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  May 7, 2008 PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING THE COURT'S DROP BOX

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PUBLIC NOTICE

DUE TO INCREASED SECURITY CONCERNS, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THE COURT’S DROP BOX IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED.

ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE FILED WITH THE CLERK’S OFFICE LOCATED ON THE THIRD FLOOR (Sacramento) OR SECOND FLOOR (Fresno) BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9:00 A.M. TO 4:00 P.M. MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

  May 7, 2008 10 MOST COMM0N E-FILING MISTAKES
  1. Problem: The case number, adversary proceeding number, or docket control number contained in the document is incorrect or missing. Impact: Requires Clerk's Office staff research and the editing of docket entries to include the correct case number, adversary proceeding or docket control number. Solution: Verify case numbers, adversary proceeding numbers and docket control numbers on all documents prior to filing.


  2. Problem: Credit card expired or limit exceeded. Impact: Causes charges to be declined by card company or issuing bank. Requires Clerk's Office staff to create an account receivable and to followup for payment. Solution: Monitor credit card expiration dates and credit limits. Update your e-Filing account user profile when credit cards with new expiration dates are received. Add a secondary credit card.


  3. Problem: Means Test or Schedules that accompany petitions are incorrectly e-Filed as separate documents. Impact: Requires Clerk's Office staff to make additional entries on the case docket. Solution: Include the Means Test and Schedules in the same PDF file as the petition, with the petition as the first document in the file.


  4. Problem: Statement of Social Security incorrectly filed as part of the petition. Impact: Requires Clerk's Office staff to print the petition and scan it without the Statement of Social Security Number. The Statement of Social Security Number must also be scanned as a separate document. Solution: Do not include the Statement of Social Security Number in the same PDF file as the petition. Submit in a separate PDF file that contains no other documents.


  5. Problem:Creditor matrix incorrectly filed as part of the petition when it should be filed as a separate document.. Impact: Requires Clerk's Office staff to print the petition and scan it without the creditor matrix. The creditor matrix must also be scanned as a separate document. Creditors must then be read by optical character recognition (OCR). Solution: Do not include the creditor matrix in the same PDF file as the petition. Submit it as a text file that contains no other documents. Submit the verification of creditor matrix form in a separate PDF file that contains no other documents.


  6. Problem: Incorrect hearing date, time, department, or judge code on notices of hearing. Impact: Requires the preparation of documentation for file and follow-up with filing parties by Clerk's Office staff. Solution: Verify that the department, hearing date and time are correct and appropriate for the matter being heard prior to submission of the document.

  7. Problem: Multiple documents e-Filed as a single document when they should be filed as separate documents. Impact: Requires Clerk's Office staff to print and scan as separate documents. Solution: Submit a separate PDF file for each document to be filed separately.


  8. Problem: Exhibits to a claim submitted in a separate PDF that should be part of the claim. Impact: Clerk's Office staff must print both documents, combine them and scan the combined document. Solution: Submit the claim and exhibits together in the same PDF file.


  9. Problem: Amendments to add creditors include creditors already on the case in addition to the new creditors. Impact: To avoid duplicate creditors on the case, Clerk's Office staff must identify and manually delete them. Solution: Include only the new creditors when preparing amendments that add creditors.


  10. Problem: Proposed orders are e-Filed using the incorrect document type and subtype. Impact: The court's e-Orders and e-Signatures applications can not be used to route and process the proposed order. Clerk's Office staff must print the proposed order, route it to chambers, and scan it after it has been signed. Solution: Use a document type and subtype appropriate for proposed orders. For the majority of proposed orders, use document type For Judge's or Deputy Clerk's Signature and subtype Other Proposed Orders. See the e-Filing User Guide, Exhibit 3 for additional information.




