Department 2 Zoom/Hybrid Hearing Guidelines; Department 2 Procedural Guidelines

=== Department 2 Zoom/Hybrid Hearing Guidelines ===

Zoom/Hybrid Hearing Procedures For Department 2 (Updated March 3, 2026) All hearings in Department 2 will be conducted in person unless specifically designated as a Zoom hearing or unless the Court has approved Zoom a(cid:425)endance in advance. No telephonic appearances will be permi(cid:425)ed absent compelling circumstances. This includes using Zoom’s telephone op(cid:415)on. While the Court appreciates in person a(cid:425)endance at hearings, the Court also recognizes the significant benefits to par(cid:415)es of a(cid:425)ending certain types of hearings by Zoom. Thus, unless an order or tenta(cid:415)ve ruling otherwise directs, par(cid:415)es who wish to a(cid:425)end a hearing by Zoom must contact Courtroom Deputy, Russell Paluso, at (619) 557-5157 no later than 10:00 a.m. two business days before the hearing. The Court will accommodate listen only Zoom requests only if Zoom will already be u(cid:415)lized on that day. The Court will generally call ma(cid:425)ers where all par(cid:415)es are in court in person first, followed by ma(cid:425)ers where some par(cid:415)es are in court and some par(cid:415)es are on Zoom, and then ma(cid:425)ers where all par(cid:415)es are appearing via Zoom last. The Court will rou(cid:415)nely approve Zoom appearances for the following hearings: 1. Appearances at reaffirma(cid:415)on hearings; 2. Appearances for ma(cid:425)ers where the par(cid:415)es will discuss general status, other than the final pre- trial status conference in an adversary proceeding; 3. Ma(cid:425)ers that will be con(cid:415)nued by consent of all par(cid:415)es; 4. Se(cid:425)led ma(cid:425)ers requiring assistance from the Court; and 5. Other ma(cid:425)ers where less than 10 minutes of argument is an(cid:415)cipated. The Court will also allow a Zoom appearance where the Court deems it otherwise jus(cid:415)fied. Such ma(cid:425)ers, for example, could involve childcare concerns, health concerns of the a(cid:425)orney or a family member, travel difficul(cid:415)es, etc. The Court will consider emergency requests for Zoom appearance a(cid:332)er the deadline established above but only for emergencies that become apparent a(cid:332)er the deadline. In addi(cid:415)on, the par(cid:415)es can request a Zoom appearance a(cid:332)er the deadline where a ma(cid:425)er se(cid:425)les or is otherwise finally resolved a(cid:332)er the deadline. Par(cid:415)es who an(cid:415)cipate frequent Zoom appearances should ensure that they have technology available that will allow them to be heard and seen clearly. Par(cid:415)es who do not have the required technology should plan on a(cid:425)ending in person. The Court will not rou(cid:415)nely allow Zoom appearances for the following: 1. Final pre-trial status conferences in adversary proceedings; 2. Contested plan confirma(cid:415)on hearings; 3. Long cause argument ma(cid:425)ers (any ma(cid:425)er where argument is an(cid:415)cipated to last more than 10 minutes); 4. Any ma(cid:425)er involving complex argument; 5. Any ma(cid:425)er that is poten(cid:415)ally case disposi(cid:415)ve and contested (regardless of how long argument is an(cid:415)cipated to go); and 6. Trial. (In the case of trial, however, the par(cid:415)es may request a(cid:425)endance by discrete witnesses via Zoom given, in par(cid:415)cular, geographic issues. The Court will decide such appearance issues on a case by case basis.)

