Judge Porter's Open Calendar Procedures

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
for the
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
OPEN CALENDAR PROCEDURE
Honorable Cara M. Porter
United States Bankruptcy Judge

Courtroom Deputy:
Ms. Ruby Bautista; (510) 879-3529; Ruby_Bautista@canb.uscourts.gov]

Courtroom Address:
1300 Clay Street, Courtroom 215, Oakland, CA 94612

Judge Porter utilizes an open calendar procedure for the scheduling of certain matters. This procedure will allow counsel to self-select an available date and time on the appropriate calendar and serve notice of that date and time without first having to obtain the date and time from the calendar clerk.

The court encourages all parties to set matters using the open calendar procedure whenever possible. The courtroom deputy will be available by telephone to schedule hearings not available for setting on the open calendar, or as needed for emergency matters.

The Open Calendar Procedure will operate as follows:

1. Types of proceedings that may be set in accordance with the Open Calendar Procedure:

    • Law & Motion
    • Motions for Relief from Stay (Preliminary Hearings)
    • Chapter 11 Disclosure Statement Approval
    • Fee Applications and Final Accounts in Chapter 7 and 11 Cases
    • Fee Applications in Chapter 13 Cases

2. The Open Calendar Procedure will not be available for the following:

    • Initial Scheduling Conferences in Adversary Proceedings
      The clerk’s office will select the date and time for the Initial Scheduling Conference before issuing the summons.

    • Chapter 11 Plan Confirmation
      Following the approval of the disclosure statement, the court will schedule the date and time for the hearing on confirmation of the plan.

    • Chapter 11 Status Conferences
      The court will schedule and notice a status conference.

    • Subchapter V of Chapter 11 Plan Review Conference
      After holding a status conference required by 11 U.S.C. § 1188(a), the court will schedule and notice a Plan Review Conference.

    • Trials
       All trials will be assigned a date and time and a pretrial order will be issued.

    • Evidentiary Hearings (hearings at which testimony will be taken)

    • Reaffirmation Agreements (remote hearing only)
      Parties may contact the Courtroom Deputy, Ms. Ruby Bautista to obtain a hearing date and time.

    • Any matter requiring an order shortening time
      To obtain a date and time for a hearing on shortened time, counsel should contact Courtroom Deputy Ms. Ruby Bautista [(510) 879-3529; Ruby_Bautista@canb.uscourts.gov].

    • Temporary Restraining Orders
      To obtain a date and time for a hearing on a TRO, counsel should contact Courtroom Deputy Ms. Ruby Bautista [(510) 879-3529; Ruby_Bautista@canb.uscourts.gov].

    • Matters set pursuant to an order to show cause

3. Procedure

        A. Select a Date

Counsel should select an available date and time as shown on the list of dates posted in Judge Porter’s calendar section on the court’s website (http://www.canb.uscourts.gov). The date selected must be no earlier than as required by applicable national or local rules, as nothing in this Open Calendar procedure alters applicable time limits.

        B. Notice of Hearing

Counsel should serve proper notice of the matter in accordance with applicable rules.

Note: If a hearing on a motion for relief from stay is set by a party in accordance with this Open Calendar Procedure more than thirty days after the date the motion is filed, the party will be deemed to waive the thirty-day limitation of 11 U.S.C. § 362(e).

Counsel must not request that the Courtroom Deputy call back to confirm that the matter has been placed on the calendar. Parties may refer to Judge Porter’s calendar page to confirm a matter is on the calendar. Calendars are posted up to two weeks in advance of a scheduled hearing.

        C. Filing the Motion

No later than three days after service of the notice of hearing on other parties, counsel should file all appropriate papers with the court, including a Notice of Hearing with certificate of service.

Counsel need not include copies of deeds of trust with motions for relief from stay or motions to avoid liens or similar motions. The court will request such copies of necessary.

Counsel should consult Judge Porter’s Practices and Procedures with regard to the format of electronic documents and providing Chambers Copies.

        D. Continuances

Counsel should consult Judge Porter’s Practices and Procedures and the following guidelines with regard to all continuances.

For continuance of any Scheduling Conference, Pre-Trial Conference, or scheduled Trial, parties may file a written stipulation and upload a proposed order. Matters noticed to all creditors must be continued in open court. All other continuances must be handled through Judge Porter’s Courtroom Deputy, Ms. Ruby Bautista. Parties are encouraged to meet and confer regarding potential continued hearing dates prior to contacting Ms. Bautista.

A minimum notice of 24 hours of any continuance is encouraged.

Counsel must receive written confirmation of a continuance via ECF notification, or by e-mail or telephonic contact from the Courtroom Deputy. If counsel does not receive such notice, Counsel is expected to appear at the hearing.

4. Miscellaneous

Failure to comply with the foregoing Open Calendar Procedures will result in the matter not being placed on calendar.

Note: Occasionally there may be a need to reschedule matters that have been placed on the calendar in accordance with this Open Calendar Procedure. Typically, this result will occur because of calendar congestion or unforeseen schedule changes. In those instances, the Courtroom Deputy will contact the moving party as soon as possible so that a notice of a rescheduled hearing may be disseminated.