The
Little Extra That Makes It Work
By: Chief Judge Michael G. Williamson
Last
month I had the pleasure of attending the annual Employee Recognition
ceremonies in the Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa Divisions. In addition to
their regular duties, a majority of our staff also contribute to the ongoing
improvement to our court’s procedures and overall operations and outreach
through their participation as members of a number of committees that were
formed by Judge Jennemann as part of the process of bringing our Court into a
new era based on the concept of One Court, One Team on a district-wide basis.
The most difficult challenge that
Judge Jennemann faced in thinking “District Wide” was establishing uniform
procedures throughout the District. Our court had a longstanding tradition of
allowing each judge to dictate the procedures that applied to his or her
cases—policies that were followed by chambers staff and the case managers
assigned to the individual judge. Simply put, the judge-by-judge approach could
no longer be supported in today’s budget environment.
Click here for the full article.
 U.S. Trustee Spotlight:
News from the U.S. Trustee
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Filing Under Seal
By: Nathan A. Wheatley, Trial Attorney,
Tampa Office of the U.S. Trustee
It is a truism that the open and honest
disclosure of information is integral to the success of the bankruptcy
process. So much so that 11 U.S.C. §
107(a) expressly provides that papers filed in a case under Title 11 and in the
dockets of a bankruptcy court are public records and available for examination
by any party. In contrast, motions to
file pleadings and documents “under seal” are disfavored and should only be
entered when there is a demonstration of actual need to protect a party from
harm. 11 U.S.C. § 107(a).
Click here for the full article.
 Court Services
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Using Attorney Admission Funds
for Interpreter Services in Bankruptcy Court
By: Jason Kadzban, Chief Deputy
A basic tenet of our judicial system is that litigants have a right to be heard and to present their side
of the story. What happens when a litigant does not speak the same language as
the judge and the other litigants? In a criminal case, the defendant has the right to an interpreter—problem solved. However,
in bankruptcy court, there is no such right, and the problem remains. The lack
of interpreting services poses significant barriers to the administration of
justice.
While the problem is well recognized, there is no easy fix. At
its June 2015 meeting, the Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy
System of the U.S. Judicial Conference reviewed the growing need for language
interpreters in bankruptcy courts. Possible solutions proposed were: (1)
exploring legislative changes; (2) finding ways to help the parties pay for interpretation
services; (3) using attorney admission funds to pay for interpreters; and (4)
trying the use of automated translating services. This article focuses on the
third alternative and also discusses the use of telephonic interpretation
services.
Click here to read more.
 Local Bar Associations
News and events from your local bar association
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Central Florida Bankruptcy Law Association
By: Ryan Davis, Esquire
CFBLA
celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year! Thank you for the support of our members, the
judiciary, and the courthouse staff over the years. It goes without saying that the CFBLA has
helped create a camaraderie amongst us that has made the bankruptcy practice
here in Central Florida unique and special.
CFBLA is proud to announce this year’s
recipients of the Jules S. Cohen Professionalism Award. CFBLA established this award in 2003 to honor
an attorney practicing before the bankruptcy court in the Orlando Division of
the Middle District of Florida who demonstrates, on a consistent basis,
professionalism and civility in dealing with the Court and opposing counsel,
high ethical standards, competent legal representation of his or her clients,
and sustained service to the bankruptcy community.
Click here to read more.
Orange County Bar Association Bankruptcy Committee
By: Sophia Dean, Esquire & Joshua Tejes, Esquire
The Bankruptcy Committee held a CLE in
August with Chapter 13 Trustee Laurie Weatherford's office, and we had a record
turnout of over 50 people! We discussed
new case law that now allows non-privity debtors to file a chapter 13
bankruptcy and cram down properties. We
hope this change in the law will bring in new filings to debtors’ attorneys and
the Court.
Click here for more.
Southwest Florida Bankruptcy Professionals Association
Congratulations
to Luis Rivera! The American Bankruptcy Institute has announced that he is a
member of its 2017 40 under 40 Class. The program recognizes new voices and
rising stars in the insolvency industry.
Click here for more.
 Case Law Update
Submitted By:
Bradley M. Saxton & C. Andrew Roy
Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, P.A.
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Eleventh Circuit Cases
In re Narcisi
2017 WL 3168959 (11th Cir. July 26, 2017)
Bankruptcy Court Cases
In
re Southside Church of Christ of Jacksonville, Inc.
2017 WL 2600059 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. June 15, 2017) (Funk, J.)
In
re Thompson
2017 WL 3475011 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. August 11, 2017) (Funk, J.)
In re Oyola
2017 WL 3638430 (Bankr. M.D.
Fla. August 24, 2017) (Williamson, C.J.)
In re Crusaw
Case No. 3:16-bk-3105-JAF (Bankr. M.D. Fla. July 14, 2017) (Funk, J.)
In re Migell
2017 WL 3267697 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. July 6, 2017) (Jennemann, J.)
In re Bhalla
2017 WL 3600396 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. August 18, 2017) (May, J.)
In re Fravala
2017 WL 3447936 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. August 10, 2017) (Glenn, J.)
Click here to read the full update.
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