Hon. Administrative Procedures, Individual Practices, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana

=== Administrative%20Procedures%20-%20Revised%20as%20of%204_March_2026.pdf === UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND PAPERS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS Revised as of March 4, 2026 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND PAPERS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS I. SCOPE OF ELECTRONIC FILING Designation of Cases All new and open cases and their related adversary proceedings shall be assigned to the Electronic Case Filing System. II. ELIGIBILITY, REGISTRATION AND PASSWORDS FOR THE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (“System”) A. Passwords 1. 2.

3. Each attorney admitted to practice in the Western District of Louisiana and currently in good standing shall be entitled to one (1) System password. This password shall permit the attorney to participate in the electronic retrieval and filing of pleadings and other documents in accordance with the System. Registration for a password is governed by Section II.

B. Creditors not represented by an attorney, may file electronically. Creditors must obtain a limited filer System password. Registration for a password is governed by Section II. B. Pro se debtors are not permitted to register for an electronic filing account with the court.

Pro se debtors must file documents in person at the Clerk’s Office.

B. Registration 1.

2. 3. Participants may be required to attend CM/ECF user training at the Clerk’s Office for the United States Bankruptcy Court or the United States District Court. All filers must have a PACER account and must register to file with Louisiana Western Bankruptcy Court through PACER.

Once you register, the court will receive notification to review your registration for approval.

PACER

Registration Information heading on the Court’s website, www.lawb.uscourts.gov. is available under information the CM/ECF In the event a participant believes that the security of an existing password may have been compromised, the participant should change the existing password through the Manage Your Account in PACER. 1 4. If your contact information changes, e.g., mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc., any registered user must update the information through Manage Your Account in PACER and apply the changes to LAWB.

C. Fees Payable to the Clerk 1.

Payments for filing fees must be made either by credit card through the Pay.gov Internet Credit Card Payment System (or at the Clerk’s Office by such other form of payment that has been authorized by the Clerk and/or Divisional Deputy for any Divisional Office). Credit card payments may only be made through the Pay.gov Internet Credit Card Payment System. They will not be accepted at the Clerk’s Office. All payments must be received within forty-eight (48) hours of the filing of the document(s).

ACH (Automated Clearing House) is available through Pay.gov and should be used by Trustees when submitting Unclaimed Funds to the court. All other filing fees should be paid by credit card. 2. Payments made through the Pay.gov System can be processed upon the successful submission of a document requiring a filing fee.

III.

CONSEQUENCES OF ELECTRONIC FILING A.

Privacy 1. To address the privacy concerns created by internet access to Court documents, litigants should modify or partially redact certain personal data identifiers appearing in pleadings or other papers. Pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037, the following data may be abbreviated as follows: a. b. c. Name of minors: Use only the minor’s initials Financial account numbers: Use only the last four digits Social-security numbers: Use only the last four digits on all required documents except for the Statement of Social Security Number required by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1007(f) d. Dates of birth: Use only the birth year of the individual 2. 3.

If a document is filed that contains privacy information that should have been redacted, please refer to the Local Bankruptcy Rules of the Court and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037 for information on how to restrict public access and redact personal information. . Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007 requires individual debtors to “submit” a verified statement that sets out the debtor(s)’ social security number or state that the debtor(s) does not have a social security number. Local Bankruptcy Rule 1002-1 requires individual debtors to submit a copy of (a) picture 2 identification card and (b) the debtor’s social security card. The submission of this information in the Electronic Case Filing System does not constitute a “filing” with the court, and this information is not part of the official public court record.

Access to this information is restricted, and it is not available for public viewing. B. Filing Effecting an electronic filing, via the Internet, in accordance with these Administrative Procedures shall constitute entry of that filing on the docket kept by the Clerk’s Office under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003. All orders, decrees, judgments, and proceedings of the Court will be entered in accordance with the Administrative Procedures, which shall constitute entry on the docket record kept by the Clerk’s Office under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003 and for purposes of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9021. WHEN A DOCUMENT IS FILED ELECTRONICALLY, THE OFFICIAL RECORD IS THE ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF THE DOCUMENT AS STORED BY THE COURT, AND THE FILING PARTY IS BOUND BY THE DOCUMENT AS FILED.

1. 2. 3. This court is a mandatory electronic filing court.

Unless allowed by the court for good cause, registered participants shall file electronically all petitions, motions, pleadings, briefs, memorandums of law, proof of claims or other documents required to be filed with the Court in connection with a case. The Clerk’s Office shall not maintain a paper file in any case filed after October 15, 2002, except as otherwise directed by the Court. C. Pro Se Filers Pro se filers shall file fully signed paper originals of all petitions, lists, schedules, statements, amendments, pleadings, affidavits, and other documents, which must contain either original signatures or verification by unsworn declaration under any applicable rule or statute. These documents will be scanned by the Clerk’s Office, and the original documents will be retained for at least one (1) year from the filing of the document.

