U.S. Bankruptcy Court - District of Colorado

Public Announcements

New Claims Transfer Fee to Take Effect May 1, 2013 - Effective May 1, 2013, the bankruptcy courts will begin charging a new fee of $25 for each claim transferred. This fee was approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States at its September 2012 session. Please click here for more information.

GPO 2013-2 In the Matter of Chapter 13 Fee General Procedure Order. - This Order raises the presumptively reasonable fee allowance to $3600 as a total fee through confirmation (not including expense) as contemplated by L.B.R. 2016-3. It applies to cases filed on and after April 1, 2013.

Bench/Bar Meetings 2013 - Brown bag lunches for practicing attorneys and the Bankruptcy Court Judges will be held at noon March 6, room 213; June 5, room 213; September 4, room 154 and December 4, room 154. Come share your ideas, suggestions, questions, issues and concerns on case management, court procedures, and general practice matters.

New Version of Local Bankruptcy Rules/Forms and Details on New Chapter 13 Form and Event for Condensed Plan. - The revised version of Local Bankruptcy Rules and Forms have been posted. For ease of compliance and reference, this version incorporates the changes resulting from General Procedure Orders adopting a new Chapter 13 Plan Form, minor changes to Rules primarily dealing with Chapter 11s, including a new Disclosure Regarding Receivers, Local Bankruptcy Form 1007-7.1, and a change to harmonize our Local Rule regarding the record on appeal with the policies of the appellate courts. See, GPO 2012-2, GPO 2012-6 and GPO 2013-1 for details. The Judges welcome your comments, please send your feedback to webmaster@cob.uscourts.gov.

Change in business hours. - Starting January 28, 2013, the Bankruptcy Clerk Intake and Public Information sections will be closed from 11:45 to 12:15. Please try to plan your paper filing, fee payment or telephone inquiries around that half hour break.

Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2013-1 - In the Matter of the Continued use of Official Stamps Bearing the Name Bradford L. Bolton, Clerk - Commencing January 4, 2013, Kelly J. Sweeney shall serve as Acting Clerk, pending the official appointment of the new Bankruptcy Clerk of Court. The Court shall use official stamps bearing the name Bradford L. Bolton, Clerk, with the same force and effect as if the stamp said Kelly J. Sweeney, Acting Clerk.

GPO 2012-6 - Revised Chapter 13 Plan Form to be Effective February 1, 2013. - General Procedure Order 2012-6 makes a new Chapter 13 Plan form effective on February 1, 2013 (view plan form in MS Word). Most of the changes made are cosmetic formatting changes to allow the form to be mailed on 2 pages printed back to back, but there are some areas with substantial language changes which are in the highlighted version (click here to view the PDF). The Judges welcome your comments, please send your feedback to webmaster@cob.uscourts.gov.

New Online Claims Submission Feature - The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado is pleased to announce a new online claims submission feature. If you are a creditor (the person who is owed money in a bankruptcy case) and are not represented by an attorney, you may now be able to file a Proof of Claim and upload PDF attachments via this easy to use online form.

Online Proof of Claims Instructions

District Court General Order 2012-6: Holiday Closure - Pursuant to District Court General Order 2012-6 signed by Chief District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel and Chief Bankruptcy Judge Howard R. Tallman, the U. S. District Court and U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado will be closed on Monday December 24, 2012 and Monday, December 31, 2012. Click here for the District Court General Order 2012-6.

In re Jensen Farms, Chapter 11 Case No. 12-20982 HRT - Bar date set for listeria based individual tort claims. Click here for Order Setting Bar Date and Proof of Claim Form. The Meeting of Creditors is scheduled for June 27, 2012 at 2:00 pm, U.S. Trustee Meeting Room, 1999 Broadway, 8th Floor, Ste 830, Room C, Denver, CO 80202.

Reassignment of approximately 3018 Chapter 13 cases to Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Douglas Kiel. - General Procedure Order 2012-1 (GPO) contains the list of all cases reassigned from Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Sally Zeman to Douglas Kiel effective February 1, 2012 and the administrative procedure to effectuate the change. In addition, amended wage orders will enter in those reassigned cases that have wage orders for employers. Payments in all of the reassigned cases should be mailed payable to the order of Douglas B. Kiel, Chapter 13 Trustee, P.O. Box 2282, Memphis, TN 38101-2282. This second GPO covers most open Chapter 13 cases from 2010 and 2011 (with select 2009 cases) from the counties that have been assigned to Trustee Kiel. Specifically, the counties are: Mineral, Alamosa, Baca, Bent, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Saguache, El Paso, Teller, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Kit Carson, Lake, Lincoln and Park. This is the final wave of reassignments.
Click here to see the GPO and case list.

Click here to see further information from the Office of the U.S. Trustee regarding the roll out of cases assigned to Douglas Kiel.

New Creditor Entry Program - The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado is pleased to announce the launch of a new Online Creditor Entry page. This page has been posted to allow persons filing cases in the District of Colorado to create and submit their creditor matrix online using any computer or web enabled device.

Miscellaneous Fee Increase - Effective November 1, 2011 - At its September 13, 2011 session, the Judicial Conference of the United States approved a recommendation of its Committee on Court Administration and Case Management amending the miscellaneous fee schedules for the courts of appeals, district courts, bankruptcy courts, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to increase certain fees for inflation, to be effective November 1, 2011. A list of the bankruptcy court fee increases can be found here.

