CACB — TCG Supplement 9021-1: Lodged Order Upload Procedures (LOU)

Source: https://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/sites/cacb/files/documents/the-central-guide/TCGSupp9021-1_LOU-Lodged-Order-Upload.pdf

The Central Guide Supplement to LBR 9021-1

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

The Central Guide 1 April 2022

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

The Central Guide 2 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

LOU (Lodged Order Upload) Overview

(a) Effective Date. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District
of California began accepting electronic orders for ALL judges on November
19, 2007.

(b) Separate Program. Although LOU is separate from the CM/ECF program,
it is incorporated into the CM/ECF menu, making it easy for CM/ECF users
to find and select.

(c) Noticing. Orders that are uploaded via LOU, and then subsequently
entered via the Court’s Calendar and Order Generation program (“CIAO!”),
will generate either an electronic or manual notice from the Bankruptcy
Noticing Center (BNC) upon entry in the court’s Case Management (CM)
system. For more information on orders noticed through BNC, please refer
to section 1.6 of this manual.

(d) Order Format. Electronic orders must be uploaded in MS-Word format
only. Using WORD enables a judge or his/her chambers to edit a lodged
order. The order will be entered in PDF format onto the docket and can be
accessed normally. If you attempt to upload the order in any other type of
format (e.g. PDF), you will receive an error message.

(e) Requirements. The following procedures include the steps for preparing
an order which include the service and format requirements for the
submission of electronic orders. All orders uploaded electronically using
the court’s Lodged Order Upload (LOU) program must comply with all of
these requirements.

(f) Every Order Uploaded will be Assigned a Document Number. At the
end of each submission you will receive a confirmation which contains the
assigned document number, the relevant case information, and the date
and time of submission. Please print and retain a copy of the confirmation
should you need it for future reference.

(g) Help Desk. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions related
to electronically uploaded orders, please contact us at ECF_Support
@cacb.uscourts.gov, or call the CM/ECF Help Desk, at (213) 894-2365,
Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (excluding federal
holidays).

The Central Guide 3 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

Order Preparation [LBR 9021-1 and LBR 9004-1]

(a) Prior Electronic Submission. When preparing a proposed order prior to
electronic submission, you must comply with the following procedures. Non-
compliance may result in your order being marked as “Unused” (i.e.
rejected), and you may need to lodge a new order, further delaying the entry
of such order (See below section 1.3(e) - (g) below).

(b) Service of Proposed Order.

(1) Notice of Lodgment. If the proposed form of order or judgment is
one that, according to the LBRs, must be served on one or more
parties in interest (other than the presiding judge), on the same day
that you lodge the order, you must file through CM/ECF a notice of
lodgment (NOL) of the proposed order (which includes a Proof of
Service). Use LBR form F 9021- 1.2.BK.NOTICE.LODGMENT if the
order will be entered on the docket in the bankruptcy case itself; use
LBR form F 9021-1.2.ADV.NOTICE.LODGMENT if the order will be
entered on the docket in an adversary proceeding. Attach a copy of
the proposed form of order to the NOL and serve the NOL and the
attached order on the parties entitled to receive service of the
proposed form of order under the LBRs and the presiding judge in
accordance with the following procedures. Service of the NOL with
a copy of the proposed order attached is the only way that you
need to serve a proposed form of order. (If you are not required
under the LBRs to serve a proposed form of order on anyone, you
are not required to file an NOL with regard to that order.) DO NOT
ATTACH A PROOF OF SERVICE TO THE PROPOSED ORDER AT
THE TIME IT IS LODGED either via LOU or at the Intake window,
and do not separately serve the proposed form of order.

(2) Mandatory LBR Form 9013-3.1.PROOF.SERVICE. Comply with
LBR 9021-1 by attaching at the back of your NOL and proposed
order a Proof of Service page, using court mandated LBR form F
9013-3.1.PROOF.SERVICE or the exact language and format of that
LBR form.

(3) Electronic CM/ECF Signatures. An electronic CM/ECF signature
(“/s/” followed by the printed name) is allowed on the Proof of Service
of Document page attached to the NOL as long as the person whose
electronic signature is used is employed at the office/firm of the
attorney whose CM/ECF live login password will be used to lodge
the proposed order being served.

(4) Limited Service Required. Pursuant to LBR 9013-1(o)(3)(B), and
LBR 9021- 1(b)(3)(A), a proposed order must be served only upon
any person, entity, or attorney who filed an opposition to the moving

The Central Guide 4 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

papers, or who was required to sign approval of a stipulation that
resolved the motion or other request for relief. There is no
obligation to serve the proposed order on any other person or
entity, including a case trustee or the United States trustee.