  May 1, 2008 In recent weeks, thousands of high-ranking executives across the country received e-mail messages that appear to be official subpoenas from the United States District Court in San Diego, CA. Each message included the executive's correct name, email address, company name, and phone number, and commands the recipient to appear before a grand jury in a civil case. The link embedded in the message purports to offer a copy of an entire subpoena, but when the recipient tries to view the document, they unwittingly download and install software that secretly records keystrokes and sends the data to a remote computer over the Internet. This enables criminals to capture passwords and other personal or financial information and starts software that allows the computer to be controlled remotely so the attackers can obtain digital credentials, passwords, and electronic certificates. The message directed victims to a Website with a URL that ended with "uscourts.com" instead of the official site “uscourts.gov.” Misspellings in the fake subpoena lead investigators to believe that the attackers were not familiar with the U.S. court system, and might be based in a place that uses a British variant of English. The AOUSC, FBI, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), S/CA and C/CA have all posted warnings about the fake messages on their Web-sites after hundreds of phone calls from individuals and corporations were received about these messages. Other cases have involved legitimate businesses such as America OnLine, CitiBank, e-Bay and numerous others. The e-mails often contain logos that closely resemble those of the legitimate businesses. In this case the seal of the U.S. Courts was included.

  April 2, 2008 EDC.006-B3B (Order on Debtor’s Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee) has been revised.

Attorneys are reminded that a proposed order in the form of EDC.006-B3B should be submitted electronically when filing the Debtor’s Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee or Other Fee. Click here.

  March 6, 2008 REVISED LOCAL RULES OF PRACTICE

  March 6, 2008 NEW GENERAL ORDER 08-01, AMENDMENT TO LOCAL RULE 3007-1, OBJECTIONS TO PROOFS OF CLAIMS

  February 14, 2008 FORM EDC 3-080, CHAPTER 13 DEBTOR'S PLAN AND ATTACHMENTS (FOR USE IN CHAPTER 13 CASES FILED ON OR AFTER 10/17/05 OR CONVERTED TO CHAPTER 13 ON OR AFTER 10/17/05), REVISED

Form EDC 3-080, Chapter 13 Debtor's Plan and Attachments (For use in Chapter 13 cases filed on or after 10/17/05 OR converted to chapter 13 on or after 10/17/05), has been revised to change the reference in item 1.05 on the first page from "Line 58 Statement of CMI" to "Line 59 Statement of CMI." Click here. to view the revised Plan and attachments.

  February 14, 2008 FORM EDC 2-785, ROSTER OF PUBLIC AGENCY ADDRESSES, REVISED

Form EDC 2-785, Roster of Public Agency Addresses, has been revised. Click here.

  January 15, 2008 NEW GENERAL ORDER 07-04

Technical Amendment to Local Rule 9014-1(d)(1) & (2)

  January 11, 2008 NEW GENERAL ORDER 07-03

Abrogation of General Order 99-1, Order Concerning Filing of Papers

  January 10, 2008 STATUTORY INCREASE IN CHAPTER 11 QUARTERLY FEES IN UNITED STATES TRUSTEE REGIONS

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110 - 161, December 26, 2007) contains a provision requested by the Department of Justice that increased the quarterly fees on disbursements paid by chapter 11 debtors in United States trustee regions. Section 213 of Title II of the Act raises the quarterly fees in all disbursement bands and creates three new upper bands. The new fees went into effect on January 1, 2008, and are first due from chapter 11 debtors to the United States trustees for deposit into the Treasury by the end of April 2008.

The new chapter 11 quarterly fee schedule can be found at the US Trustee website or directly at http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/r17/pdfdocument/Ch11_Fee_Schedule.pdf

  December 26, 2007 REVISED GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF DOCUMENTS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 2, 2008

Form EDC 002-901, Guidelines for the Preparation of Documents,
has been revised to include a section concerning proposed orders submitted to the Court for signature. According to the revised guidelines, proposed orders shall be filed as separate documents, and shall not include the word 'Proposed' in the title or contain blank spaces for information to be completed by the Court. Additionally, the first and last pages must contain blank areas for stamping by the Clerk's Office and placement of a signature block by the Judge. Please refer to the full text of the revised guidelines for additional information.

