How to File an Adversary Proceeding or Notice of Removal Opening

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

How to File an Adversary Proceeding or Notice of Removal

Opening an Adversary proceeding involves entering the necessary information

regarding the plaintiff, defendant, and basic statistical data. The complaint is

incorporated into this process and will not need to be docketed separately.

Prepare the complaint (or notice of removal if the case is being removed to

federal court) in PDF format before you begin the process of opening the adversary

proceeding. The Adversary Proceeding Cover Sheet can be filed as part of the petition

as one PDF document, as an attachment to the petition or separately as an individual

PDF document.

Note: Before beginning, you must carefully make note of the case number

of the main bankruptcy case with which this adversary proceeding

will be associated.

Step 1

Click Adversary on the Main Menu Bar.

Step 2 Select the Open Adversary/Complaint Category (Miscellaneous

Proceeding, such as an ancillary proceeding cannot be opened by

attorneys at this time and must be filed conventionally with the court.)

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Step 3 The OPEN ADVERSARY CASE screen appears. The Case Data is

entered on this screen. .

1. The Case Type is ap for adversary proceeding.

2. The Date Filed box cannot be changed and should

display the current date.

3. The Complaint field signifies the lead event for this

proceeding. If you are filing something other than a

complaint such as a Notice of Removal, change the y to n.

4. Click Next to continue.

Step 4 Enter the main bankruptcy case number in the Lead case number field

including hyphens.

Note: If the case number is invalid, it will state Cannot find Case

YY-NNNNN you will not be able to proceed with the case opening

process. Once you put in the correct case number you will be able

to proceed.

1. Select the Association type in the drop down box. It

should always be Adversary. A linkage between the two

cases will be created. (Other associations are Consolidated,

Jointly Administrated, and Related.)

2. Before clicking Next, double check that you have entered

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

the correct number.

3. Click Next to continue.

Step 5 The CASE ASSIGNMENT screen displays. Case Assignment is based on

the lead Bankruptcy case. Click Next to continue.

Step 6 The Search for a Plaintiff screen appears.

1. Enter the last name of the party to be searched. If this is

a business filing, enter the first word of the name to search

the database. The entire business name is stored in the

Last/Business name field. The field is 200 characters.

Search Hints:

$Enter one field or data for each search

$Format Social Security or Tax Id Numbers with hyphens

$Include punctuation (Garcia-Carrera)

$Try alternate search clues if your first search is not successful.

$Partial names may be entered.

$Wild cards (*) should not be used especially by itself. ALL records in the database will

be searched and unnecessary system resources will be used.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Step 7 The SEARCH RESULTS screen appears.

Note: If the designated party was already in the database, the Party

Search Results screen would provide a listing of parties matching

your search criteria. In that situation, you would select the party by

highlighting the name with your mouse and click on the Select

Name From List button.

• The name search may find more than one record

having the same name. Clicking on each name will

display a window showing the party’s address information

for verification.

• If none of the parties displayed match the party you

are looking for, click on the Create new party button to

add a new person record with the correct address.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Step 8 Once the party has been found or has been entered in the system, the

PARTY INFORMATION screen appears. Whether you add a party from a

master record or create a new party record, complete the party

Information.

Note: It is essential that you select the correct Role in Bankruptcy

Case from the drop down menu (Creditor, Debtor, Other/Not

Applicable, Trustee, U.S. Trustee/Bankruptcy Administrator).

• Always add the plaintiff first.

• The Party Text field is used for further party

description, such as a Massachusetts Corporation, or

Trustee for the Estate of .... or Chapter 7 Trustee.

Whatever is entered in the Party Text field will appear

in the Title of the adversary proceeding.

• You will automatically be added as the attorney for

the Plaintiff. You may add an additional attorney for

the plaintiff by clicking on Add additional attorney. If

so, click “Add additional attorney” and follow the steps

below.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Step 9 The PARTY SEARCH screen appears again. If there are no other

plaintiffs to enter, click on End Plaintiff Selection.

Step 10 The Search for a defendant screen appears. Follow steps 6 and 7 to

find a defendant. Enter a search clue to bring up records related to the

defendant’s name. Highlight the matching name retrieved from the

database and verify that you have found the correct party before you

select them. Selecting the party will open the PARTY INFORMATION

screen.