(5) Organizing Contact Information on Service List. Comply with LBR
9021-1(b) when organizing the list for the Proof of Service of
Document:

(A) Service by NEF on CM/ECF Parties. Whenever a NOL is filed
via the court’s CM/ECF system, CM/ECF users are served via
an NEF as noted in section 1.4(b). Please list these recipients
in Category 1 on the Proof of Service.

(B) Service by Mail, Email, or Facsimile. Parties other than
CM/ECF users must be served by regular, or overnight mail,
or email/facsimile if permission has been obtained to serve
documents by email/facsimile. Please list these recipients in
Category 2 or 3 on the Proof of Service.

(6) Judge’s Copy. The presiding judge must always be listed on the
proof of service for any NOL filed unless that NOL is an NOL
concerning an order granting or denying a motion for relief from the
automatic stay, or a motion to impose or continue the stay.

(c) Format and Content of Order.
(See order example in section 1.4(c), Exhibit 1 below).

(1) Caption Page. All orders require a caption page in compliance with
the formatting instructions identified in section 1.5(c) below:

Caption Page

A. Leave top right-hand corner (lines 1-7) blank, for use by clerk;
B. Properly caption all parties, including debtor and adversary parties;
C. Properly format the case or adversary proceeding number including the
initials for the presiding judge;
D. Title the order to be consistent with the request for relief, including, for
example, “Order Granting Motion for.” or “Order Approving Stipulation
for...” Do not include the word “Proposed” in the title of the order;
E. Include a hearing date on all orders on which a hearing is or was
scheduled, or when a future hearing date will be affected.

The Central Guide 5 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

(2) Content of Order.

(A) Comply with Ruling and Mandatory LBR Form. The content
of any order must comply with the ruling made in court or the
request for relief made via a non-hearing motion. If a court
mandated LBR form order is required, do not change any of
the pre-included language of the form. The exception would
be the judge’s signature line as noted in section 1.2(c)(2)(B)
below.

(B) No Signature Line for the Judge. Do not include a signature
line for the judge. Instead, at the end of the content of the
order, insert the symbol “###” to indicate that no further
language is needed. Follow the example set forth below in
section 1.4, Exhibit 1 below.

(C) Leave Space for Judge’s Electronic Signature. On the page
which contains the symbol “###”, please leave approximately
3 inches at the bottom of the page for placement of the judge’s
electronic signature.

(3) Proof of Service. Do not prepare a proof of service. See Notice of
Lodgment procedure under section 1.2(b)(1) above

(4) Notice of Entry of Order. Do not attach a Notice of Entered Order
and Service List to any order lodged. Parties who are registered
CM/ECF users that have not opted out of electronic service will
receive notice of the entered order via NEF, and the NEF itself will
identify the parties who have received notice in this manner. The
BNC will serve additional parties with notice of the entry of the order,
and a BNC Certificate of Notice will appear on the relevant docket,
reflecting the parties who were served and the manner in which they
were served. If you believe that additional parties should receive
notice of the entered order, after you receive an entered copy of the
order, serve them yourself and prepare and file a proof of service
reflecting the names, addresses and method of service that you used
to deliver the entered order to these additional parties within 72 hours
thereafter.

(d) Orders Approving Stipulations. Orders Approving Stipulations must be
lodged separately from the stipulation according to the following procedure:

(1) Obtain all necessary signatures on the Stipulation.

(2) DO NOT prepare a combined Stipulation and Order, unless the
stipulation is the court-approved “Adequate Protection Order
Attachment” to one of the court’s mandatory form orders granting

The Central Guide 6 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

relief from stay. In that event, it is sufficient to lodge the order with
imaged signatures of all parties to the stipulation attached as an
exhibit to the order. No separate stipulation need be filed.

(3) File the Stipulation via CM/ECF with all necessary signatures, so that
the only electronic signature (“/s/” followed by the printed name) is
the signature of the CM/ECF registered attorney who is filing the
stipulation via CM/ECF.

(4) Prepare a separate Order Approving Stipulation in MS-WORD
format.

(5) In the text of the Order Approving Stipulation, indicate the complete
title of the stipulation and docket number entry of the stipulation.

(6) When uploading the electronic order, select the docket entry for the
Stipulation as the relevant Motion type, UNLESS the stipulation
resolves a motion. In that situation, select the docket entry for the
motion that is being resolved.

