2009-23: Amendments to Federal Rules, Statutes, and Forms Effective December 1, 2009

Unless Congress acts to the contrary, effective December 1, 2009, a number of Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, related statutes, and forms are amended.  For a memo version of this Notice which includes all linked materal (with the exception of the text of the rules), click here.

Time-Computation Bankruptcy Rules Amendments

For an explanation of the new time-computation methods and changes, please read the November 16, 2009, memorandum from the Honorable Lee H.  Rosenthal, Chair, Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, and the Honorable Laura Taylor Swain, Chair, Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules.

The text of the amended rules is available here.

See Time-Computation Amendments to Bankruptcy Rules for a list of Rules amended to reflect a new method of computing time.

Time-Computation Statutes Amendments

Certain Bankruptcy Code sections are amended to be consistent with the new method of computing time.  For a list of amended sections, see Time-Computation Amendments to 11 U. S. C. Sections.  These amendments were enacted in Pub. L. 111-16, signed by the President on May 7, 2009.

Time-Computation Official and Director's Procedural Forms Amended

For a list of the Official and Director’s Procedural forms amended effective December 1 to reflect the changes in time periods, see Time- Computation Amended Official and Director's Procedural Forms.

Summary of Time-Computation Amendments

Deadlines of less than 30 days were changed to multiples of seven days so that the expiration of the deadline ordinarily would occur on a weekday.  All days are counted so that "days are days."  In the amended rules

• 5-day deadlines become 7 days;
• 10- and 15-day deadlines become 14 days;
• 20-day deadlines become 21 days; and
• 25-day deadlines become 28 days

Please carefully read the Important Note below regarding the twelve rules in which the 15-day deadline has been reduced to a 14-day deadline.  Again, we recommend reading the memorandum of Judges Rosenthal and Swain dated November 16, 2009.

Important Note - Six Month Transition Period

The memorandum of Judges Rosenthal and Swain not only explains the thinking behind the new time-computation method but also highlights the twelve Bankruptcy Rules where the time-computation method reduces the deadlines by one day, changing 15-day periods to 14-day periods.

The affected rules are Bankruptcy Rules 1007, 1019, 1020, 2015, 2015.1, 2016, 3015, 4001, 4002, 6004, 6007, and 8009.  Of special note are the deadlines in Rule 1007(c) for filing schedules, statements, and other documents after the filing of a petition; in Rule 3015(b) for filing a chapter 13 plan after the filing of a  petition; and in Rule 8009(a) for filing appellate briefs.

The Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules has concluded that for these twelve rules, a filing that would have been timely before December 1 should be considered timely under the time-computation amendment for a six-month transition period.  Although the Clerk’s Office will modify notices, self-represented debtor materials, and all applicable materials published on our website to conform to the amended rules, the judges will follow the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.

Changes Not Related to Time Computation

Several Bankruptcy Rules and forms were amended and one new rule and five new forms were adopted effective December 1, 2009, to make technical, conforming, and other changes not related to time-computation.  See Changes Not Related to Time Computation.

Amendments to Other Federal Rules

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure also effective December 1, 2009, can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/supct1208.html.

For a memo version of this Notice which includes all linked materal (with the exception of the text of the rules), click here.