UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
GENERAL ORDER 20-03
The Court hereby finds that on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national emergency in response to COVID-19 outbreak. Based on guidance received by the Court from national, state and local agencies, procedures have been put in place by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and the United States Trustee for Region 16 to limit the spread of COVID-19, including that the United States Trustee for Region 16 has continued in-person § 341 meetings scheduled in all Chapter 7, 12 and 13 bankruptcy cases, including originally scheduled and continued meetings, pending in all divisions of the Central District of California (Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Riverside, San Fernando Valley, and Northern Divisions) beginning on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 through Friday, April 10, 2020 (the “Continued Cases”).
Based on the foregoing findings and the recently implemented procedures, the United States Trustee’s Ex-Parte Motion to Extend Deadlines Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Bankruptcy Code (filed as Misc. No. 20-MP-00101-MT), the national, state, and local states of emergency that have been declared in response to COVID-19, and pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 105(a), and good cause appearing therefore,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that United States Trustee’s Ex-Parte Motion Extending the Deadlines Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Bankruptcy Code is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the deadlines for the Continued Cases shall be extended as follows:
1. The deadline set under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007 for debtors in a Chapter 7 case to file the personal financial management course completion statement required by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007(b)(7) shall be extended, and the 60 day time period set therein shall begin on the newly established date to commence the meeting of creditors ( the “reset date”), provided that if the meeting is subsequently reset by the United States Trustee and/or order of the Court, such period will begin on the last date to which such meeting is reset;
2. The deadline set under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1017(e) for United States Trustee to file a motion to dismiss for abuse shall be extended, and the 60 day time period set therein shall begin on the reset date for the meeting of creditors, provided that if the meeting is subsequently reset by the United States Trustee and/or order of the Court, such period will begin on the last date to which such meeting is reset;
3. The deadline set under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2003(a) setting deadlines for holding § 341 meetings shall be extended as follows: in a chapter 7 liquidation case the deadline for the initial meeting of creditors to take place shall be extended from 40 days after the order for relief to a later date to be determined. In a chapter 12 case, the deadline for the initial meeting of creditors to take place shall be extended from 35 days after the order for relief to a later date to be determined. In a chapter 13 case, the deadline for the initial meeting of creditors to take place shall be extended from 50 days after the order for relief to a later date to be determined;
4. The deadline set under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 4004(a) for objections to the debtor’s discharge shall be extended, and the 60 day time period set therein shall begin on the reset date for the meeting of creditors, provided that if the meeting is subsequently reset by the United States Trustee and/or order of the Court, such period will begin on the last date to which such meeting is reset;
5. The deadline set under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 4007(c) for filing a complaint as to the dischargeability of certain debts under § 523(c) shall be extended, and the 60 day time period set therein shall begin on the reset date for the meeting of creditors, provided that if the meeting is subsequently reset by the United States Trustee and/or order of the Court, such period will begin on the last date to which such meeting is reset;
6. The deadline set under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 4008(a) for filing a reaffirmation agreement shall be extended, and the 60 day time period set therein shall begin on the reset date for the meeting of creditors, provided that if the meeting is subsequently reset by the United States Trustee and/or order of the Court, such period will begin on the last date to which such meeting is reset; and,
7. The deadline under 11 U.S.C. § 1308(a) for filing tax returns shall be extended such that the deadline shall be the day before the initial reset date for the meeting of creditors, and the deadlines under 11 U.S.C. § 521(e) and Local Bankruptcy Rule 3015-1 (b), (c), (e), (k) and (m) for filing documents, for submission of documents and for submission of plan payments to the Chapter 13 trustee shall be based on the first reset date for the meeting of creditors.