(7) Comply with all procedures in this section, 1.2.

(e) Orders on Section 362 Motions re: Relief from Stay, Imposing or
Continuing Stay.

(1) All Section 362 Orders are served electronically by the court via NEF
to trustees, the United States trustee, and to the attorneys who are
on the Electronic Mail Notice List for the particular bankruptcy case.

(2) All Section 362 Orders are served by U.S. Mail on debtor and
debtor’s attorney, if any, unless the attorney receives electronic
notice via NEF.

(f) Orders Granting Motions for Approval of Settlement Agreement, Sale
Agreement, or Other Agreement or Plan. Orders granting Motions for
orders approving sale agreements, settlement agreements or other
agreements or plans must be submitted according to the following
procedure:

(1) Do not attach any agreements or plans to the order;

(2) Refer in the Order to the filing date and docket number of the motion
or other filed document to which the agreement was attached and
provide the exhibit number or letter used to refer to the agreement in
that document.

The Central Guide 7 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

(g) Exhibits and/or Attachments to Order. There are several methods for
uploading an exhibit and/or attachment along with your electronic order.
Exhibits and/or attachments must comply with the following:

(1) PDF Format. A PDF formatted exhibit and or/attachment lodged
along with the electronic order (such as signature pages of parties
indicating approval of form of order, or a property description), must
not exceed 10 pages unless otherwise approved by the presiding
judge. Once an exception has been approved by the presiding
judge, contact the ECF Help Desk at (213) 894-2365 for instructions.

(2) MS-WORD. An exhibit may be uploaded in MS-WORD format as
part of the proposed order as long as it does not exceed 10 pages.
DO NOT upload a MS-WORD image.

(3) Other Exhibits. If an exhibit exceeds 10 pages, the exhibit must be
filed and referred to according to the following procedure.

(A) Exhibit is attached to the motion.

(1) In the order, refer to the motion and the number or letter
that identifies the exhibit.

(B) Exhibit is not attached to the motion.

(1) Convert the exhibit to a PDF document and file it via
CM/ECF by selecting the docket event “Exhibit”;

(2) Relate the exhibit to the applicable motion/application;

(3) Provide a copy of the exhibit along a judge’s copy of
the order and LOU receipt as specified under section
1.2(c) above; and

(4) Contact the applicable judge’s courtroom deputy and
advise of submission of the exhibit.

(h) Miscellaneous. To ensure your order can be edited by the court, verify the
following prior to uploading:

(1) No Hyperlinks;

(2) No Macros;

(3) No Security;

(4) Not a Read-Only document; and

The Central Guide 8 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

(5) Not Locked in any way.

Order Upload

(a) Access to the Lodged Order Screen. CM/ECF Users can upload MS-
Word formatted orders electronically on either a main bankruptcy case or
adversary proceeding by using the Lodged Order Upload (LOU) feature
(accessible from the Court’s CM/ECF system). The uploading screen can
be accessed under Bankruptcy Events menu (for bankruptcy cases) or
Adversary Events menu (for adversary proceedings).

(b) Order Upload Screen. The Order Upload screen enables the user to
electronically lodge an order for the court on motions and certain non-
motion types (e.g., petitions, disclosure statements, plans, and adversary
complaints) that have been filed and recorded onto the CM/ECF docket.

(c) Linking the Proposed Order to Application CM/ECF Docket Entry. The
upload process requires the CM/ECF user to select the applicable CM/ECF
docket entry that the order relates to. The same docket entry must be
selected when filing the Notice of Lodgment. .

(d) Rejected Order Upload. If your proposed order is rejected or if there is
something further that the court will require you to do before it will sign the
order that was lodged, you may receive notification from the court either by
e-mail or by telephone. The body of the e-mail may contain specific
information stating the reason(s) for rejection or the additional steps that
must be taken before the court will sign the order that was lodged. If a new
corrected order needs to be uploaded, login to CM/ECF to “add” a new
order. The unused order will NOT be docketed onto the Case Management
(“CM”) docket.

Quick Reference Guide for LOU

(a) Uploading a Proposed Order.

(1) A proposed form of order electronically uploaded to the court via the
LOU program must be lodged in Microsoft Word format (versions
2003, 2007, or 2010) (See Exhibit 1 to this supplement).

Do not include a proof of service of the proposed form of order
in the version that is uploaded through LOU. (If a NOL must be
filed, the NOL that you separately file with a copy of the
proposed order is the court’s record of who was served with the
proposed order.) Do not include a Notice of Entered Order.

