MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA – COVID 19
The Judges, the Clerk, the Bankruptcy Administrator and the Chapter 13 Trustee have done an extraordinary job in making certain that the relief and services provided to debtors, creditors and their attorneys continues unabated. Frankly, it is amazing to see how much was done so quickly. So, first and foremost, below you will find links to their respective websites where you will find a wealth of information regarding COVID 19 procedures.
The Bankruptcy Court, the Bankruptcy Clerk:
https://www.almb.uscourts.gov/ (note in particular News and Announcements)
The Bankruptcy Administrator:
http://www.almba.uscourts.gov/
The Chapter 13 Trustee:
https://www.ch13mdal.com/ (note in particular red highlighted information at top of home page
CHAPTER 7 PROCEDURES
The primary change in the conduct of Chapter 7 cases, from the perspective of creditors and debtors, is in the way the Meeting of Creditors are conducted. In a nutshell, they are going to be conducted by conference call that I will host. This will continue AT LEAST through May 31, and very likely beyond. That will be up to our court to determine, and any announcements will be posted on its website. Here are some pertinent points:
· All debtors will receive a notice of their telephonic hearing that will consist of two numbers. The first is (888) 363-4735, and this is the AT&T conference call number. You will then enter an Access Code, Access code: 1182651 followed by the # symbol, and this will admit you to the conference call. I WILL GIVE YOU VERY CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS. JUST MAKE SURE YOU CALL IN A FEW MINUTES BEFORE YOUR SCHEDULED HEARING HOUR, AND PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. And please keep background noise to a minimum (TV, music, dogs, roosters, etc).
· -Your attorney will forward to me a copy of your photo ID before the hearing. I will ask you to read me the last three digits off your ID number so that I can verify it matches what I have on file.
· -I will also ask you to confirm your address.
· - You will be placed under oath, the same as if we were in the courthouse.
· - I must record the hearing, and use a small recorder sitting beside my speaker phone. So please speak clearly.
· -After a few opening remarks, and before I start calling cases, I will place all lines on MUTE. You will hear me, but no one will hear your line. When I call your case, I will ask you to UNMUTE your line by simply pressing 6#. When we are finished, you can hang up. While your line is UNMUTED, it is most helpful if you try to minimize all background noise.
CELL PHONES
If you are calling in on a cell phone, on both the iphone and Android devices you will see a microphone with a line through it. That is your mute button. Press it to mute your line, press again to unmute. Here is a link to more detailed instructions (with pictures) you will find on the Bankruptcy Court’s (Middle District of Alabama) web site: https://www.almb.uscourts.gov/sites/almb/files/Mute_Phone_Procedure.pdf.
But here it is copied and pasted, with full attribution to the great folks in the IT department for Bankruptcy Middle District:
Your mute button on an Android phone’s call screen. Press to mute, press again to unmute.
Your mute button on an iphone’s call screen. Press to mute, press again to unmute
If we all just focus on the job at hand, you will find that this process works pretty well, and, helps us all in the fight to control the Coronavirus and to keep the business of the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Alabama moving forward. Thanks very much for doing your part!