Effective January 1, 2023, the Northern District of California |
After 17 years on the Northern District of California bankruptcy bench, Judge Roger Efremsky is retiring, effective January 31, 2023. Given the Northern District’s relatively low weighted caseload, it is not anticipated that the Ninth Circuit will replace him in the foreseeable future. To ensure a smooth transition, effective November 1, 2022, Judge Efremsky will be removed from the Oakland and Santa Rosa divisions’ case assignment “wheels,” and no bankruptcy cases filed on or after that date will be assigned to him. All new Oakland bankruptcy cases will be assigned to Judges Novack or Lafferty, and Judge Lafferty will replace Judge Efremsky on the Santa Rosa wheel. With regard to Judge Efremsky’s Oakland cases that are pending on February 1, 2023, all cases that end in an “even” number will be assigned to Judge Novack, and all cases that end in an “odd” number will be assigned to Judge Lafferty. Pending adversary proceedings will follow the main bankruptcy case. Judge Efremsky’s Santa Rosa cases and adversary proceedings that are pending on February 1, 2023, will be assigned to Judge Lafferty.
Bankruptcy Rules 3002, 5005, 7004, and 8023 have been amended. Additionally, the Interim Rules 1007, 1020, 2009, 2012, 2015, 3010, 3011, 3014, 3016, 3017.1, 3018, 3019, and new Rule 3017.2 adopted February 19, 2020, to implement the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 are no longer interim and have been adopted as Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.
For rule changes, click the following link: https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/current-rules-practice-procedure.
In addition, Official Forms 101, 309E1, and 309E2 have been updated. For form changes, click the following link: https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/pending-rules-and-forms-amendments/pending-or-recent-changes-bankruptcy-forms.
Please be advised that the Honorable Hannah L. Blumenstiel will not be available on Saturday, January 7, 2023 through and including Thursday, January 26, 2023.
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, January 16th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday.
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, January 2nd, in observance of New Years Day.
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, December 26th, in observance of Christmas Day.
Pursuant to Amended General Order 34, the Northern District is adopting a new chapter 13 plan effective January 1, 2023. Amended General Order 34 makes important changes to the requirement of reporting on post-petition direct payments to class 1 (secured) creditors. The court has posted a video seminar on this website in which the new plan was previewed. Parties and counsel are encouraged to review Amended General Order 34 and the New Plan carefully. Use of the New Plan is mandatory for all cases commenced on or after January 1, 2023. The plan and the attachments/addendums are available below and must be viewed on a PC or MAC. If you are having trouble viewing the below forms, please contact Helpdesk@canb.uscourts.gov.
The Court will conduct a seminar on the District’s new Chapter 13 Plan (effective January 1, 2023)
The seminar has reached capacity. The recording will be available for viewing on the courts website on December 19, 2022.
Presenters:
Judge Hammond
Judge Johnson
Brisa Ramirez, Esq., Office of Trustee David Burchard
Darya Druch, Esq.
James S.K. (“Ike”) Shulman, Esq.
Topics will include:
Completing and ECF Filing the Chapter 13 Plan
Distributions under the Chapter 13 Plan
Defaulted Home and Vehicle Loans and Reporting Thereon
Treatment of Government Claims
Estimated Plan Lengths
Lien Strips and Cramdowns
This Program will be recorded and posted on the Court’s Website if you are not able to attend at the time it is offered.
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on November 24th and 25th, in observance of Thanksgiving.
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Friday, November 11th, in observance of Veterans Day.
Beginning October 17, 2022, all matters before Judge Novack will be conducted in person, in the courtroom, unless otherwise ordered by the court. Counsel and interested parties may appear at the hearing either in person or by Zoom. Judge Novack's Practices and Procedures for In-Person Hearings are available here
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, October 10th, in observance of Columbus Day.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Court is considering changes to Bankruptcy Local Rule 9014-1. A PDF of the proposed changes (redlined version) is below, along with the Local Form for Certificate of No Objection. Comments regarding the proposed changes may be submitted by emailing ron_mastroianni@canb.uscourts.gov by September 30, 2022.
Adopts Interim Bankruptcy Rule 1020 and notices the use of amended Official Forms 101 and 201 in this Court.
CM/ECF will be temporarily unavailable on Saturday, September 17th from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM due to system maintenance. Following the system maintenance, CM/ECF will undergo tests to ensure proper back-up system operations. During this time, you may experience temporary intermittent access to certain CM/ECF features. Testing will conclude on Saturday, September 24, 2022.
If you experience any issues, please contact the helpdesk.
All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, September 5th, in observance of Labor Day.
Ron_Mastroianni@canb.uscourts.gov by September 1, 2022. The subject line of the email should be “Chapter 13 Plan Comments.” PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Court is requesting comments on the new Chapter 13 plan that it has drafted in consultation with a committee of lawyers and Martha Bronitsky, Chapter 13 Trustee. PDF versions of the Chapter 13 plan and its attachments are below. Comments regarding the new plan may be emailed to
Access to CM/ECF will be temporarily unavailable on Saturday, August 27, 2022, from 5:30 AM to 07:30 AM due to system maintenance.