At its March 9, 2021 meeting, the Local Rules Committee endorsed: (1) the addition of a new Local Rule 3002.1-1 Notices of Mortgage Payments Change—Home Equity Line of Credit (“HELOC”); (2) the amendment to Local Rule 7016-1 Pretrial Procedures and an accompanying new Form 5; and (3) the amendment to Local Rule 7026-1 and an accompanying new Form 4.
In 2018, Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002.1(b)(1) was amended to authorize courts to modify their requirements for claims arising from HELOCs. Currently, in a Chapter 13 case, Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002.1(b)(1) mandates the filing of a notice of payment change at least 21 days prior to any change in the monthly payment. By their nature, HELOC payments vary each month, requiring the filing of a notice of payment change each instance. This new Local Rule 3002.1-1 would eliminate the need for a HELOC creditor to file a notice of payment change except in enumerated circumstances.
Amendment to Local Rule 7026-1 and New Form 4
The changes to Local Rule 7026-1 require the parties to utilize the new “Form 4 Discovery Plan” to report the results of their Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) discovery conference to the Court.
Amendment to Local Rule 7016-1 and New Form 5
The changes to Local Rule 7016-1 and the accompanying “Form 5 Pretrial Scheduling Order” provide a new form of scheduling order. Form 5 would replace the “Pretrial Order Form” on the Court’s website. With this proposed change, parties will only file a proposed scheduling order if directed by the Court during the initial pretrial conference; otherwise, the Court itself will issue the scheduling order after considering the parties’ report on their Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) discovery conference.