=== Department 2 Procedural Guidelines ===

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT for the SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA Practices and Procedures1 Hon. J. Barrett Marum Importance of Complying with Bankruptcy Code and Rules The Court expects and requires compliance with the requirements of the United States Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.) (“Code”), the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (“FRBP”), the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”), as applicable, and the Local Bankruptcy Rules (“L.B.R.”) from all counsel, debtors, creditors, and other parties (including pro se litigants). These Chambers Practices and Procedures are provided only to advise counsel, debtors, creditors, and other parties (including pro se litigants) of this Court’s specific requirements, which supplement the Code, the FRBP, the FRCP, as applicable, and the L.B.R. The Court cautions that failure to comply with the applicable statutes, rules, procedures and Court orders, may result in adverse consequences. Communications with Chamber’s Staff Rule 9003 prohibits ex parte communications with the Court concerning matters affecting a particular case or proceeding. Rule 5-300(C) of the California Rules of Professional Conduct specifies that, for disciplinary purposes, contact with a judge’s law clerks constitute contact with the judge. No attorney or litigant may engage in contact with Judge Marum or his Law Clerks in violation of these rules. Should an attorney or litigant have questions concerning obtaining a hearing date, that party should contact Judge Marum’s Courtroom Deputy, Russell Paluso, at (619) 557-5157. The Court endeavors to return communications from parties as quickly as possible. Multiple calls are not required. Courtesy/Judge’s Copies Subject to the requirements below regarding cash collateral motions, courtesy copies should not be sent to the Court unless specifically requested. Please do not call to ask if they should be sent; the Court will contact you if Judge Marum wants courtesy copies for a particular matter. 1 Updated as of April 3, 2026. 1 Obtaining a Hearing Any party wishing to obtain a hearing date must contact the Court’s Courtroom Deputy, Russell Paluso, at (619) 557-5157. Outside of an emergency matter, the Court’s chambers cannot provide a hearing date to parties. The Court has a three (3) day rule for filings. Any party that requests a hearing date must file the pleadings within three (3) days from the request being made. Remote Appearances All hearings in Department 2 will be conducted in person unless specifically designated as a Zoom hearing or unless the Court has approved Zoom attendance in advance. No telephonic appearances will be permitted absent compelling circumstances. More specifics as to the Court’s remote appearances are available at https://www.casb.uscourts.gov/sites/casb/files/Zoom_Hybrid%20Hearing%20Procedures.pdf. Parties should refer to these procedures prior to requesting a Zoom appearance. First Day and Emergency Motions Parties filing First Day motions in a Chapter 11 case or requesting emergency or shortened notice relief from the Court, in addition to complying with the Local Bankruptcy Rules, should directly contact the Court’s chambers at (619) 557-5848 and/or the Court’s Courtroom Deputy at (619) 557-5157, prior to filing or uploading documents requesting such relief. Notice of such motions should be given to the Court as soon as practicable. When the Court grants a First Day motion, the Court almost always does so on an interim basis and sets the motion for final hearing. Unless the Court explicitly orders otherwise at the initial hearing on First Day motions, the debtor is required to give notice of the final hearing set for each First Day motion and any associated deadlines the Court has set to all creditors and parties-in-interest. The debtor may use a single notice of hearing if the final hearings for the First Day motions are set on the same date and time, and if such notice clearly identifies the First Day motions that the Court is hearing on a final basis. Cash Collateral Motions Absent a stipulation with the impacted lender(s), the Court expects cash collateral motions to be supported by a 13-week cash collateral budget. Appendix D2 to the Local Rules includes a sample cash collateral budget, which the Court encourages parties to use. Within twenty-four (24) hours of filing the initial or any revised cash collateral budget, the moving party must email ([email protected]) the proposed cash collateral budget to chambers in native Excel format. Finally, the cash collateral budget must be prepared on a cash basis. (The Court understands that there may be limited circumstances in which a cash collateral budget will show an item on an accrual basis. In such situations, the budget should so indicate.) 2 Chapter 13 Plan Objections The Court prefers to address all Chapter 13 plan objections at the same time. As a result, the Court will only provide hearing dates for Chapter 13 plan objections after the Section 341(a) meeting of creditors has concluded. Tentative Rulings The Court frequently posts tentative rulings. Generally, tentative rulings will be posted by no later than the day before the hearing. If a tentative ruling has not been posted by early afternoon the day before a hearing, the Court likely will not be issuing one. All tentative rulings post to the Docket. Occasionally, the Court also posts a tentative ruling to the Court’s website. Parties should review the tentative ruling carefully and prior to the hearing. Tentative rulings are, as the title indicates, tentative. They reflect the Court’s pre- argument determinations based on the evidence, argument, and information already before the Court. These rulings may also pose questions to be answered at the hearing, cite authority that should be discussed at the hearing, or otherwise identify areas for particular emphasis in argument. The Court invites argument from any party not satisfied with a tentative. Any party who agrees with the tentative ruling may submit on it by calling the Courtroom Deputy and the opposing parties. If all parties submit on the tentative ruling, appearances at the hearing will likely be excused. Unless the tentative expressly waives appearance at the hearing (or a party obtains a hearing waiver) parties must attend the hearing to be certain that the Court will grant the relief provided for by the tentative. If one or more parties do not attend the scheduled hearing, the Court may vacate the hearing date and allow the matter to go off calendar, continue the hearing, or otherwise act in a manner inconsistent with the tentative. Text Orders The Court occasionally enters a text order that takes a matter off calendar and directs a particular party to upload an order. In such situations, the order must be uploaded within seven (7) days of the entry of the text order. Status Reports The Court does not always require status reports before status conferences. If the Court has required the parties to submit status reports, the parties must either meet the deadline for filing of the status reports or obtain an extension of it prior to its expiration. Repeated failure to comply with status report deadlines may result in the issuance of monetary sanctions. 3 Final Pre-trial Conferences The Court requires compliance with the L.B.R.s as to final pre-trial conferences unless the Court has expressly waived it. Trials The Court will normally conduct its trials with direct testimony by declaration. In appropriate cases, the Court will consider a party’s request to have live direct testimony. Form of Pleadings In addition to the requirements set forth in the Rules and L.B.R.s, pleadings need to be drafted with two spaces and not a single space after a period. Appearance Counsel Appearance counsel must be familiar with the matter at issue and prepared to discuss the same with the Court and the opposing party. Appearance counsel must be able to bind counsel of record as to all procedural matters which may arise in the matter before the Court. Parties using appearance counsel assume the risk in this regard. Service on all Creditors When a party in interest files a document that it must serve on all creditors, the Court encourages use of the official mailing matrix in connection with service of that document. Use of the mailing matrix to show service on all creditors significantly speeds the Court’s review of service. If a party appearing on the mailing matrix did not receive mail service because, for example, the party received an NEF, that can be shown on the mailing matrix by crossing that party’s name out and including the words “via ECF” or the like. 4