UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT United States Courthouse 299 E. Broward Blvd.Courtroom: 308 / Chambers: Room 306 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
COURTROOM DEPUTY
Edy Gomez (954) 769-5765
Be civil. Be on time. Be concise.
The Local Rules, Administrative Orders, and Local Forms are posted on the Court’s website. Judge Grossman expects that all counsel and pro se parties appearing before the Court will be familiar with these documents as updated and amended from time to time.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY ANY PARTICIPANT RECORD OR BROADCAST THE PROCEEDINGS CONDUCTED BY THE BANKRUPTCY COURT
Judge Grossman encourages telephonic appearances for routine, non-evidentiary matters. There is no geographic limitation regarding who may appear by telephone. The ability to appear by telephone is a provilege and not a right and such privilege may be withdrawn by the Court at any time without prior notice.
Most uncontested Chapter 13 confirmation hearings and many uncontested Chapter 13 motions are handled by the Chapter 13 Trustee without the Judge present in the courtroom. These matters are presented to the Court by agreed or uncontested proposed orders. However, even if the Judge is not present, Court is in session and the proceedings are recorded. All rules regarding courtroom decorum apply, including dress code and use of mobile phones. Please be advised that Judge Grossman often listens to the uncontested Chapter 13 docket from Chambers.
Emergency matters are those where direct, immediate, and substantial harm will occur to the interest of an entity, to the bankruptcy estate, or to the debtor’s ability to reorganize, if the parties are not able to obtain immediate relief. The movant must comply with Local Rule 9075-1. The movant must call the Courtroom Deputy to advise the Court that an emergency motion has been filed. Once filed, an emergency motion will be reviewed by the Judge to determine if it should be treated as an emergency. The Courtroom Deputy will set the hearing as directed by the Judge. Upon being informed of the date and time of hearing, the moving party must immediately provide notice to opposing counsel and other parties in interest by a method or methods aimed at providing actual notice of the scheduled hearing (this may include one or more of telephone, fax, e-mail, or overnight delivery), and the moving party must file a certificate of service. Failure to provide immediate notice to opposing counsel and other parties in interest and file a certificate of service may result in denial of the relief requested and/or sanctions.
Judge Grossman encourages the parties to use the electronic presentation facilities available in the courtroom. These include a lectern camera system that allows viewing of documentary evidence by the Court, other counsel, witnesses, and the gallery, without the need for multiple paper copies and the ability to present documentary, video, and audio evidence via laptop plugged directly into the court’s audio-video system. The display system includes touch-screen technology that allows counsel and other parties to annotate documents on the display using a finger or stylus to “write” on the screen. Counsel wishing to use these systems may contact the Courtroom Deputy, at (954) 769-5765, in advance of the scheduled hearing to arrange a time to become familiar with the systems subject to courtroom and staff availability.
All parties are expected to be familiar with, and prepare all orders consistent with, the Court’s Guidelines for Preparing, Submitting and Serving Orders.
FAILURE TO TIMELY SUBMIT AN ORDER MAY RESULT IN DENIAL OF THE RELIEF SOUGHT.
When submitting amended orders please add a footnote after the word “amended” and provide a brief sentence indicating what the amendment is. For example, if there is a change to paragraph 1 of the order state in the footnote “Revisions made to paragraph 1”.
Titles of orders must specify whether the order grants, denies, or grants in part and denies in part the relief sought in the underlying motion.
Competing orders may be submitted as directed by the Court, or where opposing counsel disagree on a proposed order’s language. Competing orders must be submitted via email in Word format to Judge Grossman’s Chambers email address (SMG_Chambers@flsb.uscourts.gov). This email address is strictly for competing orders and must not be used under any other circumstances, unless specifically instructed to do so. The email accompanying a competing order must identify the material differences between the competing orders and, to the extent reasonably practicable, include a separate redline comparison showing the differences between the competing orders.