D. Signatures and Service The use of the participant’s login/password shall constitute the signature of the participant as set forth in Section VIII. Each registered participant shall effect service as set forth in Section IX(B).

E. Correcting Documents Filed in Error 1.

Once a document is submitted, and it becomes part of the case docket, corrections to the docket or the Electronic Filing System are made only by the Clerk’s Office or as the Court may direct. 3 2. 3. A document incorrectly filed in a case may be the result of posting the wrong Portable Document Format (“PDF”) file to a docket entry, selecting the wrong document type from the menu, or entering the wrong case number.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REFILE THE DOCUMENT!

As soon as an error is discovered, please contact the United States Bankruptcy Clerk’s Office at one of the following numbers: Alexandria Office, (318) 445-1890 or (866) 356-5221 (toll free); Lafayette Office, (337) 262-6800 or (866) 789-6015 (toll free); or Shreveport Office, (318) 676-4267 or (866) 721-2105 (toll free). Be sure to have the case number and document number for which the correction is being requested. If it is appropriate, the Clerk’s Office will make a special entry that indicates that there is an issue with the filing. You will be advised if you need to withdraw and/or refile the document.

The System will not permit you to make changes to the document(s) or docket entry filed in error once the transmission has been accepted. IV.

ORDERS A.

Form and Entry All orders, decrees, judgments, and proceedings of the Court will be filed in accordance with these rules, and such filing will constitute an entry on the docket kept by the Clerk of Court under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003 and 9021. Orders will be submitted in such form as the Court may direct. Orders presented for entry should not state that the document is "proposed" in the body or caption of the order. All signed orders will be filed by the Court or Court personnel.

Any order filed electronically has the same force and effect as if the judge had affixed the judge's signature to a paper copy of the order and it had been entered on the docket in a conventional manner.

B. Submission 1.

Submission of orders on matters noticed on “an if and only if” basis After the expiration of the last day for serving and filing objections, if none have been filed, the moving party shall submit to the Court an order for entry that grants the relief requested in the original pleading. In addition, the following paragraph and information regarding the submitting entity shall be appended at the end of the document, at the bottom left-hand corner: The entity submitting this order represents to the Court that the underlying motion was filed and served in conformity with the local rules, that no pleading or response has been filed in opposition thereto, and that the relief to be granted by this order is consistent with the relief pled for in that motion. Two lines below the end of the order, at the left margin, the following information regarding the submitting entity shall be submitted: 4 This order was prepared and is being submitted by: Firm name By ___________________________ Attorney for_____________ Bar Number____________ Mailing Address Telephone Number 2. Submission of All Other Orders: All other orders, including orders resulting from a hearing or other disposition by the Court, shall be submitted in the usual format required by the Court and bearing such signature(s) of counsel and/or parties as the Court may direct.

3. Submission Format a. b. c. Orders must be submitted in PDF format. PDFs created by scanning or imaging are difficult to process; therefore, unless expressly authorized by the Court scanned or imaged orders are prohibited. To ensure proper processing, orders should be prepared in a word processing program that allows a document to be converted, published, or printed to a PDF format. d. Faxed orders are not permitted, unless advance authorization has been provided.

V. CLAIMS, EXHIBITS, AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION A. Filing Claims and Supporting Information 1. 2. Claims and supporting information are required to be filed electronically, unless otherwise directed by the Court. As a courtesy to the public, the Clerk’s Office will accept filings from infrequent users over the counter or through the mail and will electronically file documents on their behalf.

However, if a creditor files claims in more than five (5) cases in a calendar year, the creditor will henceforth be required to obtain a login and password and begin filing claims electronically. a. There are two options available for electronically filing proof of claims. (1) Using the Court’s Electronic Proofs of Claim (ePOC) program available on the Court’s website, www.lawb.uscourts.gov. This program does not require a login and password. (2) Register for electronic filing through PACER.

5 b. c. Any claim and supporting information submitted to the Clerk’s Office either over the counter or through the mail must be made by duplicate original. If the party filing the duplicate original wants a stamped copy returned, they must provide a self-addressed stamped envelope. Please see section VII for required retention information. Documents submitted to the Court without a self-addressed stamped envelope will become the property of the Court and will be discarded after 15 days.

The clerk will not assume the responsibility of party filers to retain documents. 3. 4. Official Form B410 is required.

