The U.S. Supreme Court approved amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure that are expected to take effect on December 1, 2018. Many of the amendments are technical in nature and are intended to update bankruptcy rules related to electronic filing, appeals, judgments, and other procedural matters. Key changes include mandating electronic filing for attorneys, updating rules related to home equity loans and fees/expenses, expanding the definition of entry of judgment, and addressing bankruptcy court jurisdiction over final judgments.

1. According To An Article On
The BESTCASE Website –
Supreme Court Approves
Amendments To
Bankruptcy Rules

2. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year approved
amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy
Procedure that are expected to become effective on
December 1, 2018. Many of the amendments are
technical and are intended to conform the Bankruptcy
Rules to recently amended rules of appellate and civil
procedure. Bankruptcy Rules affected by the
amendments include Rules 3002.1, 5005, 7004, 7062,
8002, 8006, 8007, 8010, 8011, 8013, 8015, 8016, 8017,
8021, 8022, 9025, and new Rule 8018.1 and Part VIII
Appendix.

3. Rules 5005 and 8011. Rules 5005(a)(2) and 8011
authorize individual courts to mandate electronic filing
or to make it optional. Most courts require attorneys to
file electronically, subject to reasonable exceptions. The
proposed amendments would make electronic filing
mandatory in all districts for all parties represented by
an attorney. Paper filing would be allowed for good
cause, and individual courts by local rule could permit
paper filings for other reasons.

4. Rule 3002.1. Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 requires creditors
with claims secured by a debtor’s personal residence to
provide notice of all post-petition payment changes,
fees, expenses, and charges incurred. The proposed
amendments to the rule would create flexibility
regarding notice of payment changes for home equity
loans, include a procedure for objecting to payment
changes, and expand the category of parties who can
seek a determination of fees, expenses, and charges
that are owed at the end of a bankruptcy case.

5. The proposal would permit pro se debtors to file
electronically only if authorized by individual court
order or local rule. Individual courts that mandates
electronic filing for all pro se debtors must provide
reasonable exceptions.

6. Rule 7004. The technical amendment to Rule 7004
would update a cross-reference to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 4.

7. Rules 7062, 8007, 8010, 8021, and 9025. These rules
address the entry, enforcement, and appeal of
judgments entered in adversary proceedings. Rule 7062
incorporates the whole of Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 62, which provides an automatic stay for the
enforcement of judgments entered by a district court.

8. The current stay is 14 days, but a proposed amendment
to Civil Rule 62 would increase the stay to 30 days to
coincide with the 28-day deadline for filing post-
judgment motions in district court. The proposed
amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 7062 would still
incorporate Civil Rule 62 but would retain the 14-day
duration for the automatic stay of judgments since the
deadline for post-judgment motions in bankruptcy
cases is only 14 days.

9. The proposed amendments to Rules 8007, 8010, 8021,
and 9025 would allow a party to stay the enforcement
of a judgment in an adversary proceeding by posting a
“bond or other security.” This is not a substantive
amendment; it is intended only to “broaden and
modernize” the terms “supersedeas bond” and
“surety” that are used currently in the rules.

10. Rule 8002; Official Form 417A and New Director’s Form
4170. Rule 8002 addresses the timeliness of appeals.
Rule 8002(a) provides that a notice of appeal must be
filed within 14 days after the entry of a judgment. The
proposed amendment to Rule 8002(a) would add a
new subparagraph (5) that defines the term “entry of
judgment” for purposes of calculating the time for filing
the notice of appeal.

11. Rule 8002(b) lists the types of post-judgment motions
that toll the deadline for filing appeals. The proposed
amendment to Rule 8002(b) would require the filing of
post-judgment motions within the times specified by
the rules under which the motions are authorized. A
similar amendment concerning the timeliness of tolling
motions was made to Federal Rule of Appellate
Procedure 4(a)(4) in 2016.

12. Rule 8002(c) establishes filing and service requirements
for inmate appeals. Under the proposed amendments
to Rule 8002(c), an inmate’s notice of appeal is timely if
deposited in the institution’s mail system on or before
the last day for filing. The notice must include a
declaration or notarized statement by the inmate
stating the mailing date of the notice and attesting to
the prepayment of first-class postage. A new Director’s
Form, Form 4170 (Declaration of Inmate Filing), sets
out a suggested form for the declaration. An
amendment to Official Form 417A would direct inmate
filers to the Director’s Form.

13. Rule 8006. Rule 8006(c) establishes the manner by
which litigants can file a joint certification for direct
appellate review. The amendment would add a new
subsection that would allow the bankruptcy court to
file a supplemental statement about the merits of the
parties’ joint certification. The new subsection is
intended to be the counterpart to existing subsection
(e)(2), which authorizes the parties to file a similar
statement when the court certifies direct review on its
own motion.

14. Rules 8013, 8015, 8016, 8022, and New Part VIII
Appendix; Official Form 417C. Rules 8013 (motions),
8015 (briefs), 8016 (cross-appeals), and 8022
(rehearing) establish length limits for motions, briefs,
and other pleadings filed in bankruptcy appeals. The
proposed amendments convert current page limits to
word-count limits for documents prepared using a
computer. Similar length limits were made to Federal
Rules of Appellate Procedure in 2016. A new appendix
to Part VIII of the Bankruptcy Rules lists all of the length
limits in one chart. A conforming amendment is made
to the certificate of compliance in Official Form 417C.

15. Rule 8017. Rule 8017 addresses the filing of amicus
curiae briefs. The proposed amendments would permit
a district court or bankruptcy appellate panel to
prohibit or strike an amicus brief if the filing would
result in the disqualification of a judge. The
amendments address the scenario in which an amicus
brief is filed before a judge or appellate panel is
assigned to a case and amicus curiae could not predict
whether the filing of its brief would result in a recusal.
A similar amendment has been proposed for Federal
Rule of Appellate Procedure 29.

16. Rule 8018.1. New Rule 8018.1 is the latest installment
of rule amendments intended to address the impact of
the Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v. Marshall, 564
U.S. 462 (2011) on bankruptcy court jurisdiction to
enter final judgments. The proposed rule would
authorize a district court to treat a bankruptcy court’s
judgment as proposed findings of fact and conclusions
of law if the lower court did not have the constitutional
authority to enter a final judgment.

17. Official Forms 411A and 411B. The use of Official Forms
is mandatory. The Bankruptcy Rules do not require the
use of Director’s Forms; their use is optional unless
local court rule or general order mandates their use.

18. At its September meeting, the Judicial Conference
approved reissuing the bankruptcy general and special
power of attorney forms, currently Director’s Forms
4011A and 4011B, as Official Forms 411A and 411B to
conform to Bankruptcy Rule 9010(c), which requires
execution of a power of attorney on an Official Form.
Bankruptcy cases commenced after December 1, 2018,
must use the new forms. Cases pending on December 1
must use the new forms “insofar as just and
practicable.”

19. Effective date. The Judicial Conference approved the
rule amendments last fall at its annual meeting. The
Supreme Court adopted the proposed amendments
and transmitted them to Congress in April 2018. If
Congress takes no action, the amendments will become
effective on December 1, 2018.