CANB — General Order 38: (Third Amended) Matters Pending In The Northern District of California In Re: Covid-19 Public Health Emergency

Source: https://www.canb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/general-orders/ThirdAmendedGeneralOrder38%20SJ%20hours%20Change%206%2015%2020.pdf

1

2

3

4

5

6

7
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
8
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9

10
In re:
11 THIRD AMENDED GENERAL ORDER 38
MATTERS PENDING IN THE

COURT 1213 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA California 14 IN RE: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Of 15 WHEREAS the President of the United States has declared a national emergency in

16 response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et DistrictBANKRUPTCY 17 seq.;

18 WHEREAS the Governor of California has declared a State of Emergency in response to the NorthernSTATES 19 pandemic, has generally ordered that all individuals shelter-in-place, and only now is authorizing The
20 counties throughout the State of California to reopen for certain commercial purposes; ForUNITED 21 WHEREAS Chief Judge Hamilton of the United States District Court for the Northern

22 District of California has issued General Orders Nos. 72 and 73 (as amended), which, among other

23 things, close the San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and McKinleyville federal courts to the general

24 public through September 30, 2020 for civil hearings and trials and requires all civil hearings and

25 trials to be postponed or to be conducted by video or teleconference; and

26 WHEREAS while the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of

27 California remains open to all parties who seek bankruptcy protection under all Chapters of the

28 Bankruptcy Code, it is imperative that it operates in a manner that protects the health and safety of

1
Third Amended General Order 38

1 all interested parties and its employees; and

2 WHEREAS to protect the health of the court staff, the attorneys who practice before it, and

3 all parties and other interested persons, and to ensure the effective and expeditious administration of

4 justice in its San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Salinas and McKinleyville courtrooms;

5 NOW THEREFORE, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of

6 California hereby issues the following Third Amended General Order 38, effective immediately and

7 through September 30, 2020, and ORDERS as follows:

8 1. All Bankruptcy Court locations are closed to the general public, and no court staff

9 will be physically present to assist any attorney, party or other interested person or accept any

10 document for filing at any court location. ECF Registered Participants must file all documents

11 electronically. All other parties may submit documents for filing by mail, email, or drop-box. Filing

12 fee payments (no cash) may be submitted by mail or drop-box.

COURT 13 Documents may be submitted by email to CANB-EMERGENCY- California 14 FILINGS@canb.uscourts.gov. Of 15 Documents or filing fee payments submitted by mail should be sent by U.S. Mail to United

16 States Bankruptcy Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, Mail Box 36099, San Francisco, CA 94102. DistrictBANKRUPTCY 17 Documents or filing fee payments may be submitted by drop-box in two locations: 1) at the

18 San Francisco Federal Courthouse, which is located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, NorthernSTATES 19 CA. Access to the building and the drop-box is through the Turk Street entrance between 6 a.m. to 6 The

For 20 p.m. Monday - Friday (excluding federal holidays). Individuals must present valid governmentUNITED 21 issued identification to enter the building. A date stamp machine is provided next to the drop-box,

22 and documents will be retrieved and processed twice a week; and 2) at the San Jose Federal

23 Courthouse, which is located at 280 South First Street, San Jose, CA. Access to the building and

24 the drop-box is between 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday (excluding federal holidays).

25 Individuals must present valid government issued identification to enter the building. A date stamp

26 machine is provided next to the drop-box, and documents will be retrieved and processed twice a

27 week.

28 2. Absent express order of the presiding judge, no in-court trial or evidentiary hearing

2
Third Amended General Order 38

1 will be held before September 30, 2020, and all in-court trials and evidentiary hearings scheduled

2 through September 30, 2020 (that are not expressly ordered to proceed in-court as scheduled or by

3 other authorized means) are hereby VACATED and will be reset by the presiding judge. If the

4 circumstances warrant, the presiding judge may conduct a trial or evidentiary hearing by video or

5 other authorized means.

6 3. All counsel, parties and other interested persons who intend to appear on a calendared

7 motion or application shall appear telephonically or, at the presiding judge’s discretion, by video.

8 Again, absent express order of the presiding judge, there will be no physical access to any

9 courtroom. Instructions for appearing by telephone can be found on the Bankruptcy Court's website:

10

11 http://www.canb.uscourts.gov/procedure/district-oakland-san-jose-san-francisco/policy-and-procedu

12 re-appearances-telephone

COURT 13 There is NO COST for this telephonic service to parties who are not represented by an California 14 attorney or to any member of the press through September 30, 2020. The presiding judge shall Of 15 provide instructions for appearing by video as warranted. There is NO COST for video

16 appearances. DistrictBANKRUPTCY 17 4. Recordation of any court hearing by any means is strictly prohibited. Any

18 person recording a court hearing shall be subject to sanctions, including but not limited to the loss of NorthernSTATES 19 that person’s right to use the above telephonic and video services. The

For 20 5. Until further notice, any requirement for the submission of chambers’ copies ofUNITED 21 documents filed with the court is hereby suspended.

22 6. Parties may continue matters that are set for hearing to future hearing dates that are

23 consistent with this Order. Available hearing dates are posted on each judge’s calendar page.

24 Requests for continuances shall be made in a manner consistent with the presiding judge’s

25 requirements.

26 7. Unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, there is no change to all other

27 scheduling procedures including, but not limited to, applications for injunctive relief, orders

28 shortening time, and hearings on “First Day” Chapter 11 motions.

3
Third Amended General Order 38

1 8. Unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, all notices of any motion or

2 application filed with the court and served on any party which sets a hearing date for the motion or

3 application must state that the hearing will not be conducted in the presiding judge’s courtroom but

4 instead will be conducted by telephone or video, and include the following language: “All interested

5 parties should consult the Bankruptcy Court’s website at www.canb.uscourts.gov for information

6 about court operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bankruptcy Court’s website provides

7 information regarding how to arrange a telephonic or video appearance. If you have any questions

8 regarding how to appear at a court hearing, you may contact the Bankruptcy Court by

9 calling 888-821-7606 or by using the Live Chat feature on the Bankruptcy Court’s website.”

10 9. This Order supersedes any inconsistent information or direction in any standing order

11 or notice related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and replaces the Second Amended General Order 38.

12
IT IS SO ORDERED.COURT 13
May 28, 2020 California 14

Of 15 _________________________________ Charles Novack 16 Chief Bankruptcy Judge DistrictBANKRUPTCY 17

18 NorthernSTATES 19 The

For 20UNITED 21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

4

Third Amended General Order 38