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Click here to read the latest issue of the Court's newsletter - On the Docket.
(posted 1/24/2012)
The 2012 Edition of the R.I. Bankruptcy Rule book is now on sale at the Clerk's Office for $14.50 per copy. Please visit the Clerk's Office to purchase your copy, or complete the attached order form and return it to Court.
In addition, starting January 5, 2012, local rule books will be available for purchase from the court's on-line book store. Click Here to order on-line.
*All book store, fax, or phone-in orders require a Federal Express account number to cover shipping costs.
(posted 1/05/2012)
Due to a recent upgrade of CM/ECF to Version 4.2, the electronic filing system will automatically lock out users who fail to pay filing fees on the same day they incur the fee. The system will unlock these users upon payment of the filing fees. Therefore, the court will now strictly enforce R.I. Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-(p) which requires payment of filing fees on the date the document is filed. If no payment is received by 12:01 am the following day, ECF users will receive email notification of their "lock out" status and will be prevented from filing additional documents until the outstanding balance is paid. Users who are locked out will receive a daily email reminding them to pay any outstanding fees, and all documents with outstanding fees will be automatically stricken after remaining in an unpaid status for seven days. Once locked out of the ECF system, users will have limited access to run reports and make their outstanding payment. Full access rights will be restored in the CMECF system after all outstanding fees have been paid in full.
(modified 2/7/2012)
A notable change that came with the new release of ECF, is that the BNC will now send an email containing a secure hyperlink to the unredacted 341 notice in place of a paper notice. This is being done as a cost-savings improvement and as an additional means to safeguard debtors' SSNs by providing them through a secured hyperlink. The BNC will send one summary email per day containing hyperlinks to one or more notices. Each hyperlink provides one free look to the primary email address in the account, to the full Meeting of Creditors notice. You will no longer receive the paper 341 notice from the BNC.
(posted 1/6/2012)
On December 1, 2011, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court signed General Order 11-009: "General Order Adopting Sixth Amended Loss Mitigation Program and Procedures", effective December 1, 2011. This order sets out specific service requirements for the Notice and/or Request for Loss Mitigation if the creditor/lender is the United States, its agency, corporations, officers or employees [e.g., HUD]
General Order 11-009 - Red Lined
(posted 12/1/2011)
The Judicial Conference Advisory Committees on Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, Criminal, and Evidence Rules have proposed amendments to their respective rules and requested that the proposals be circulated to the bench, bar, and public for comment. The proposed amendments, Rules Committee reports explaining the proposed changes, and other information are posted on the Judiciary’s Federal Rulemaking website at http://www.uscourts.gov/Rulesand Policies/FederalRulemaking/Overview.aspx. The public comment period ends on February 15, 2012. (posted 8/29/2011).
The City of Central Falls, Rhode Island filed a chapter 9 bankruptcy petition at 9:03 AM, August 1, 2011. The case is assigned bankruptcy number 11-13105. Chief Judge Sandra Lynch of the First Circuit Court of Appeals has designated Bankruptcy Judge Frank Bailey, of the District of Massachusetts, to preside over the case. For more information click here.
(Posted 8/1/2011)
An instructional video on how to use the DMM Portal is available online. After you create your account in the portal, simply login as an Existing User and click the “Training Video” link located under the “Tools” section of the site. Then click the “View Training Video” and the video will launch (you may be asked to allow the program to run, please click ‘Yes’ or ‘Continue’).
If you have any questions, please contact DMM Support at 1-800-481-1013
(posted 5.19.11)
Also, a new Loss Mitigation Flowchart has been created to assist
attorneys with navigating the loss mitigation process using the DMM Portal
application if the Servicer is a participant. Servicer participation information
is contained on the Court's DMM Portal
page.
(posted 5.27.11)
Attorneys Handling New Loss Mitigation Cases Should Be Using
the DMM Portal Application for All Participating Servicers
As was announced on April 11, 2011, the Court has embraced the use of the DMM
Portal application to automate the document exchange process in connection
with our loss mitigation program. Bankruptcy cases with loss mitigation
orders entered after April 11 should be opened in the Portal system and
actively be managed between debtors and participating servicers in that
program. There may have been some confusion following the original April
training as to whether parties could begin using the portal -- and the
answer is Yes! Attached to this link is
the DMM Portal Training manual that provides information on how to obtain
a login, how to initiate a loss mitigation case in the portal, and how
to respond to a loss mitigation invitation that a servicer may send to
a debtor's counsel. In the near future, use of the portal will be a requirement
for participating in the LM program for those participating lenders, therefore
we strongly urge all practitioners to start using the system now. Additional
training is being developed by Default Mitigation Management on the portal
system and you will be notified once it is ready. (posted 5.5.11)
On November 1, 2009, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island adopted a court supervised Loss Mitigation Program. To date, the program has saved over 150 homes in the state through successful loan modifications. To further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the program, beginning on Monday, April 11, 2011, the Court will partner with Default Mitigation Management LLC to pilot its web application known as the DMM Web Portal to automate the document exchange process between debtors and servicers engaged in the Court’s loss mitigation program.
Click here for the full press release
Click here for the court's DMM page (On line loss mitigation document exchange application.)
We are pleased to announce the publication of an on-line Attorney User Manual located on the court's website. You may access the manual through either the "Attorneys" or "CM/ECF Info" menu tabs on the left side of the homepage.
- Each page of the manual contains links to resources we hope you'll find useful:
- Bankruptcy Court website,
- Official Forms (US Court's website)
- Local Rules, Forms & Appendices
- Federal Bankruptcy Code & Rules
- US Trustee website
- Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
- Bankruptcy Court Training Database
- Bankruptcy Help Desk
The manual contains sixty (60) topics sorted by category. Each topic includes filing procedures, links to applicable local rules and forms, and filing tips. The site is fully searchable by clicking the "Search" button located in the lower left corner of the page. Clicking the "TOC" button will return you to the full Table of Contents.
We encourage you to use this manual as a first line of support. If you would like new topics or additional information added to the manual, please use the "Bankruptcy Help Desk" link at the top of each page to send an email request. We hope you find this manual useful, and we look forward to your feedback!
(Posted 1/24/2011)
This link contains current general announcements from the PACER Center. If you are a regular PACER user, you should find this link helpful.
http://pacer.uscourts.gov/announce.html
Need Help? Click Here to view short videos that explain the bankruptcy process.