  December 26, 2007 OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULES AND FORMS AMENDMENTS

The Judicial Conference Advisory Committees on the Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Rules have proposed amendments to federal rules and Official Forms and requested that the proposals be circulated to the bench, bar and public for comment. Most of the amendments are proposed in conjunction with the adoption of uniform time-computation rules. The proposed amendments to the rules are posted at http://www.caeb.uscourts.gov/rules/newrules1.htm The comment deadline is February 15, 2008. Comments may be submitted electronically to Rules_Comments@ao.uscourts.gov or in hard copy to the Secretary of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Washington, DC. 20544.

  December 18, 2007 AMENDED "MEANS TEST" FORMS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2008

Amended "Means Test" Forms Effective January 1, 2008 Amended "means test" forms (Official Bankruptcy Forms 22A, Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation (Chapter 7), 22B, Statement of Current Monthly Income (Chapter 11), and 22C, Statement of Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period and Disposable Income (Chapter 13)) will be effective on January 1, 2008. The amended forms conform to the new IRS expense standards, which also take effect on January 1, 2008. To view the amended forms, Click here

  December 10, 2007 REVISED LOCAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Revised Local Rules of Practice.

  December 7, 2007 NEW GENERAL ORDER 07-02

Technical Amendment to Local Rule 7005-2(d)(1)

  November 30, 2007 SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS TO OFFICIAL BANKRUPTCY FORMS EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1, 2007

  November 30, 2007 SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL RULES OF BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURE EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1, 2007

  November 30, 2007 NEW FORM EDC 3-500, STATEMENT REGARDING OWNERSHIP OF CORPORATE DEBTOR/PARTY

Bankruptcy Rule 7007.1 requires most corporate parties in adversary proceedings to disclose corporate entities that own 10% or more of any class of the corporation's equity interests. In addition, the statement must be promptly supplemented upon a change in circumstances. The statement must be provided even if there are no entities that meet the 10% threshold. Bankruptcy Rule 1007(a)(1) adds an obligation for most corporate debtors in voluntary cases to include the same information described in Rule 7007.1 and to file a supplemental statement upon a change of circumstances. The purpose of these requirements is to provide the Court with some of the information necessary to make judicial disqualification decisions.

To aid in compliance, the Clerk’s Office has created a new form — EDC 3-500, STATEMENT REGARDING OWNERSHIP OF CORPORATE DEBTOR/PARTY. The new form is available on the Forms and Publications page of this web site as a fill-in PDF form, or Click here. In adversary proceedings, the statement should be submitted concurrently with the first pleading filed by a corporate entity. In voluntary bankruptcy cases, it should be submitted with the petition filed by a corporate debtor, or within 15 days. In both instances, the statement should be submitted as a separate document. It should not be attached to a corporate debtor's bankruptcy petition. If the statement has been filed in a voluntary case, the same disclosure is not required each time the corporate debtor is involved in an adversary proceeding related to that case.

Counsel are advised that effective December 3, 2007, failure to file a corporate ownership statement under Bankruptcy Rule 7007.1 or 1007(a)(1) may result in further action by the Court. The statement must be filed even if there are no entities to report.

  November 15, 2007 NOTICE CONCERNING ELECTRONIC ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS

Effective Monday, November 19, 2007, summonses in adversary proceedings will be signed, sealed and issued electronically by putting an "s/" before the clerk's name and including the court's seal on the summons. For additional information, Click here

  October 22, 2007 VERIFICATION OF MASTER ADDRESS LIST FORM REVISED

The date and signature line area of form EDC 2-100, Verification of Master Address List, has been reconfigured. Click here to view a copy of the revised Verification of Master Address List.

  October 4, 2007 ELECTRONIC PUBLIC ACCESS FEE SCHEDULE AMENDED

At its September 18, 2007, session, the Judicial Conference amended the Electronic Public Access (EPA) Fee Schedule for appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to include court appointed pro bono attorneys among those individuals who may, upon a showing of cause, be exempted from electronic public access fees when acting in the matter to which they were appointed. Click here to view a copy of the revised fee schedule.

  October 1, 2007 NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA) FEE CHANGES

Effective Monday, October 1, 2007, NARA has amended the fees it charges to reproduce public court documents in National Archives facilities nationwide. For additional information, click here.