This form is available at the United States Courts website, www.uscourts.gov located under Forms & Fees. For detailed information regarding claims, please refer to the Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3001. B. Exhibits and Supporting Information Please see the Local Bankruptcy Rules of the Court located on the Court’s website, www.lawb.uscourts.gov. VI.

DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL A motion to seal may be filed electronically; however, the actual document(s) to be filed under seal shall be submitted manually to the Clerk’s Office only after the order has been processed. Please see Local Bankruptcy Rules for information related to Sealed Documents and the Disposition of Sealed Documents. Please see Bankruptcy Rule 9037 for additional information on redacted filing and filings made under seal without redaction. The order of the Court authorizing the filing of such document(s) under seal will be entered electronically by the Office of the Clerk.

The filing party shall then contact the Clerk’s Office for directions on providing the documents to be filed under seal.

VII.

RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS

The attorney of record or the party filing any document in a bankruptcy case shall maintain the original signed document(s) for at least five (5) years after the case is closed. The System provides notice of case closing. In Adversary proceedings, the parties shall maintain the original document until after all time periods for appeals have expired and at least five (5) years after the Adversary proceeding is closed. Upon request, the original documents must be provided to other parties or the Court for review.

See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011.

VIII.

SIGNATURES A. B.

Use of the participant’s login and password constitutes the participant’s signature for all purposes for documents which are required to contain original signatures. Any document containing original signatures shall indicate on the electronically filed document a signature by noting “/s/ Full Name.” Example: /s/ Jane Doe. The originally 6 executed document shall be maintained by the filer. Signatures entered electronically through the use of an electronic signature program are not acceptable unless approved by court order.

C. Except as provided otherwise by the Administrative Procedures, all pleadings and other documents including motions, petitions, lists, schedules and statements, amendments, pleadings, affidavits, and other documents that contain original signatures shall be filed electronically. Each electronic filer shall execute and file, no later than forty-eight (48) hours following the date the petition was electronically filed, a Declaration Re: Electronic Filing of Petition, Schedules, & Statements form. The form is located under the Forms heading on the Court’s website, www.lawb.uscourts.gov. The originally executed declaration may be scanned and filed electronically, if the filer is a registered participant, or the original may be filed manually at the Clerk’s Office if the filer is Pro se.

The signature for this document must originate as a wet signature. D. The following procedure applies when a stipulation or other document requires two (2) or more signatures: 1. 2. 3.

The filing attorney or party originating the document shall initially confirm that the content of the document is acceptable to all persons required to sign the document and shall obtain the signatures of all parties on the document. For purposes of this rule, physical, facsimile or electronic signatures are permitted. A document may be signed in counterparts. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011.

The filing attorney or party shall file the document electronically, indicating the signatories, e.g., “/s/Jane Doe.” The filing attorney or party shall maintain the original signed document as set forth in Part VII. IX.

SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS A.

Whenever a pleading or other paper is filed electronically in accordance with these procedures, the System will automatically generate a “Notice of Electronic Filing” by electronic means at the time of docketing. B. Service should be in accordance with the applicable Local Bankruptcy Rules, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Bankruptcy Code, or as the Court may permit.

X. TECHNICAL FAILURES

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana’s Electronic Filing System may be subject to unexpected technical failure and down time on any given day and may be unable to accept filings during this time. Any known or planned outages will be posted on the Filing System’s site, as well as the Court’s main website at www.lawb.uscourts.gov. A. Problems in the participant’s office, such as phone line problems, problems with the filer’s 7 Internet Service Provider (ISP), or hardware or software problems, will neither constitute a technical failure under these procedures nor excuse an untimely filing. A filer who cannot file a document or submit an order electronically due to a problem in the participant’s office must file an original document manually at the Clerk’s Office or should contact the Clerk’s Office for guidance.

B. A participant whose filing is made untimely as the result of a technical failure of the Court’s System may seek appropriate relief from the Court. XI.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM DOCKET A.

Public Access at the Clerk’s Office Access to bankruptcy records is available to the public at no charge at each Divisional Office of the Clerk during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays. B. Internet Access Although any person can retrieve and view documents in the System and access information from it without charge at the Clerk’s Office, electronic access to the System for viewing purposes is otherwise limited to subscribers to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”) System and, in accordance with the ruling of the Judicial Conference of the United States, a user fee will be charged for accessing certain detailed case information, such as reviewing filed documents and docket sheets, but excluding the review of calendars and similar general information. More PACER information is available at the Court’s website, www.lawb.uscourts.gov. C. Conventional Copies and Certified Copies Conventional copies and certified copies of electronically filed documents may be purchased at the Clerk’s Office.

The fee for copies and certifications will be in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §1930 and the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule. The Fee Schedule is available at https://www.uscourts.gov/court- programs/fees. 8