Notice to Those Appearing Before Judge McCord; Procedural Requirements

=== Notice to Those Appearing Before Judge McCord ===

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building and United States Courthouse 121 West Spring Street, Room 127 New Albany, Indiana 47150 Andrea K. McCord United States Bankruptcy Judge (812) 542-4570 NOTICE TO THOSE APPEARING BEFORE JUDGE ANDREA K. MCCORD IN INDIANAPOLIS, EVANSVILLE, AND NEW ALBANY The default location for all matters will be live and in-person subject to the following: (a) pretrial conferences will be held via telephone; and (b) unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Judge McCord has implemented the following procedures for individual requests to attend in-person hearings virtually or converting existing in-person hearings to either a Zoom or telephone hearing. 1.) Individual Requests to Appear Virtually – Within 72 hours prior to the hearing, the individual wishing to appear virtually should contact the appropriate Courtroom Deputy by email, Amy Massey ([email protected]) for Indianapolis, Evansville, and New Albany bankruptcy cases, or Maggie Twigg ([email protected]) for Indianapolis, Evansville and New Albany adversary proceedings. Parties are to copy opposing counsel and/or the trustee, and a reason for the request is required for consideration. In the event of such request, you will receive return correspondence regarding the status of your request. 2.) Convert Entire Hearing to Virtual – An Agreed Motion for Authority to Convert Hearing must be filed at least (7) business days prior to the scheduled hearing. The Court may deny the request or grant the request and convert the hearing from in-person to a virtual hearing. If the Court approves a request to convert an in-person hearing to a virtual hearing, the change in location will be reflected on the case docket by a PDF notice or a minute entry that includes the pertinent Telephone or Zoom information. The party requesting such accommodations is required to provide the Telephone or Zoom information to interested parties not registered with the Court’s Electronic Case Filing system. If the Court approves a party’s request to attend an in-person hearing by Telephone or Zoom, the party may join the hearing by using Judge McCord's Telephone or Zoom information located at the end of this Notice. Parties wishing to present documentary evidence during a virtual hearing are required to follow the procedures outlined in General Order 23-0002. Parties are expected to follow the instructions within the Zoom Video Hearing Guide for Participants found on the Court’s website. 3.) Motions to Continue – Any motions to continue a hearing must be filed at least 72 hours before a scheduled hearing. If the motion is filed within 72 hours of the scheduled hearing, it must reflect opposing counsel's consent or otherwise state a compelling reason for the requested continuance. The motion must at least reflect that a timely attempt to obtain opposing counsel's consent was made. Failure to state that such an attempt was timely made may result in the motion being denied. Judge McCord’s telephonic Cisco conference line information are as follows: • Phone Number: 571-353-2301 • Call ID: 528073846 Judge McCord’s Zoom information are as follows: • Website: https://www.zoomgov.com/ • Meeting ID: 161 7849 4825 • Phone number for those who wish to listen but not actively participate: o 551-285-1373 o 646-828-7666

=== Procedural Requirements ===

Chambers of Andrea K. McCord Bankruptcy Judge To: The Bankruptcy Bar From: Judge Andrea K. McCord Re: DA: Procedural Requirements July 17, 2019 To facilitate a streamlined hearing process, the Court requests that all actions to continue or vacate a hearing be filed at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the scheduled hearing. Exceptional circumstances shall only be considered if communicated to the Courtroom Deputy within the forty- eight (48) hours prior to the hearing. Attached hereto is a Memorandum from Judge Jeffery Graham regarding motions to continue and telephonic appearances that this Court is adopting. Further, all pleadings filed with this Court shall comply with S.D.Ind. L.R. 9013-1(a)(“all requests . . . shall state with particularity the order or relief sought, and contain a short and plain statement concerning the factual basis or grounds for the motion”) or S.D.Ind. L.R. 9013- 1(d)(“objections . . shall contain a short, plain statement concerning the factual or legal basis for the objection. The failure to state a sufficient legal or factual basis for the objection may result in the objection being overruled without a hearing”). Chambers of Jeffrey J. Graham Bankruptcy Judge To: Terre Haute Division Bar Members From: Jeffrey J. Graham, Judge Re: Motions to continue and telephonic appearances In advance of its monthly hearing date in Terre Haute, the Court typically receives numerous motions to continue in the 48 hours prior the hearing date. These motions pose a challenge to the Court and its staff in preparing for the hearings. They also pose a challenge to the Chapter 13 trustee in that they create a significant distraction from the work needed to prepare for court and to substantively resolve those matters that are set. With those challenges in mind, the Court asks that all motions to continue be filed at least three days before a scheduled hearing. If the motion is filed within three days of the scheduled hearing, it must reflect opposing counsel’s consent or otherwise state a compelling reason for the requested continuance. In the very least, the motion must reflect that a timely attempt to obtain opposing counsel’s consent was made. Failure to state that such an attempt was timely made may result in the motion being summarily denied. Similarly, last-minute requests to appear telephonically also present a challenge and a distraction to the Court. These, too, should be timely made if and when possible, presumably three or more days prior to the scheduled hearing. Please keep in mind that if you appear telephonically, you will not be permitted to present evidence or examine any witnesses. Counsel should presume that every hearing has the potential to be an evidentiary hearing—unless the Court states that it isn’t (for instance, status and pre-trial conferences are generally not evidentiary in nature). It is counsel’s responsibility to determine what evidence is necessary to prevail on his or her position. As such, if the Court grants a request to appear telephonically, the Court is making no representation that evidence is not needed or that the requesting party is absolved from having to present evidence if evidence is necessary to the Court’s ruling. The requesting party bears the risk of not appearing in person.