Contact with the Court; Motions to Continue or to Impose the Stay Under section 362(c)(3) or (4); Motions Requesting Expedited Relief; Requesting that a Hearing be Adjourned or Canceled; Pretrial Procedures, Evidentiary Hearings, and Trials; Procedure for Schedule Hearings on Chapter 13 Trustees' Mo

=== Contact with the Court ===

Contact With the Court/Chambers  In general, parties and their lawyer should communicate with the court in writing.  Ex parte communication with Judge Hanan, directly or indirectly, is prohibited.  The following are appropriate instances in which the court’s staff (chambers) may be contacted: Obtaining or rescheduling a hearing, if allowed/required by the court; Confirming the court’s receipt of an order; or Alerting the court to a filing that: (i) is an emergency filing, (ii) affects a hearing that is in the near future, or (iii) was required by the court to be made by a certain time to permit a timely ruling. • There are several instances where a party must call chambers to obtain a hearing date. Those instances are as follows: 1. Motions to continue/impose the automatic stay 2. Motions to convert or dismiss a chapter 11 case 3. Approval of disclosure statements in a chapter 11 case 4. Confirmation of chapter 12 plans • You may contact chambers for one of the reasons listed above by calling 414-290-2650 Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. • If you need help with a technical matter related to filing a document, please call the CM/ECF Support Desk, at 414-290-2700. • To participate in telephonic hearings conducted via a group telephone line, please refer to the court teleconference page (https://www.wieb.uscourts.gov/ teleconferences).

=== Motions to Continue or to Impose the Stay Under section 362(c)(3) or (4) ===

Motions to Continue or to Impose the Stay Under § 362(c)(3) or (4)  Parties should contact chambers to request a hearing date before filing the motion. The motion should be accompanied (at the time of filing) by one or more declarations (see 28 U.S.C. §1746) or affidavits signed by debtors or other persons with knowledge of facts supporting the motion.    In the event there are no objections to the motion, the court may cancel the hearing if the supporting declarations or affidavits establish that the debtors have met their burden to show that they filed the current case in good faith. If there are no objections to the motion, the movant can then use the Proposed Order Event to promptly upload a proposed order for the court’s signature. If the court is not satisfied that the debtors have met the appropriate burden, the time to object has not passed, or a party has objected to the motion, then the court will hold a hearing at the scheduled time. The hearing will be held unless the court cancels the hearing or enters an order fully adjudicating the motion before the hearing.  If the court holds a hearing, it generally anticipates that the debtor will present testimony or other evidence in support of the motion.

=== Motions Requesting Expedited Relief ===

Motions Requesting Expedited Relief  All requests to shorten notice should be made on motion, filed and served before or at the same time as the underlying motion. Parties are reminded to consult Local Rule 9013(b), which requires the citation of authority in every motion.  Parties seeking expedited adjudication should contact chambers via telephone to advise the court of the filing. The court will work to consider the motion promptly.  The court may (i) grant the request to shorten the notice period and identify the objection deadline and hearing date (if applicable) to be used to notice the underlying motion, (ii) rule on both the request to shorten notice and the underlying motion at a hearing that the court will set (if not already set by counsel); or (iii) deny the party’s request to shorten notice.

=== Requesting that a Hearing be Adjourned or Canceled ===

Requesting that a Hearing be Adjourned or Canceled  Preliminary hearings: o To seek an adjournment of a preliminary hearing (except for a hearing on a motion seeking relief from the automatic stay, see below), the court may be contacted via telephone once all interested parties are on the line.  Evidentiary hearings: o For adjournment of an evidentiary hearing, the parties must file a joint letter request on the docket, no later than three business days prior to the hearing, stating the reason for the request and whether any parties will be prejudiced by the adjournment. The court will grant such a request only in extraordinary circumstances.  Hearings on motion for relief from the automatic stay: o Hearings on motions for relief from the automatic stay must be heard within 30 days after the motion is filed or relief may be provided to the movant as a matter of law. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(e)(1). This requirement also applies to renewed motions, made by letter request to the court. o If parties seek to adjourn the hearing beyond 30 days, they must file a joint letter request explaining the circumstances for the adjournment. To grant the parties’ request, the court must be satisfied that “there is a reasonable likelihood that the party opposing relief from such stay will prevail at the conclusion of [ ] a final hearing [on the matter].” 11 U.S.C. § 362(e)(1). o The parties should file the joint letter request on the docket and then contact chambers via telephone to alert the court to the filing. Any joint letter request should be filed in sufficient time before the hearing to allow the court to review the request and rule on it. o Requests for a further adjournment of a hearing on a motion for relief from stay that the court has adjourned already also must be made by letter request. The court will not adjourn a hearing on a motion for relief from stay based on a telephonic request.