The Central Guide 9 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

(2) If allowed, an exhibit and/or attachment may be uploaded in PDF
format along with the order. (See section 1.2(g) above).

(b) Identifying Service Lists.

(1) If a party is a registered CM/ECF user they will only receive a
Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”) of the entered order.

(2) The debtor and debtor’s attorney, if any, will receive from the court a
BNC notice of the order.

(3) If a party requires notice and will not receive a BNC notice or an NEF,
the lodging party must serve a copy of the entered order on these
parties. (After this service has been accomplished, the lodging party
should file a proof of service to this effect within 72 hours.)

(4) The CM/ECF Mailing Information (“Mailing List”), accessible from the
Utilities menu in CM/ECF, can be queried by both external CM/ECF
users and internal court staff to determine how parties will receive
notice of the entered order.

(5) To query the CM/ECF Mailing Information, click on Utilities >
Mailings (under Misc) > Mailing Info for a Case, input the relevant
Bankruptcy or Adversary Proceeding number, then Submit. The
mailing information for the specified case/adversary proceeding will
appear with all parties found in CM/ECF, and will be listed under
either the Electronic Mail Notice List (“EMNL”), the No Notice List, or
the Manual Notice List (“MNL”).

(A) Bankruptcy Main Case.

(i) Parties listed under the EMNL will receive an NEF.

(ii) Parties who are on a related adversary case and have
asked not to receive notice/service for the lead
bankruptcy case will appear under the “No Notice List.”

(iii) Parties listed under the MNL who are entitled to service
must be served by the lodging party.

(iv) The debtor(s) and debtor(s) attorney, although not
listed in the CM/ECF Mailing Information, will receive
the entered order via the BNC, if the order is entered
on a bankruptcy case docket.

(v) Attorneys representing a party in a related adversary
proceeding will appear on the CM/ECF Mailing

The Central Guide 10 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

Information for the main case but will not receive BNC
notices for actions in the main case. They will,
however, receive a BNC notice for actions in the
adversary proceeding.

(B) Adversary Proceedings.

(i) All parties listed under the EMNL will receive an NEF.

(ii) All parties listed under the MNL with a complete mailing
address will receive a BNC notice.

(C) Miscellaneous Information.

(i) Do not provide the court with envelopes for its use in
connection with the service of any entered orders.

(ii) A BNC notice will NOT be sent to any incomplete or
duplicate address. In this case, the BNC Certificate of
Notice acknowledges the party, but lists the party
under “Bypassed Recipients,” and states the reason for
bypassing the party as either undeliverable or
duplicate.

(iii) To quickly identify whether a name appears in the
CM/ECF Mailing Information list, use the control
function, Ctrl+F. Type in the last name of the party and
click “Find Next.” The system will automatically
highlight the name if it appears on either the EMNL or
MNL.

(iv) An NEF will be sent to all registered CM/ECF users
who appear when querying the EMNL of the CM/ECF
Mailing Information for a main case for actions in both
the main case and an adversary proceeding.

(c) Processing of Entered Orders. Once signed by the judge, the order will
be entered on the court’s docket by the Clerk’s Office. Within 72 hours, the
BNC Certificate of Notice will appear on the court’s docket.

The Central Guide 11 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

EXHIBIT 1

The Central Guide 12 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

Noticing Terminology Glossary

(a) BNC Notice. A notice from the court (either in paper or e-mail) delivered
by the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC), a government contractor, from a
computer file prepared by CM/ECF (the court’s case management system).

(b) Certificate of Notice. Evidence that the court, or its agent, has
performed their noticing/service duty.

(c) CIAO!. A windows-based application developed by the U. S. Bankruptcy
Court for the Central District of California for scheduling and calendaring
hearings, and for processing electronic orders.

(d) CM/ECF Mailing Information (Mailing List) on a Main Case. A list of
names known to CM/ECF used for noticing. May include parties who are
not entitled (“over service”) and may exclude parties who are entitled to
service (“under service”).

(1) The list contains two sections:

(A) The Electronic Mail Notice List (EMNL) which identifies parties
receiving an NEF; and

(B) The Manual Notice List (MNL) which identifies parties to be
served via a BNC notice or by the party lodging an order.

(2) If an Adversary Proceeding is filed, the attorney for the plaintiff and/or
defendant will appear on the list of the related main case. They will
NOT, however, receive a BNC notice for main case actions.

