Whats New

Date
4/18/2024 The Court invites public comment on its proposed amendment to Local Rule 2016-1 as reflected in the attached redlined version.

Comments can be made at localrules@caeb.uscourts.gov until 6/3/2024.
2/9/2024 Updated Procedures for Zoom.gov Hearing Registrations and Public Access Guidelines Effective February 20, 2024

Current Procedure for Zoom.gov Hearings: Participants in court hearings who wish to appear via Zoom.gov can find instructions, along with the zoom link and meeting information, on the Pre-Hearing Disposition page of our website. Registration to appear at a hearing via Zoom.gov can be done with minimal advance notice.

New Procedure Starting February 20, 2024: Individuals who wish to participate in hearings via Zoom.gov must register by 4:00 p.m. one business day before the scheduled hearing. Information for accessing the Zoom.gov hearing will no longer be available on the Pre-Hearing Disposition page. Instead, it will be sent via email to those who have registered, after 4:30 p.m. on the business day preceding the hearing. To learn how to register for a Zoom.gov hearing, click here.

Access for Public and Media: The public, and media are allowed to register for audio-only access to non-evidentiary hearings and proceedings in the bankruptcy court. There is no video access permitted for evidentiary hearings or trials. This does not restrict the public or media from attending hearings in person. Audio recordings of the proceedings will be available for download on PACER.
1/25/2024 Click here to view General Order 24-01, Order Authorizing Clerk’s Office to Set Certain Applications for Payment of Unclaimed Funds for Hearing
1/17/2024 Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have reappointed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald H. Sargis, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, to a second 14-year term that began on Jan. 14, 2024. Click here for more information.
12/13/2023 In alignment with directives from the Administrative Office to reduce costs, our court will be modifying its current mailing procedures for the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Final Report and Account. Effective January 1, 2024, the Clerk’s Office will cease mailing the Chapter 13 Final Report and Account to parties in the case. We will continue to send the Notice of the Chapter 13's Final Report and Account, which will include the date by which objections must be submitted. Additionally, the Notice will guide recipients on how to access the Final Report and Account in our offices and via the PACER system.
11/1/2023 Click here for information regarding upcoming changes to the Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here for information regarding upcoming Bankruptcy fee changes.
9/27/2023 Click here to read an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement re: Zoom Appearances.
8/29/2023 Local Rules Effective August 2023

Click here to view General Order 23-08, Order Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective August 25, 2023.

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules, effective August 25, 2023.
8/2/2023 Click here to view General Order 23-07, Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies, and click here to view the redlined version of General Order 23-07.
7/20/2023 Click here to view the new Official Certificate of Service Form and Where to Find It video.

Click here to view the new Mailing Matrix by Case and Where to Find It video.

Click here to view the new Mailing Matrix by Case and Our Court’s Default to All Participants video.

Click here to view the new Mailing Matrix by Case and Filtering by Party video.
7/14/2023 Click here to view General Order 23-03, Order Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective July 14, 2023

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules, effective July 14, 2023.

Click here to view General Order 23-02, Order Referring Certain Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Cases for Review of Attorney Fees to the Chief Bankruptcy Judge, and click here to view General Order 23-05, Order Amending General Order 23-02.

Click here to view General Order 23-04, Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies, and click here to view redlined version of General Order 23-04.

Click here to view General Order 23-06, Guidelines Pertaining to Bankruptcy Petition Preparers in Eastern District of California Cases.
5/19/2023 Click here to read an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement re: Chapter 13 Flat Fees and LBR 2016-1 (revised).

Click here to read Proposed Local Rule 2016-1.
4/21/2023 Click here to read an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement regarding After the Fact Review of Service and Notice Rules LBR 2002-3, 2002-4, 3015-1(d)(3), 7005-1, 9036-1
4/3/2023 Proposed Local Rule 2016-4

The Court invites public comment on proposed Local Rule 2016-4. Comments can be made by following this link until May 3, 2023.
3/10/2023 Click here to read an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement regarding ZoomGov Appearances in Law and Motion Calendars and Status Conferences.
2/2/2023 Local Rules Effective February 2023

Click here to view General Order 23-01, Order Superseding General Orders 20-01 and 20-01.1 and Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules

Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective February 2, 2023.

