Judge Olson's Chapter 13 Day Calendar for the month of May, 2018, will be held in Judge Ray's Courtroom (308) on Monday, May 7, 2018.
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT United States Courthouse 299 E. Broward Blvd.Courtroom: 301 / Chambers: Room 303 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Joseph Costanzo (954) 769-5772
Michael Bolling (954) 769-5773
Christina Romero (954) 769-5774
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9003 prohibits ex parte communications. Certain “ex parte” motions are permitted by Local Rule 9013-1(C), but these are docketed for all to see. If you wish to communicate with Judge Olson about a pending matter, you should do so in writing and you should expect court staff to docket that communication. Judge Olson’s Courtroom Deputy, Judicial Assistant, and Law Clerk are generally prohibited from discussing pending cases and have explicit instructions to report improper communication attempts by parties and attorneys. The Courtroom Deputy is available at 954-769-5774 to discuss scheduling issues. The Judicial Assistant is available at 954-769-5772 to discuss secretarial issues (i.e. to confirm that a proposed order submitted more than two weeks before the call has not been lost). Clerk’s deputies are available at 954-769-5700 to discuss clerical issues (i.e. “How do I docket this?” or “What is the fee?” or “Why won’t CM/ECF let me do X, Y, or Z?”). Judge Olson permits attorneys to call his Law Clerk at 954-769-5773 to alert chambers that a particular paper was filed. Attempts to solicit legal advice (whether procedural law or substantive law) or to discuss pending matters will be reported to Judge Olson. Such attempts are sanctionable. Examples of improper communication are: “How does the Judge generally rule?”; “What kind of motion?”; “What should my motion say?”; “Why was my motion denied?”; “What is my deadline?” etc. When in doubt, put it in writing, file it, and the Judge will address it.
The Court will enter an Order Setting Briefing Schedule after a motion for summary judgment is filed. Responses are generally due twenty days after the motion for summary judgment and replies are generally due ten days after the response. Please contact the law clerk if you do not receive the Order Setting Briefing Schedule within ten days after filing a motion for summary judgment.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY ANY PARTICIPANT RECORD OR BROADCAST THE PROCEEDINGS CONDUCTED BY THE BANKRUPTCY COURT
Like many bankruptcy judges in this district, Judge Olson encourages telephonic appearances for routine, non-evidentiary matters. As long as the appearance is arranged in advance via CourtCall (see below) there is no geographic limitation regarding who may appear by telephone. Please note, however, that the ability to appear by telephone is a privilege and not a right and that such privilege may be withdrawn at any time.
Evidentiary hearings or motions that will take in excess of fifteen (15) minutes must be specially set. Counsel shall, immediately after filing such a motion, inform the courtroom deputy that the motion requires a specially set hearing. All counsel shall consult with one another to determine the availability of the parties and the amount of time the hearing will require. The courtroom deputy will NOT act as a middleman to clear dates for parties who do not confer with each other. Failure of counsel to confer with one another before setting hearings may result in sanctions or the hearing not going forward. Once an agreement is reached and the Courtroom Deputy has cleared the proposed date and time, counsel must submit either a proposed Order Specially Setting Evidentiary Hearing or proposed Order Specially Setting Non-Evidentiary Hearing. For convenience, counsel may simply fill out the form orders linked above and submit them for Judge Olson’s signature.
Continuances for hearings on motion calendars may be requested by filing a motion for continuance. If the parties agree to the continuance, the motion should be designated as agreed and an agreed proposed order may be submitted. If the parties do not agree, the motion for continuance will be set for hearing. Continuances for pretrial conferences or specially set evidentiary matters will generally not be granted ex parte without a hearing, even if agreed.
Emergency matters are those where the requested relief requires immediate action. The proponent and any opponent of any requested relief set for hearing on an emergency basis shall bring to the hearing a proposed order granting or denying the relief requested. Otherwise, the proposed order shall be uploaded in electronic format using the E-orders program in CM/ECF. A filed emergency motion will be reviewed by Judge Olson to determine if it should be treated as an emergency. The courtroom deputy will call the relevant parties and set the hearing as directed by the judge. No scheduling will occur until the motion is filed and reviewed by the judge. Upon receipt of a time and date for the hearing, the moving party must immediately provide notice to opposing counsel by phone, fax and e-mail. Failure to provide immediate notice to opposing counsel may result in the hearing not going forward.
An Order Dismissing Adversary Proceeding as Settled should be submitted when such matters are settled. A Stipulation of Settlement is not sufficient to close an adversary case.
Check CM/ECF-PACER to determine the status of an order. For routine matters, you may call Judge Olson’s Judicial Assistant at 954-769-5772, to inquire about the status of an order only if 10 days have elapsed from the date the order was submitted. For matters taken under advisement, you may call Judge Olson’s Judicial Assistant to inquire about the status of the matter only if 60 days have elapsed from the later of the close of the briefing schedule or the date the matter was taken under advisement.
Agreed orders must be submitted at least two business days prior to a scheduled hearing. If agreed orders are submitted after the two-day cutoff, the matter may remain on the calendar and be dismissed for want of prosecution if counsel fails to appear. As a courtesy, please inform the Courtroom Deputy at 954-769-5774 when an agreed proposed order has been submitted. Your voicemail should include the case number, case name, docket entry of the pending motion/objection, date and time it is scheduled for hearing, and the date the agreed proposed order was submitted. If the agreed order has not been docketed by noon on the business day before the scheduled hearing, you should make a Courtcall reservation no later than 3:00 p.m. that day to ensure that your settlement is announced on the record and the matter is not dismissed for want of prosecution.
Competing orders may be submitted as directed by the Court or where opposing counsel disagree on a proposed order’s language. Competing orders should be submitted via e-mail in WordPerfect format to: JKO_chambers@flsb.uscourts.gov. The e-mail should identify why the parties found it necessary to submit competing orders. This address is strictly for competing orders and should not be used under any other circumstances unless specifically instructed to do so. As a courtesy, please contact the judicial assistant to confirm that your competing order e-mail has been received in chambers.
Orders granting motions to value HOA and Condo Associations liens should contain language indicating that the lien is not enforceable in personam against the Debtor. However, the lien remains on the property and is enforceable against subsequent owners.
Proposed orders granting lift-stay motions should generally not include Bankruptcy Rule 4001(a)(3) 14-day stay waiver language if the order concerns a parcel of real property. Including such language in a proposed lift-stay order concerning a parcel of real property will almost always result in a resubmit request and merely delay order entry. If your situation justifies a Rule 4001(a)(3) waiver, do not prosecute the motion on negative notice, but contact the Courtroom Deputy at 954-769-5774 to have the motion set for hearing. At the hearing, obtain explicit permission from Judge Olson to include the Rule 4001(a)(3) waiver language in the proposed order. If the lift-stay motion concerns “something that moves or eats” (e.g. a motor vehicle, jewelry, or livestock), Rule 4001(a)(3) waivers will generally be granted without explicit prior permission from Judge Olson.
