Announcement Archive

The California Northern Bankruptcy Court will be upgrading our Case Management and Electronic Case Filing system to version 1.6.2 and will be temporarily unavailable from Saturday, October 16 at 5:00 AM to Sunday, October 17 at 11:00 PM.

Our CM/ECF filing system will be fully upgraded to NextGen v 1.6.2 on Monday, October 18, 2021.  Please visit our website and review NextGen 1.6 PDF Information regarding what enhancements should be omitted from submission to our filing system.

Please note that the NDCA Bankruptcy Judicial Conference scheduled for 10/1/21 at the Presidio (and rescheduled from 2020) is postponed. To have the in-person connections that this conference brings, a new date will be determined and announced for 2022.

This order announces effective June 28, 2021, the Intake Counter at Clerk’s office locations in San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland will re-open to the public with limited hours of operation.

Temporary Assignment of Certain Bankruptcy Cases and Adversary Proceedings

Debtor(s)’ Signatures On Electronic Filings Order Temporarily Suspending Requirement To Obtain Original Signatures From Debtors For Electronic Filings

This order extends the closure of the bankruptcy courts in San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Salinas, Oakland, and McKinleyville to the general public until further notice.

            The Administrative Office of the United States Courts has provided notice of a national breach of the CM/ECF system and has called upon courts to implement new security procedures to protect Highly Sensitive Documents.  Given the limited number and nature of documents that are filed under seal by the bankruptcy court, the court construes this request to apply to all motions to seal documents filed in this court.  The bankruptcy court is working to update its motion to seal protocols, and is awaiting further guidance and direction from the Administrative Office of the Courts on this matter.

            In the interim, the bankruptcy court is revising its “Electronically Filing Sealed and Redacted Documents” guideline (the “Guideline”) as follows:

            Step 2 under the “CM/ECF Filing Sequence For Sealed Documents” is stricken, and the moving party shall not electronically file the document(s) at issue. Instead, the moving party shall contact and inform chambers that it is filing a motion to seal a document.  After notifying chambers, the moving party shall place the document(s) in question into an envelope that identifies on its cover the bankruptcy case/adversary proceeding caption and states in bold, upper case language that it contains “PROPOSED DOCUMENT(S) TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL.” The moving party shall securely seal the envelope and cause the envelope to be delivered and deposited into the court’s drop-box located in the San Francisco or San Jose courthouse.  The court shall physically secure the document(s) in question. 

            Paragraph 4 of the Guideline shall now read as follows:

            A.  If Motion is Granted: The proposed document(s) Filed Under Seal will remain sealed and become part of the record, but will not be electronically filed. The Clerk will annotate the original docket entry as follows: PROPOSED SEALED DOCUMENT(S) APPROVED-REFER TO DOCKET ENTRY #_. 

            B. If Motion is Denied: The proposed document will remain in the secure possession of the court and will not be placed on the electronic docket. The Clerk will annotate the original docket entry as follows: PROPOSED SEALED DOCUMENTS DENIED-REFER TO DOCKET ENTRY #_.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, February 15th, in observance of Presidents' Day.

The Judicial Conference of the United States approved adjustments to the miscellaneous fee schedule for bankruptcy courts.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, January 18th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Access to CM/ECF will be temporarily unavailable on Saturday, January 9, 2021, from 5:00 AM to 9:00 AM due to system maintenance.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Friday, January 1st, in observance of New Year's Day.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Friday, December 25th, in observance of Christmas Day.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th, in observance of Veterans Day.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, October 12th, in observance of Columbus Day.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, September 7th, in observance of Labor Day.

Access to CM/ECF will be temporarily unavailable on Saturday, July 18, 2020, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM due to system maintenance.

Check out PACER’s newly redesigned, informational and
resource website, https://pacer.uscourts.gov.

The website provides information about how the public
can access federal court records electronically and have
easy access to PACER and PACER-related applications.

New features include:

  • Mobile friendly design;
  • New tools to search for court-specific information;
  • Interactive format to search frequently asked questions;
  • Search engine has been optimized to improve content
    findability;
  • JSON and XML feeds of court-specific information; and
  • New accessibility tools.

In addition, two PACER applications—Manage My Account
and Registration—have new designs to create an improved
user experience. 

Email any feedback to the PACER Service
Center.

This order extends the closure of the federal courts in San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Salinas, Oakland, and McKinleyville to the general public through September 30, 2020. 

This order establishes a new requirement regarding the noticing of civil hearings and trials conducted by video or teleconference.  Unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, all notices of any motion or application filed with the court and served on any party which sets a hearing date for the motion or application must state that the hearing will not be conducted in the presiding judge’s courtroom but instead will be conducted by telephone or video, and include language as specified in Paragraph 8 in the Third Amended General Order 38.

The Bench-Bar Liaison Committee (the “Committee”) is seeking members of the bar to serve a three-year term on the Committee. There are currently seven (7) vacancies on the Committee and service will commence on July 1, 2020.

Prospective Committee Members should review the requirements and selection criteria of General Order No. 15. Trustee’s and employees of the U.S. Trustee are eligible to apply. Applications must commit to participate in six to eight Committee meetings each year during their membership term and to otherwise actively further the Committee’s mission. To apply for a position on the Committee, please send a letter of interest along with a current resume or curriculum vitae to the Committee Co-Chairs, Dennis Miller (dmiller@lubinolson.com) and Scott Johnson (sjohnson@gajplaw.com) by June 15, 2020.

Because of upcoming protests near federal building locations in the Northern District of California, all courthouses are CLOSED through Monday, June 8, 2020.  If you need to file a document or contact the Court, please call (888) 821-7606. In addition, pleadings can be sent to CANB-EMERGENCY-FILINGS@canb.uscourts.gov .

CM/ECF will be unavailable on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at 7 AM to Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 11:59 PM for system maintenance.

CM/ECF will be unavailable on Saturday, April 18, 2020, from 10 AM to 10 PM for system maintenance.