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules, effective February 2, 2023.
1/18/2023 Revised Roster of Governmental Agencies

The Roster of Governmental Agencies, EDC 2-785, has been revised to include an updated address for the Social Security Administration. Please click here to view the revised roster.
12/2/2022 Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective December 2, 2022.

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules, effective December 2, 2022.
12/1/2022 Amendments to Rules 1007, 1020, 2009, 2012, 2015, 3002, 3010, 3011, 3014, 3016, 3017.1, new Rule 3017.2, 3018, 3019, 5005, 7004, and 8023 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are effective today, December 1, 2022. Please click here for more information.
11/7/2022 Click here to view an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement regarding PACER Registration.
10/26/2022 Please click here to view General Order 22-05, which amends Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005.5-1(e). The bankruptcy judges in this district have amended rule 5005.5.1(e) on an emergency basis. The amendment is effective immediately. If you would like to provide feedback or comment on this rule, please do so by clicking here. Public comments will be accepted until November 25, 2022.
10/25/2022 Click here to view an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement regarding Corporate Ownership Statements in cases and Adversary Proceedings.
10/6/2022 Click here to view an Open Letter to the Bar from Chief Judge Fredrick E. Clement regarding the revised Official Certificate of Service Form.

Click here to view General Order 22-04, Order Adopting Revisions to Official Certificate Service Form.
9/2/2022

Click here to view General Order 22-03, Order Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective September 2, 2022.

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules, effective September 2, 2022.
8/15/2022 The Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure has approved for publication for public comment proposed amendments to existing rules and forms, as well as one new rule. The public comment period opens August 15, 2022, and closes February 16, 2023. To view the proposed recommendations and to make a comment, please follow the instructions, which can be found here
7/18/2022
Mandatory Certificate of Service Form for Use by Attorneys, Trustees, or Other Registered Electronic Filing System Users

Beginning July 20, 2022, and unless otherwise ordered, hearings in Judge Lastreto’s courtroom are now simultaneously, (1) IN PERSON, (2) VIA ZOOM, and (3) VIA TELEPHONE.

For connection instruction to appear via Zoom, please review the pre-hearing dispositions calendar for the date of your hearing. You do not need to call Chambers for advance approval. NOTICE OF APPEARANCE PROCEDURES VIA VIDEO AND TELEPHONIC - https://www.caeb.uscourts.gov/documents/forms/misc/NoticeofAppearanceProcedures.pdf
7/5/2022 Click here to view General Order 22-02, Order Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective July 5, 2022.

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules, effective July 5, 2022.

Click here to view the Official Certificate of Service form.

Click here to see our training videos page, which contains videos on generating a Registered User’s List and a Request for Special Notice List.
5/17/2022 Proposed Amendments to Local Rules
Proposed Certificate of Service Form

The Court invites public comment on its proposed amendments to the Local Rules and proposed Certificate of Service Form. Comments can be made by following this link until June 17, 2022
5/2/2022 Click here to view General Order 22-01, Order Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here to view the Local Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court, effective April 12, 2021.

Click here to view the redlined version of the Local Rules effective April 12,2021.
4/1/2022 New California Exemption Rates, Effective April 1, 2022
2/22/2022 Proposed Amendments to Local Rules. The Court invites public comment on its proposed amendments to the Local Rules. Comments can be made by following the link below until March 24, 2022.

If you have a comment about our Local Rules, click here.
11/29/2021 USTP to Post Updated UST Form 11-MORs and UST Form 11-PCRs

On June 21, 2021, the United States Trustee Program’s rule entitled Uniform Periodic Reports in Cases Filed Under Chapter 11 of Title 11, published at 28 C.F.R. § 58.8 (the “Final Rule”) became effective. The Final Rule requires that chapter 11 debtors-in-possession and trustees, other than in small business and subchapter V cases, file monthly operating reports and post-confirmation reports using streamlined, data-embedded, uniform forms in every judicial district where the U.S. Trustee Program operates.

On November 30, 2021, the United States Trustee Program will post on its website updated versions of the UST Form 11-MOR, Monthly Operating Reports (“MOR”) and UST Form 11-PCR, Post-confirmation Reports (“PCR”), that should be used for all reports filed after that date.1 Designed to improve the overall user experience, the updates will streamline the process of embedding data on the forms by using standard PDF bar-code technology. The updates do not impact the information required to be reported on the MORs and PCRs.