Electronic Public Access Fee Increase - Effective April 1, 2012 - In September 2011, the Judicial Conference of the United States authorized an increase in the Judiciary's electronic public access fee in response to increasing costs for maintaining and enhancing the electronic public access system. The increase in the electronic public access (EPA) fee, from $.08 to $.10 per page, will take effect on April 1, 2012. The change is needed to continue to support and improve the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, and to develop and implement the next generation of the Judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system. Please click here for more information about the fee increase.

Addition of Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Douglas Kiel and reassignment of approximately 2000 confirmed Chapter 13 cases. - General Procedure Order 2011-1 (GPO) contains the list of all cases reassigned from Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Sally Zeman to Douglas Kiel effective October 1, 2011 and the administrative procedure to effectuate the change. In addition, amended wage orders will enter in those reassigned cases that have wage orders for employers. Payments in all of the reassigned cases should be mailed payable to the order of Douglas B. Kiel, Chapter 13 Trustee, P.O. Box 2282, Memphis, TN 38101-2282. This initial GPO covers most open Chapter 13 cases confirmed from 2007 until on or before September 15, 2011, from the following counties: Mineral, Alamosa, Baca, Bent, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Saguache, El Paso and Teller. This is the first wave of reassignments; additional reassignments are anticipated later in 2012.
Click here to see the GPO and case list.
Click here to see further information from the Office of the U.S. Trustee regarding the roll out of the reassignments and new cases assigned to Douglas Kiel.

Discontinuance of Mailing of Proof of Claim Forms Effective October 1, 2011. - Effective October 1, 2011, we will no longer include a Proof of Claim form with Notices of Meetings of Creditors or Chapter 7 notices establishing a claims deadline. This change has been mandated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts as a cost-savings measure and after a study determined that less than 5% of the Proof of Claims included with the Court's notices were returned. The majority of the claims that are filed are created electronically by the creditor's software or though other electronic forms creation tools. Proofs of Claim forms are available on the US Court's website, www.uscourts.gov, on our website, or at the Intake Counter of any bankruptcy court. Please click here for immediate access to a fillable Proof of Claim form.

Telephonic Appearance Information - Please note that being allowed to appear telephonically at a hearing is a privilege that will be revoked if the Court cannot obtain an accurate record. In order to allow the Court to make a proper electronic recording of its proceedings when parties appear telephonically we must require the following from participants:

eliminate all excessive noise (including, but not limited to: typing, background conversations, barking dogs, traffic, wind, music, etc.);
do not use cellular phones, they are more susceptible to background noise and have issues with clarity, use a land line if at all possible; and
do not use speakerphones as they cause incredible and annoying feedback in the courtroom.

Participants who have excessive background noise, lack clarity or who are causing feedback into the courtroom risk being disconnected and excluded from the hearing.

United States Trustee's Standing Notice of Interim Reappointment of Former Trustee. - In an effort to expedite the reappointment of a chapter 7 trustee in cases that commenced as a chapter 7, converted to another chapter and then reconverted back to chapter 7, the United States Trustee has established a standing notice to reappoint the original chapter 7 trustee in most instances. Click here to see the notice.

U.S. Trustee's New Address for Meeting of Creditors in Denver - As part of the ARRA construction, the UST is moving the meeting of creditor locations for Denver. We would like to assist in alerting the practitioners, as you will notice a different address on the meeting notices and a different reference on the docket sheet.

Beginning in February there will be a new location for Denver meetings of creditors as follows:

For Chapter 7 cases: Beginning on February 1st the location for all Denver 341 meetings will be:
1999 Broadway
8th Floor
Suite 830
Room A
Denver, CO 80202

For Chapter 13 cases: Beginning on February 15th the location for all Denver 341 meetings will be:
1999 Broadway
8th Floor
Suite 830
Room B
Denver, CO 80202

The UST will also use room C when they need more Chapter 7 dockets.

EFFECTIVE JULY 12, 2010, THE BANKRUPTCY NOTICING CENTER WILL NOT MAIL NOTICES TO A CREDITOR IF ADDRESS IS INVALID. - Click here for details.

New Voice Case Information System Effective 05/26/2010 - The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado is proud to announce a new Multi Court Voice Case Information System(McVCIS). To access this new system, please call 866-222-8029 and enter state abbreviation CO(26) or enter the court code 22. Please note: the old VCIS number will be disabled on 05/26/2010.

New General Procedure Orders - Please see the Index to General Procedure Orders for three new General Procedure Orders effective 12/1/2009. GPO 2009-3 In the Matter of Obsolete General Procedure Orders and Standing Orders of the court; GPO 2009-4 In the Matter of Chapter 13 Fee General Procedure Order; and GPO 2009-5 In the Matter of Mandatory Electronic Filing for Certain Creditors and Their Agents Filing Proofs of Claim or Interest.

Local Bankruptcy Rules, Forms, Appendix and New Time Computations Effective 12/1/2009. Click here for details.

PRIVACY RULE - Bankruptcy Rule 9037 - Bankruptcy Rule 9037 requires that personal identification information defined as individuals' Social Security and taxpayer identification numbers, names of minor children, financial account numbers, and dates of birth, be redacted from documents filed with the court. For details visit:
http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/privacy2.html
Please verify that your documents conform to this Rule.

Fraudulent Scheme Invokes Federal Bankruptcy Court. Click here for details.

Trustee Copies: - The United States Trustee announced that effective for cases filed on or after March 1, 2008, Chapter 7 Trustees and the Chapter 13 Trustee in Colorado will no longer require paper or "hardcopies" of bankruptcy petitions, schedules, or forms and their amendments which are filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court.