GENERAL ORDER 41-1

Pursuant to General Order 41-1, on April 4, 2020, the following temporary filing procedures will become effective until further notice:

Attorney Filings. Attorneys shall continue to file documents with the Court electronically through CM/ECF. These temporary filing procedures do not affect attorney filings and payments.

Drop Boxes Closed. The Clerk’s Office will no longer accept filings and payments through the drop boxes located in the courthouse lobbies. 

Mail Filings. Conventional filers, including filers that are not represented by an attorney and anyone making installment payments, will not be able to submit filings and payments by traveling to the courthouses. Instead, conventional filers may submit filings and payments by U.S. Mail to the following address:

United States Bankruptcy Court
120 West Third Street
Dayton, Ohio 45402

Filings should not be mailed to the Cincinnati or Columbus locations. Filings by alternate delivery services such as Federal Express and UPS are prohibited.

Filing Date of Mail Filings. Filings and payments submitted by U.S. Mail shall be treated as filed on the date that the mailing is postmarked by the United States Postal Service.

Payments by Cash or Personal Check Prohibited. All payments and filing fees must be made by money order or cashier’s check. Payments by cash or personal check are prohibited.

Emergency Filings Requiring Immediate Relief. If the emergency filing of a document is required to obtain immediate relief, the document may be filed by email. Unnecessary delay on the part of the filer does not constitute an emergency. The steps below must be followed to effectuate an emergency filing:

a) Emailing Documents to the Court. Prepare an email message that clearly states the reason for the emergency filing and the deadline that needs to be met. The filer must attach the document to be filed, in PDF format, to an email addressed to the Clerk’s Office at Emergency-Filing@ohsb.uscourts.gov. If the email is successfully delivered, the filer will receive a reply email within four business hours confirming the email has been received.

b) Required Follow Up Procedures. The complete original document with any required fee must be mailed to the Clerk’s Office and postmarked within five business days. The mailing must include a copy of the email confirmation showing the document was submitted via email. It is not the responsibility of the Clerk’s Office staff to make this association.

c) Date and Time Filed. Upon email receipt of the document, the clerk will stamp or notate the following on the document: “This document is deemed filed on _____(date/time) pursuant to the court’s Emergency Filing Procedures.” The document will be deemed filed on the date and time appearing on the email system of the Clerk’s Office. If the original document is not mailed to the Clerk’s Office and postmarked within five business days of the email transmittal, chambers will be notified. Failure to comply with these procedures may result in denial of the relief requested or dismissal of the case.

Bankruptcy Case Numbers. A debtor who files a bankruptcy petition by mail may include a self-addressed envelope and request that the case number assigned to the petition be provided by mail. Alternatively, a debtor may contact the Clerk’s Office for this information by calling any of the following phone numbers. 

FOR THE COURT
Richard Jones
Clerk, United States Bankruptcy Court