and
(b) the debtor has failed to file the required papers by the deadline, no request for an extension of time is pending, and neither the debtor nor any party in interest has requested a hearing thereon.
The foregoing supplements the consequences for failing to file papers timely as set forth in the Bankruptcy Code and the Bankruptcy Rules including, without limitation, those set forth in Section 521(i) of the Bankruptcy Code.
(a) Delegated Jurisdiction. Bankruptcy judges are judicial officers serving in the unit of the District Court known as the Bankruptcy Court. Each Bankruptcy Judge will perform the duties set forth and may exercise the authority conferred in Section 104 of the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-353, 98 Stat. 333 (July 11, 1984) (as amended, codified as 28 U.S.C. §§ 151-58) with respect to any case, action, suit, or proceeding and may preside alone and hold a regular or special session of the Bankruptcy Court, except as otherwise provided by applicable law or order of the Bankruptcy Court.
(b) Jury Trials in Bankruptcy Court. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 157(e), the Bankruptcy Judges are specially designated to conduct jury trials where the right to a jury trial applies. This jurisdiction is subject to the express consent of all parties pursuant to the procedure set forth in BLR 9015-2.
(a) The Northern District of Georgia consists of four divisions as outlined and described in 28 U.S.C. § 90. Refer to 28 U.S.C. § 90 for a list of counties comprising each division.
(b) Any bankruptcy case filed in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§1408, 1409, or 1410 must be filed in the division that satisfies the requirements of §§ 1408, 1409, or 1410.
(c) The Bankruptcy Court may transfer any bankruptcy case to another division within the district upon either motion of a party in interest or sua sponte.
In any case where the debtor or the trustee either files or amends the schedules or list of creditors to add creditors after the Bankruptcy Clerk issues the notice of bankruptcy case (Official Form 309A-309I), the filing party must, within three Business Days, serve the amendment and the notice of commencement of case on each newly scheduled creditor, and file a certificate of service thereof.
(a) Duty to Confer. Counsel and unrepresented persons have the duty to make a good faith effort to resolve by agreement among themselves any disputes with regard to an examination and production of documents under Bankruptcy Rule 2004, including its scheduling, its scope, its length, and the production of documents. Any objection to an order for a Rule 2004 examination, a motion to enforce compliance with such an order or with a subpoena under Bankruptcy Rule 9016, or a motion seeking to modify, limit, or quash such an order, must be accompanied by a statement certifying that counsel for the moving or objecting party or an unrepresented moving or objecting party has conferred, or made a good faith effort to confer, with opposing counsel or unrepresented parties in an attempt to resolve the controversy by agreement but that such efforts were not successful. A Bankruptcy Judge may require compliance with BLR 7037-1(e) in connection with this section.
(b) Examination by notice. Examinations and production of documents pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2004 may be initiated by notice if the entity to be examined consents. The notice must: specify the scope of the examination and the date, time, and place of the examination; describe any documents to be produced; and must be served upon the debtor, the debtor’s attorney, the Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 trustee, as appropriate, the United States Trustee, and the entity to be examined. The notice must be filed and served no less than seven days before the date set for the examination.
(c) Length of Examination. Unless the Bankruptcy Court orders otherwise, an examination pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2004 may not last more than six hours without the consent of the entity being examined.