=== Pretrial Procedures, Evidentiary Hearings, and Trials ===

Pretrial Procedures, Evidentiary Hearings, and Trials  Preliminary pretrial conferences: o When the court issues a summons it generally sets a preliminary pretrial conference. At the preliminary pretrial conference, parties should be prepared to (i) discuss the factual basis and legal theory behind their respected action(s)/defense(s) presented in their filings, including the contested issues and whether further briefing will be necessary; (ii) discuss whether summary judgment may be sought; (iii) provide the court with a timeline for discovery, if necessary; (iv) inform the court about any settlement discussions, if applicable; (v) set dates for briefing and discovery deadlines, a final pretrial conference, and an evidentiary hearing or trial. o Often, the court will issue a scheduling order based on the information obtained from the parties at the preliminary pretrial conference.  Final pretrial conferences: o Generally, the court will hold a final pretrial conference one or two weeks in advance of an evidentiary hearing or trial. The purpose of the final pretrial conference is to determine what remains at issue and what the parties expect to present at the evidentiary hearing or trial.  Pretrial/Prehearing Reports: o For most trials and evidentiary hearings, the court will issue a separate scheduling order setting forth the requirements for filing a joint pretrial/prehearing report and the deadline by which the parties must do so. o Unless ordered otherwise (and for matters in which the court has not issued a scheduling order), each party must file a pretrial/prehearing report at least three business days before the evidentiary hearing, which should include the following:  A statement of the constitutional or statutory basis for the court’s jurisdiction, including whether the matter is core or noncore and, if noncore, whether the party consents to the court’s entry of a final order;  The elements of all claims or defenses the party believes to be at issue, and whether any elements are not disputed;  The names of the witnesses that the party intends to call in its case- in-chief and, if the witness is an expert, a narrative of the expert’s background and experience; and  A list of all exhibits the party expects to introduce.  Exhibits and other evidence: o Unless ordered otherwise, at least three business days before the trial or hearing, the parties should file with the court and serve on all participating parties numbered copies of their exhibits. The plaintiff/moving party may use numbers 1-99, the defendant/objecting party 100-199, and the trustee 200-299. The court encourages counsel to consider the foundational requirements for all exhibits under the Federal Rules of Evidence. o The court will not review in advance any exhibits, unless stipulated by the parties as admissible. o Unless the parties stipulate to the admission of an appraisal, appraisers will be expected to testify when value is in dispute. o All witness testimony must occur in open court, unless the court grants permission pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9017, and all parties desiring to examine witnesses or present evidence must appear in the courtroom.* *Pursuant to the District’s General Order 20-5 (“AMENDED GENERAL ORDER ON CONTINUED OPERATIONS DURING COVID-19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY”), the court may schedule and conduct hearings, including evidentiary matters, via videoconference using ZoomGov, after consultation with the parties and counsel before the evidentiary hearing or trial.

=== Procedure for Schedule Hearings on Chapter 13 Trustees' Motions to Dismiss and Trustees' Objections to Confirmation ===

Procedure to Schedule Hearings on Chapter 13 Trustees’ Motions to Dismiss and Trustees’ Objections to Confirmation, Using Presets: A. The following procedures apply to hearings on: 1. Debtors’ objections to the chapter 13 trustees’ motions to dismiss; and 2. Chapter 13 trustees’ objections to confirmation. B. The objecting party (the debtor’s counsel or the chapter 13 trustee) must file a notice of hearing and schedule the hearing date when filing the objection. 1. C. This procedure does not apply to motions/objections filed by creditors. If you are not a Chapter 13 trustee and have filed an objection to confirmation, the Court will schedule the hearing on your objection. If a creditor files a motion to dismiss, the Court will set a hearing on the motion if the debtor timely objects. 2. 3. Contact chambers (414-290-2650) if you need to choose a hearing date other than the available dates listed on the Court’s schedule. D. Filing the Objection/Motion: 1. Find the hearing date in CM-ECF. a. In CM-ECF go to the Reports Tab and look under Chambers Reports/Functions b. Click on “CHAP Chamber Presets” and select Judge Hanan’s name from the drop-down menu c. This will display a table listing the available presets for Judge Hanan, as of the date you run the report. Choose a date and time to schedule your hearing, based on the trustee assigned to the case (Lieske or Garcia). 2. Add the hearing date to your notice. a. Once you select an appropriate hearing date and time, add the hearing date and time to your notice (or include the language from the notice as part of the Objection document). b. A sample notice form for hearings on objections to Chapter 13 trustees’ motions to dismiss is available on the Court’s website at https://www.wieb.uscourts.gov/local-sample-forms (“Notice of Hearing on Motion to Dismiss BEH”). This is a fillable pdf form that you must print and save to PDF before filing. The language from the form notice may be modified by the Chapter 13 trustees, for use with objections to confirmation. 3. Docket the Objection, Notice of Hearing, and Certificate of Service. a. For debtors’ objections to motions to dismiss: Go to the Bankruptcy Tab, then select Answer/Response, Reference an Existing Motion/Application and enter the case number. b. For Chapter 13 objections to confirmation: Go to the Bankruptcy Tab, then select Trustee/US Trustee, enter the case number, and choose Objection to Confirmation of Plan in the selection menu. c. Make the following selection (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP): d. Applicable to only debtors’ objections to motions to dismiss: Pick Objection in the selection menu e. Select the filing attorney and party f. Attach the PDF of the objection and add attachments to the document (if attachments are applicable) i. Attach the PDF of the Notice of Hearing and PDF of the Certificate of Service (only if you are separately attaching a notice and certificate of service—if not, skip this step) g. Refer to Existing Event and use the drop-down menu under Set/Reschedule Hearing Information to choose the hearing date/time from your notice. (If needed, the Chamber Presets link opens the available preset dates also found under Reports.) h. Link to the event filed (for debtors, the trustee’s motion to dismiss; for trustees, the plan to which the trustee is objecting) E. Troubleshooting 1. If you can’t find the presets, clear your cache. Instructional videos on how to clear your cache can be found on the Court’s website under the “Attorney Resources” tab by clicking on the “Training” subtab. 2. For questions on other technical problems with filing, please contact the CM-ECF Support Desk at 414-290-2700.

=== Sample Order on Motion to Enter into Loan Modification Agreement ===

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN In re: Daniel Detter, Case No. 17-0000-beh Debtor. Chapter 13 ORDER ON MOTION TO ENTER INTO LOAN MODIFICATION AGREEMENT Based on the motion of [creditor/debtor], IT IS ORDERED that the automatic stay is modified to allow the debtor and [creditor] to enter into a loan modification agreement. The court neither approves nor disapproves of the terms of the agreement. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this order is effective upon its entry. #####