(e) CM/ECF Mailing Information (Mailing List) on an Adversary
Proceeding. A list of names known to CM/ECF used for noticing which are
exclusive to the adversary proceeding. May include parties who are not
entitled (“over service”) and may exclude parties who are entitled to
service (“under service”). Noticing works the same as the Main Case
Mailing List, except applies to Adversary Proceedings.

(f) CM/ECF Party List. All persons or entities known to CM/ECF that have
filed a document in the case, including those filing a request for Courtesy
NEF.

(g) Creditor List. Every creditor in the case.

(h) Electronic Bankruptcy Notice (EBN). An electronic form of notice
generated by the BNC.

The Central Guide 13 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

(i) Electronic Notice List (ENL). A list of parties in CM/ECF that receive email
notice service in a particular case (see CM/ECF) screen sample in Section
4.4(b)).

(j) Electronic Notice or Service (via NEF). Electronic notice or service by
way of a Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”), or an electronic notice from the
Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC/EBN).

(k) Entered Order. An order that has either been signed or approved for entry
by a judge and subsequently entered on the court docket.

(l) Lodged Order. A proposed form of order that has been submitted to the
court for judicial review and is not yet signed or entered on the court docket.

(m) Lodge Order Upload (LOU). An Internet based program that allows
CM/ECF users to lodge proposed form of orders with the court.

(n) LOU Receipt. A screen presentation in LOU indicating successful upload
of a proposed form of order. It should be printed and serves as a receipt.

(o) Mailing Matrix. A superset mailing list that includes all parties on the
Creditors List and CM/ECF Party List.

(p) Manual Notice List (MNL). A list of parties in CM/ECF that do not receive
electronic notice in a particular case and, therefore, must be served
manually (see CM/ECF screen sample in Section 1.4(b)).

(q) Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF). A notice of electronic filing transmitted
directly by CM/ECF via e-mail to all registered CM/ECF users who are
parties to the case indicating that a transaction occurred on CM/ECF.

(r) No Notice List. A list of parties in CM/ECF who have asked not to receive
any notices in a particular case (see CM/ECF screen sample in Section
4.4(b)).

(s) Notice of Entry. Clerk’s Office certification on the docket that an order was
entered and signed by the court.

(t) Notice of Lodgment (NOL). LBR forms (F9021-
1.2.BK.NOTICE.LODGMENT for bankruptcy cases or LBR form F 9021-
1.2.ADV.NOTICE.LODGMENT for adversary proceedings) filed via
CM/ECF, to which a copy of an order that will be or has been lodged must
be attached. (The order must still be separately lodged.) As the NOL is
docketed and linked to the applicable motion, a record is created of the
lodged order or judgment and the parties served with the lodged order or
judgment.

The Central Guide 14 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

(u) Proof of Service. The certification by a party, usually an attorney,
indicating completion of their noticing/service duty on all pertinent parties.

(v) Service List. The list of parties that are to be served that may be included
with the Proof of Service or Certificate of Notice.

Orders Served through the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC)

(a) Notice and Service by Mail. The Bankruptcy Noticing Center will give
notice of the entry of the judgment or order by mail only as follows:

(1) Bankruptcy Cases. The BNC will send notice of an order ONLY to
the debtor and debtor’s attorney (when not a registered CM/ECF
User).

(2) Adversary Proceedings. A complete street address must be listed
on the CM/ECF docket for an adversary proceeding in order for the
BNC to deliver notice of an order. If an address is missing or
incomplete, the BNC will not deliver a notice to that party or attorney.
Please contact 1-855-460-9641, if there is an address missing from
the docket.

(A) Parties. The BNC will send notice of an order to all plaintiffs
and all defendants whose complete street addresses are
listed on the CM/ECF docket for the adversary proceeding.

(B) Attorneys. The BNC will send notice of an order to attorneys
who do not receive notices electronically by NEF, if a
complete address is listed on the CM/ECF docket for the
adversary proceeding.

(b) Notice and Service on other Parties. Any persons or entities who (1) do
not receive orders by NEF, (2) who are entitled to such service of an order
or judgment pursuant to FRBP 9022 and LBR 9021-1(b), and (3) will not
be served by BNC, must be served as follows:

(1) Lodged Party Serves the Order or Judgment. If a party lodges the
order, that party must promptly serve the order on that person or
entity and file a Proof of Service of Document within 72 hours from
entry of the order or judgment.

(2) Court Serves the Order or Judgment. If the court prepares the order,
and the person or entity does not receive service via NEF, the court
will send the order by U.S. mail to that person or entity.

The Central Guide 15 April 2022

LOU (Lodged Order Upload)

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

The Central Guide 16 April 2022