Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 2002, 2004, 8012, 8013, 8015, and 8021 were amended, effective December 1, 2020. Below is a summary of each. To review the full text and redline versions of these rules as well as the accompanying committee notes, please visit: https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/current-rules-practice-procedure
The amendment to Rule 2002 (1) requires giving notice of the entry of an order confirming a chapter 13 plan; (2) limits the need to provide notice to creditors that do not file timely proofs of claim in chapter 12 and chapter 13 cases; and (3) adds a cross-reference in response to the relocation of the provision specifying the deadline for objecting to confirmation of a chapter 13 plan.
Rule 2004 provides for the examination of debtors and other entities regarding a broad range of issues relevant to a bankruptcy case. Rule 2004(c) authorizes the attendance of a witness and production of documents to be compelled by means of a subpoena. The amendment to this subsection adds explicit authorization to compel production of electronically stored information. The amendment further provides that a subpoena for a Rule 2004 examination is properly issued from the court where the bankruptcy case is pending by an attorney authorized to practice in that court, even if the examination is to occur in another district.
Rule 8012 requires a nongovernmental corporate party to a bankruptcy appeal in the district court or bankruptcy appellate panel to file a corporate disclosure statement and is modeled after Appellate Rule 26.1. The amendment to Rule 8012 tracks the amendment to Appellate Rule 26.1 adopted on April 25, 2019 – Rule 8012(a) was amended to add a disclosure requirement for nongovernmental corporate intervenors; Rule 8012(b) was added to require disclosure of debtors’ names and requires disclosures by nongovernmental corporate debtors.
On April 25, 2019, the Supreme Court adopted an amendment to Appellate Rule 25(d) that eliminated the requirement of proof of service for documents served through the court’s electronic filing system. Corresponding amendments to Appellate Rules 5, 21, 26, 32, and 39 reflected this change by either eliminating or qualifying references to “proof of service” as necessary. Bankruptcy Rules 8013(a)(1), 8015(g), and 8021(d) were amended to track the amended language of their Appellate Rules counterparts.