ATTENTION: Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet

Effective December 1, 2009, parties will be required to include form B27, Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet, with any reaffirmation agreement filed with the Court. If this cover sheet does not accompany a reaffirmation agreement, a Notice of Deficient Filing will be issued; and you will have 21 days within which to submit this document. A link to this form can be found on our website under Misc./Bankruptcy Forms.

ATTENTION: Important Notice Regarding Time Period Changes Effective December 1, 2009, Including 14-Day Deadlines for Filing Schedules, Statements, Chapter 13 Plans, and Bankruptcy Appellate Briefs

Among the time-computation amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure that will take effect on December 1, 2009, are changes to 12 rules that will result in a reduction by one day (from 15 to 14 days) of the time to take action. The affected rules are Bankruptcy Rules 1007, 1019, 1020, 2015, 2015.1, 2016, 3015, 4001, 4002, 6004, 6007 and 8009. Please take note of these changes and particularly of the new 14-day deadline for filing schedules, statements, and other documents under Rule 1007(c); for filing a chapter 13 plan under Rule 3015(b); and for filing appellate briefs under Rule 8009(a).

ATTENTION: Note to Counsel Regarding Redaction

ATTENTION: The Northen District of West Virginia has amended its model Chapter 13 plan. More specifically, the court added additional language to the "Motion to Value Class Four Claims," which is on page 6 of the model plan. The additional language reads:

IT IS THE DEBTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT SERVICE OF THE MOTION CONTAINED IN THIS PLAN IS PROPER UNDER FED. R. BANKR. P. 7004. In particular, if the affected creditor is a corporation, a copy of the plan containing this motion must be mailed to the attention of an officer, a managing or general agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process and, if the agent is one authorized by statute to receive service and the statute so requires, by also mailing a copy to the defendant. This address may be different than that provided on the mailing matrix for service of this Plan.

The amendment is effective as of September 8, 2009.

Please refer to General Order 09-03 for further information. This Chapter 13 Model Plan can be found on this website under Bankruptcy Forms/ Local Bankruptcy Forms.

ATTENTION: NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVISTS DEBT RELIEF ACT OF 2008: On October 20, 2008, the President signed the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-438. The Act temporarily excludes certain members of the National Guard and Reserves from means testing in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, which are commenced in the three-year period beginning December 19, 2008. A new official form B22A will be available on December 19th or shortly thereafter on the U.S. Courts Federal Judiciary web site at http://www.uscourts.gov/bkforms/bankruptcy_forms.html

ATTENTION: Information on This Court's Policy on the Electronic Availability of Transcripts of Court Proceedings

ATTENTION: Divisional Realignment - Effective November 1, 2007

ATTENTION: Letter regarding Automatic Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts in the Bankruptcy Code and Official Bankruptcy Forms.

ATTENTION: Pursuant to the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, a fee for filing a motion to reopen a Bankruptcy Code case shall be collected unless the reopening is to correct an administrative error or for actions related to the debtor's discharge. The Court may waive this fee under appropriate circumstances. In this regard an In Forma Pauperis Financial Affidavit has been developed and is available on our website under Bankruptcy Forms. You may wish to include this Affidavit when filing a motion to reopen.

ATTENTION: General Order No. 07-01 has been entered by The Honorable Patrick M. Flatley on January 17, 2007. This Order provides for the mandatory electronic filing of all petitions and support documents, adversary proceedings, pleadings and proposed orders with few exceptions as of July 1, 2007. A copy of General Order No. 07-01 can be viewed under Court Info/General Orders. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mike Sturm or Anita Swaton at 304-233-1655

CORPORATE OWNERSHIP STATEMENT: Please remember under Rules 1007(a)(1) and 7007.1 to include a Corporate Ownership Statement when a corporation is a debtor or a party to an adversary proceeding. This Corporate Ownership Statement should disclose all corporations that directly or indirectly own 10% or more of any class of the corporation's equity interests. The Statement must be provided even if there are no entities to report. This information is necessary in making judicial disqualification decisions.

If the Statement was filed at the commencement of a voluntary case, the same disclosure is not required each time that party is involved in an adversary proceeding related to that bankruptcy case.

This form may be included in your electronic bankruptcy forms package and filed as part of the debtor's bankruptcy petition and schedules. Otherwise, please select Adversary or Bankruptcy/Other/Corporate Ownership Statement. The form may be found on this Court's website under Bankruptcy Forms/Local Bankruptcy Forms.

Bankruptcy Lawyers:  Please read the new streamlined 362 procedures. 

Notice To Bankruptcy Counsel regarding Increase in Residential Exemption

NOTICE TO COUNSEL regarding proof of identity.