Bar News - April 21, 2006
US Bankruptcy Court – District of NH - General Order Re Administrative Orders Issued Pursuant to LBR 9029-2
WHEREAS, by General Order dated and filed on April 1, 1997, this Court adopted the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire, said rules hereinafter referred to as the Local Bankruptcy Rules; and
WHEREAS, Local Bankruptcy Rule 9029-2 authorizes this Court to adopt administrative orders for the conduct and disposition of proceedings before it and, from time to time, to alter and amend the same, provided that such administrative orders are not inconsistent with the provisions of the United States Bankruptcy Code, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure or Local Bankruptcy Rules; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority granted this Court by Local Bankruptcy Rule 9029-2, and for the purpose of organizing, clarifying and supplementing the Administrative Orders issued by the Court prior to the date of this Order; it is hereby
ORDERED this 3rd day of April, 2006, that the annexed “Administrative Order 1007-7” and “Administrative Order 4001-3” are hereby amended and reissued as herein prescribed and promulgated pursuant to Local Bankruptcy Rule 9029-2 and shall take effect on April 3, 2006, and govern all bankruptcy cases and proceedings thereafter commenced and, insofar as just and practicable, all bankruptcy cases and proceedings then pending in this Court; and it is further
ORDERED this 3rd day of April , 2006, that the annexed “Administrative Order 2002-7,” “Administrative Order 4008-1,” “Administrative Order 5005-5,” “Administrative Order 5070-7” and “Administrative Order 5080-1” are hereby prescribed and promulgated pursuant to Local Bankruptcy Rule 9029-2 and shall take effect on April 3, 2006, and govern all bankruptcy cases and proceedings thereafter commenced and, insofar as just and practicable, all bankruptcy cases and proceedings then pending in this Court; and it is further
AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the clerk shall post a copy of this Order in the clerk’s office, on the Court’s web site and shall forthwith cause a notice regarding the adoption of these Administrative Orders to be published in the New Hampshire Bar News which indicates that copies of these Administrative Orders are available upon request.
DATED and FILED this 3rd day of April, 2006.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Mark W. Vaughn
Mark W. Vaughn
Chief Judge
/s/ J. Michael Deasy
J. Michael Deasy
Bankruptcy Judge
AO 1007-7
Filing of Payment Advices Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 521(a)(1)(B)(iv)
(Amended and Adopted pursuant to General Order dated April 3, 2006)
Effective as to cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, copies of all payment advices or other evidence of payment received within sixty (60) days before the date of the filing of the petition by the debtor from any employer of the debtor (1) shall not be filed with the Court unless otherwise ordered and (2) shall be provided to the trustee in accordance with 11 U.S.C. § 521(i)(1).
AO 2002-7
Implementation of Notice of Preferred Addresses
Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 342(e) and (f) and National Creditor Registration Service
(Adopted pursuant to General Order dated April 3, 2006)
Effective as to cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, an entity, as that term is defined under 11 U.S.C. § 101(15), and a notice provider, i.e., Bankruptcy Noticing Center, may agree that when the notice provider is directed by the Court to provide notice to the entity, the notice provider shall do so in the manner agreed to and at the address or addresses provided to the notice provider by the entity. Such address is conclusively presumed to be a proper address for the notice. However, the notice provider’s failure to use the supplied address does not invalidate any notice that is otherwise effective under applicable law.
The filing of a notice of preferred address pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 342(f) by an entity directly with the notice provider shall constitute the filing of such a notice with the Court.
The entity must register its preferred address with the National Creditor Registration Service. Forms and registration information are available on the National Creditor Registration Service’s web site at www.ncrsuscourts.com.
Implementation of Notice of Preferred Addresses
Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 342(e) and (f) and National Creditor Registration Service
(Adopted pursuant to General Order dated April 3, 2006)
Effective as to cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, an entity, as that term is defined under 11 U.S.C. § 101(15), and a notice provider, i.e., Bankruptcy Noticing Center, may agree that when the notice provider is directed by the Court to provide notice to the entity, the notice provider shall do so in the manner agreed to and at the address or addresses provided to the notice provider by the entity. Such address is conclusively presumed to be a proper address for the notice. However, the notice provider’s failure to use the supplied address does not invalidate any notice that is otherwise effective under applicable law.
The filing of a notice of preferred address pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 342(f) by an entity directly with the notice provider shall constitute the filing of such a notice with the Court.
The entity must register its preferred address with the National Creditor Registration Service. Forms and registration information are available on the National Creditor Registration Service’s web site at www.ncrsuscourts.com.