To obtain important information related to periodic reporting under the Final Rule, please visit https://www.justice.gov/ust/chapter-11-operating-reports. While at that webpage, please subscribe to the “Chapter 11 Operating Reports E-mail Updates” feature to automatically receive future email updates about the forms and periodic reporting under the Final Rule.
10/6/2021 If you are a renter having trouble paying your rent or a landlord who has lost rental income due to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, help may be available. Through funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, there are a wide variety of state and local programs that offer assistance—including financial assistance—to those who are struggling to make ends meet.

Click here for more information.
9/27/2021 Click here for information regarding upcoming changes to the Bankruptcy Rules
9/20/2021 Effective December 1, 2021, the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts has designated any entity that receives 100 or more paper bankruptcy notices in a single calendar month as a high-volume paper notice recipient pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9036(b)(2)(B) (as amended effective December 1, 2021) (the “Rule”). The threshold number of paper notices that will cause a notice recipient to be designated as a high-volume paper notice recipient pursuant to the Rule will be reviewed annually and may be adjusted once a year, effective on December 1st of each year. Once the threshold paper notice amount is reached, the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) will notify the notice recipient that it must register for Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing (EBN) or that, if the recipient does not register within 45 days of the date of the notification, the BNC will establish an electronic address where the Director designates the recipient to receive its notices pursuant to the Rule.
8/4/2021 Office of the United States Trustee – Region 17 will be hosting a virtual learning event for practitioners via Microsoft® Teams1. The training session will introduce the Final Rule. Please circle your calendar for August 12, 2021 at 12:00PM (PST). This will be the final training session.

Click here for more details.
7/20/2021 Region 17 will be hosting its final virtual learning event introducing the new Chapter 11 Periodic Reports. The event will be held via Microsoft Teams on Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 12:00 pm PST.

Click here for details.
6/23/2021 Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies

Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies (Red Line Version)
6/10/2021 Join the United States Trustee on June 16, 2021 at noon for a virtual learning event that will help practitioners understand its “Procedures for Completing Uniform Periodic Reports in Non-Small Business Cases Filed Under Chapter 11 of Title 11.” These new reports are effective June 21, 2021. Click here for more information.
5/12/2021 The Office of the United States Trustee has published mandatory procedures for completing uniform period reports in non-small business cases filed under chapter 11 of the Title 11, effective June 21, 2021. For access to these forms, click here.  For a more detailed announcement of these new forms, click here.
4/12/2021 Order Adopting Revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules
2/12/2021 Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies

Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies (Red Line Version)
2/8/2021 The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021
1/28/2021 Proposed Amendment to Local Rule 9018-1
12/17/2020 Please note that the Court has modified its Order Setting Chapter 12 Status Conference to include a requirement that monthly operating reports be submitted by debtors-in-possession, as required by LBR 2015-1. The Monthly Operating Report form may be found on our Forms & Publications page under the U.S. Trustee Forms heading, or by clicking here.
12/1/2020 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure, effective December 1, 2020.

Changes to Miscellaneous Fee Schedules, effective December 1, 2020.
10/15/2020 Delegation of Authority to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and his Deputies
10/1/2020 Click here for information regarding upcoming changes to the Bankruptcy Rules.

Click here for information regarding upcoming Bankruptcy fee changes.
6/23/2020 The Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of California welcomes Jennifer E. Niemann as its newest bankruptcy judge.  Judge Niemann will serve her fourteen year term in Fresno, California and preside in bankruptcy cases in Bakersfield, California.  Judge Niemann was appointed on June 16, 2020.  Prior to her appointment, Judge Niemann was in private practice and represented Chapter 11 debtors, Chapter 11 trustees and creditors in bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructurings.  Judge Niemann also served as a long-term judicial law clerk to three different bankruptcy judges of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.  Judge Niemann received her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
5/31/2020 All matters to be heard by the Honorable Fredrick E. Clement on Monday, June 1, 2020 will be continued to Monday, June 8, 2020.
 
In light of quickly evolving circumstances and to ensure physical safety, Chief Judge Kimberly J. Mueller has ordered all U.S. Courthouses in the Eastern District of California closed to all tomorrow, Monday, June 1.  Since Department A has a digital record that cannot be operated without a live person in the courtroom, the court is unable to provide a record of hearings on Monday, June 1.  As a result, on its own motion the court is continuing all hearings noticed for June 1 to June 8 at the same time.  The court will be issuing a notice of continuance.