1. You must select the correct Role in Bankruptcy Case from the

drop down menu (Creditor, Debtor, Other/Not Applicable,

Trustee, U.S. Trustee/Bankruptcy Administrator) and click

Submit.

2. The PARTY SEARCH screen will reappear. If there are more

than one defendant, repeat the process of searching and adding

defendants until they are all entered.

3. Click the End Defendant Selection button when there are no

more parties to add.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Note: When adding a defendant you must add an address for that

defendant. Do not add an attorney for the defendant. The attorney

for the defendant will be added when the defendant files its first

responsive pleading in the adversary case.

Step 11 The ADVERSARY STATISTICAL screen appears. Please complete the

required information by reviewing and selecting the appropriate option in

each drop down box.

1. The Party code field has three choices (click the down arrow) to

indicate whether the United States is a party and if so, whether it is

a plaintiff or a defendant. Unless the U.S. is a plaintiff or defendant,

accept the default US is not a Party.

2. The Nature of Suit (NOS) field includes a list of types of claims

for relief. Choose the primary claim for relief and highlight any

additional choices under the Secondary Nature of Suit box. You

may select up to 5 Nature of Suits.

IMPORTANT NOTE

IF THE COMPLAINT ALLEGES MULTIPLE CLAIMS FOR

RELIEF AND IF ONE IS A SECTION 727 OBJECTION TO

DISCHARGE, ALWAYS SELECT “41 (OBJ/REVOCATION

DISCHARGE 727) AS THE PRIMARY NATURE OF SUIT”

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

3. The default in the Rule 23 (Class Action) box is “n”. Change

the default to “y” only if this is a Class Action suit.

4. Select the appropriate response in the Jury demand box (Both,

Defendant, None Plaintiff).

5. If the complaint seeks a money judgment, complete the

Demand ($000) field. Type in the amount in thousands, e.g., to

indicate a demand of $100,000, type “100" into the Demand field. If

the demand for a money judgment is for less than $1,000, type in

“1.” If the complaint does not seek a money judgment, leave the

field blank.

6. If State Law applies changes the default to y.

7. Double check the information provided, and then click on Next

and continue.

Step 12 If the filing fee is exempt for any of the three reasons, change the n to y

and click Next.

Step 13 If the filing fee is deferred because Plaintiff is a Trustee or Debtor in

Possession, change the n to y and click Next.

Note: You must file the Motion to Defer Filing Fee after you open the

Adversary Proceeding.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Step 14 The BROWSE FOR PDF DOCUMENT screen appears. Retrieve the PDF

document which should consist of the Adversary Cover Sheet and the

Complaint.

1. To associate the imaged document with this entry, select the

PDF filename of the complaint you are filing.

2. Click Browse, then navigate to the directory where the

appropriate PDF file is located and select it with your mouse.

3. Make certain it is the correct document by right clicking the

filename with your mouse and select Open.

4. This will launch Adobe Acrobat Reader displaying the contents

of the imaged document. Verify that the document is correct then

close the Adobe application.

5. If the file was the correct document, click Open on the File

Upload dialogue box.

Note: Select “yes” if there are attachments to be added to this

document.

6. Click Next to continue.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

Step 15 The FINANCIAL screen appears.

Step 16 Proofread your entry and click Next.

Step 17 The FINAL TEXT screen appears. Verify the accuracy of the docket text.

The information displayed here is what will print on the docket

Step 18 Final Text. Proofread this screen carefully and click Next.

Note: This is your final opportunity to review the docket text and make

any corrections necessary. Click the browser Back button at the

top of the screen to return to the needed screen to make

corrections or click on Adversary and start over.

ECF Manual Section 4.1

Filing an Adversary Proceeding

When an adversary proceeding is opened, the complaint

information will spread over to the main bankruptcy case. Please

make sure your information is correct on this screen.

Clicking Next commits the transaction to the database and can no

longer be modified by you.

Step 19 The Notice of Electronic Filing screen displays. This Notice of

Electronic Filing screen verifies the filing has been sent

electronically to the court’s database.