  August 6, 2007 NEW BUILDING HOURS & NEW FORM AVAILABLE

The building hours at the Robert E. Coyle United States Courthouse in Fresno changed on August 6, 2007. The building will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Bankruptcy Clerk's Office hours will remain unchanged, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. However, access to the drop box located outside the Clerk's Office entrance (Suite 2501) on the second floor will be affected by the change in building hours. The revised EDC form Notice to Attorneys and Parties-In-Interest Re: 24 Hour Drop Box Depository Availability has been posted on the Forms and Publications page of the Court's web site.

  June 28, 2007 TECHNICAL TIP - OPENING LARGE PDF FILES

Opening large PDF documents, in particular some prehearing dispositions, can be problematic. If you are having difficulty opening such documents, you may find this work-around helpful:
  1. Right click on the file in question
  2. Select "Save Target As"
  3. Pick a location on your local system and select "Save"
  4. In the download complete dialog box that follows, click on "Open"
  5. The document should open in your Acrobat application
The document should now be viewable and searchable without problem. The saved copies may be discarded at your discretion.

  June 5, 2007 NOTICE TO ATTORNEYS CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION IN ELECTRONICALLY FILED TRANSCRIPTS

The judiciary's privacy policy restricts the publication of certain personal data in documents filed with the court. This policy requires limiting Social Security and financial account numbers to the last four digits, using only initials for the names of minor children, and limiting dates of birth to the year. However, if such information is elicited during testimony or other court proceedings, it will become available to the public if the official transcript is filed with the court, unless and until, it is redacted. Rather than relying on the redaction process, the better practice is for you to avoid introducing this information into the record in the first place. Doing this will better protect private data and will save time for everyone, including attorneys, court reporters, court staff, and judges. It will also reduce the likelihood of inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information, as well as the time needed to review records, make redactions, handle requests for extensions, or sealing the record.

  June 1, 2007 REVISED LOCAL RULES OF PRACTICE

  June 1, 2007 New GENERAL ORDER 07-01, Technical Amendments to Local Rules 5005.5-1 (b) & (e) and 7005-1 (a) & (b)

  May 4, 2007 Online e-Filing System Registration and e-Filer Account Maintenance Available

On May 3, 2007, a new version of the court's electronic filing system was deployed. The new version permits online e-Filing system registration and e-Filer account maintenance. To obtain a username and password for the e-Filing system, new users should complete and submit the e-Filing system online registration form and user agreement located on the e-Filing Resources page of the court's Internet web site. To change their password, firm/business information, name, phone number, email addresses, eService preferences, and/or credit card information, registered e-Filers should log onto the court's e-Filing system and click the MyAccount link located on the navigation bar near the top of the screen.

  April 1, 2007 ATTENTION

NOTICE CONCERNING AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT OF CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY CODE AND OFFICIAL BANKRUPTCY FORMS.

  March 23, 2007 ATTENTION

Revised Information for Persons Considering Bankruptcy is now available on the Filing and Fee Information, Forms and Publications, Self Service Center, and Attorney Information Center pages of this web site.   

  March 12, 2007 ATTENTION

Please take notice of the newly revised " Roster of Public Agency Addresses."

  February 2, 2007 CLARIFICATION CONCERNING COLLECTION OF FEES FOR AMENDMENTS TO SCHEDULES OF CREDITORS, LISTS OF CREDITORS, MATRICES, AND MAILING LISTS.

  January 31, 2007 NEW FORMS AVAILABLE

The bankruptcy subpoena forms - B254 , Subpoena for Rule 2004 Examination, B255, Subpoena in an Adversary Proceeding, and B256, Subpoena in a Case Under the Bankruptcy Code - have been revised to incorporate the December 1, 2006 changes in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. Additionally, the Reaffirmation Agreement (formerly form B240), has been revised and reformatted as two forms. The revised subpoenas were effective December 1, 2006. New forms B240A, Reaffirmation Agreement, and B240B, Order on Reaffirmation Agreement, were effective January 1, 2007. The revised and new forms have are posted with interactive form fields under the link to Official Forms for Local Use on the Forms and Publications page of the Court’s web site at www.caeb.uscourts.gov. They are also available by clicking the above hyperlinked text.