Papers - Caption and Form, General

(a)  Caption.  Unless otherwise specified in this Local Rule, the caption of each filed document, other than the petition, must include the title of the Court as set forth in LR 1005-1, the name of the debtor, the chapter of the case, the bankruptcy case number and a brief description of the relief requested. The following information must be stated on the first page of a filed document to the left of the center of the page and beginning at line one:

(1)  name of the law firm or other filer;

(2)  mailing address;

(3)  email address;

(4)  name of responsible counsel and State Bar Attorney number, if applicable;

(5)  telephone number;

(6)  fax number (optional); and

(7)  party represented.

(b)  Case Number and Chapter.  Any filed document must include in the caption the complete case number assigned by the Court and the chapter of the case.

(c)  Adversary Proceedings and Stay Relief Motions.  All filings in an adversary or stay relief proceeding must be dual captioned. The first caption must include the debtor’s name. The second caption must include the names of the plaintiffs/movants and defendants/respondents. An adversary caption must also contain the adversary number.  

(d)  Jointly Administered or Substantively Consolidated Cases.  Unless ordered otherwise, after the entry of an order for joint administration or substantive consolidation of two or more bankruptcy cases, all documents filed must be jointly captioned to include the debtors’ names and the case numbers of all the cases ordered jointly administered or substantively consolidated. The caption must include whether the cases are jointly administered or substantively consolidated. All pleadings must be filed and docketed in only the lowest numbered case. The caption must identify the jointly administered case or cases to which the filing relates.

(e)  Date and Time of Hearing.  The caption must include the date, time and place of the hearing if known. This information must be placed on the right side of the caption beneath the case number.

(f)  Amended Pleadings.  Unless ordered otherwise, any amended pleading may incorporate by reference any part of the preceding pleading including the exhibits.

(g)  Form of Papers.  All pleadings, motions and other papers must (1) identify in the caption the relief sought, (2) be on number-lined pleading paper, (3) not exceed 28 lines per page, (4) be typed double-spaced, except for footnotes and indented quotations, and (5) be signed as provided in FRBP 11 or LR 5005-4. The text must be in a proportional font size no smaller than 13 point, except that footnotes may be 12 point. The papers must be formatted for paper 8½ inches by 11 inches, the left margin must be not less than 1½ inches and the right margin must be not less than ½ inch.

(h)  Length of Documents.  Unless ordered otherwise, no document may exceed fifteen (15) pages exclusive of attachments, except chapter 11 disclosure statements/plans and objections.

Notes 2018:  Proposed forms of order must comply with LR 9022-1. Other requirements for filing papers are found in LR 1005-1. LR amended to clarify that objections and replies not covered by LR 9013 are subject to page limits.