AO 4001-3
Motions to Extend the Stay
(Amended and Adopted pursuant to Order dated April 3, 2006)
Effective as to cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, the deadline to file and serve a motion to extend the stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3)(B) is seven (7) days after the petition is filed. Prior to filing and serving such motion to extend the stay, the debtor shall contact the calendar clerk in accordance with LBR 7101(b) to obtain a hearing date for the motion.
AO 4008-1
Reaffirmation
(Adopted pursuant to Order dated April 3, 2006)
(a) Form. Effective as to cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, all reaffirmation agreements shall be substantially in the form of Revised Procedural Form B240 issued by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to implement the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which form is available at www.uscourts.gov/rules/revised_forms.html. If a reaffirmation agreement filed with the Court is not substantially in the form of Form B240, it will not be effective and is subject to disapproval by the Court.
(b) Agreements Not Effective. Reaffirmation agreements not complying with the provisions of this subparagraph are not effective and are subject to disapproval by the Court without notice or a hearing:
(1) a reaffirmation agreement must be executed prior to the date of the debtor’s discharge; and
(2) a reaffirmation agreement must be accompanied by the best available evidence of the claim and, as appropriate, copies of the underlying contractual documents.
(c) Hearing Not Required. If the presumption of undue hardship has not arisen under 11 U.S.C. § 524(m), no hearing to review and approve a reaffirmation agreement will be scheduled by the Court:
(1) if the debtor was represented by an attorney during the course of negotiating the agreement; or
(2) if the debt is a consumer debt secured by a mortgage or other lien on real property.
(d) Hearing Required. A hearing to review and approve a reaffirmation agreement will be scheduled by the Court:
(1) if the debtor was not represented by an attorney during the course of negotiating the agreement and the debt is not a consumer debt secured by a mortgage or other lien on real property; and
(2) whether or not the debtor was represented by an attorney during the course of negotiating the agreement, if the presumption of an undue hardship has arisen under 11 U.S.C. § 524(m) and the Court is unable to find that the presumption is rebutted based upon the information submitted by the debtor.
(e) Appearance by Debtor’s Attorney at Hearing. Unless the Court orders otherwise, any attorney who represented the debtor in connection with the preparation or filing of the bankruptcy petition, statement of financial affairs or schedules, shall personally appear at any hearing conducted under subparagraph (d) above.
AO 5005-5
Sealed Documents
(Adopted pursuant to Order dated April 3, 2006)
A motion to file documents under seal, accompanied by a proposed order, must be filed electronically. As soon as practicable after the motion to seal is filed, the documents sought to be filed under seal are to be delivered to the clerk in a sealed envelope with a copy of the motion to seal and the notice of electronic filing affixed to the outside of the envelope. The Court will issue an order on the motion to seal and, if granted, an informational entry will be made on the case docket indicating that sealed documents have been filed with the Court.
AO 5075-7
Debtors Asserting an Exception to the Limitation of the Automatic Stay
Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(l) and Procedure for Receiving Rent Deposits
(Adopted pursuant to Order dated April 3, 2006)
Effective as to cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, to establish uniformity in the procedures for the deposit of rent by debtors and transmittal of rent to lessors under 11 U.S.C. § 362(l)(1)(B) and 362(l)(5)(D), rent payments shall be paid as follows:
(1) Any deposit of rent made by or on behalf of a debtor pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(l)(1)(B) must be in the form of a certified check or money order made payable to the order of the lessor and delivered to the clerk upon filing of the petition and the certification made under 11 U.S.C. § 362(l)(1)(A); and
(2) Upon the clerk’s receipt of a certified check or money order made payable to the order of the lessor, the clerk is directed to promptly transmit the certified check or money order to the lessor by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the lessor’s address listed on the petition.
AO 5080-1
Fees — Request for Refund
(Adopted pursuant to Order dated April 3, 2006)
(a) Request for Refund. An attorney or trustee may request a refund of a filing fee paid electronically in a case or proceeding in which payment was made by credit card only.
(b) Motion. Any request for a refund shall be made by motion, accompanied by a proposed order, as soon as practicable after the payment error is discovered. The motion must contain a detailed explanation as to why the payment should be refunded. No supporting memorandum or notice of hearing is necessary if:
(1) a fee was paid for filing a duplicate document, bankruptcy petition or adversary proceeding;
(2) a fee was paid for filing a document in the wrong case or proceeding; (3) the movant is entitled to an exemption from the filing fee paid; or
(4) the trustee or debtor in possession is eligible for deferral of the filing fee in a case in which no funds from the estate exist for payment of the filing fee but the filing fee was paid electronically.
(c) Upon verification of the grounds set forth in (b) above, the clerk is authorized to effect a refund only if the refund may be processed as a credit to the attorney’s or trustee’s credit card. In all other instances, the attorney or trustee shall obtain a hearing date in accordance with LBR 9073-1.
|