Chambers Procedures for Cases Assigned to Judge Barreca

[last updated: 03/03/22]

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Seattle Hearings:  Effective March 12, 2022, Judge Barreca's Seattle hearings are conducted in person. Requests for telephonic appearance may be submitted using the standard procedures outlined below.

Everett Hearings: In Everett, calendars are conducted via ZoomGov. See the Everett tab for specific information.

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The following procedures apply to cases pending before Judge Marc Barreca:

Telephonic Attendance: Appearance at a hearing or other Seattle matter may be made by telephone if approved by the Judge in advance of the hearing. Appearance at a pretrial conference by telephone does not require advance approval. To request a telephonic appearance, counsel should docket a letter via ECF, including an explanation for the request. Unrepresented parties seeking telephonic attendance should contact chambers by telephone no later than five business days prior to the hearing. When a motions calendar is large or because of time constraints, it may not always be possible to permit one or more parties to appear by telephone.

Further, the following matters will almost always require an in-person appearance:

(1) Chapter 11 first day omnibus hearings (debtor's counsel only),
(2) cash collateral and debtor-in-possession financing hearings (debtor's counsel and lender's counsel),
(3) hearings on approval of disclosure statements,
(4) confirmation hearings,
(5) trials,
(6) dispositive motions (including motions to dismiss cases, motions to dismiss adversary proceedings, and summary judgment motions),
(7) fee applications (if opposed), and
(8) any hearing at which live testimony will be elicited.

The Judge will not permit any telephonic appearance that has not been approved in advance of the hearing. Should telephonic appearance be approved, the instructions and guidelines are as follows:

Instructions
(1) Dial: 1-888-363-4749
(2) Enter Access Code: 9365479#
(3) Press the # sign
(4) Enter Security Code when prompted: 8574#
(5) Speak your name when prompted

Guidelines
(1) Use a land line phone and not a cell phone, if possible. Do not use a speaker phone.
(2) Make the call from a quiet area where background noise is minimal.
(3) Wait until the judge calls your case before speaking.
(4) Do not put the phone on hold at any time after the call is connected.
(5) In the event you are unable to connect to the conference call after following the above procedures, please contact chambers at (206) 370-5310.

Pretrial Conferences: Judge Barreca will conduct a pretrial scheduling conference in all adversary proceedings. Pretrial scheduling conferences will take place in the Seattle courtroom or by telephone, as indicated in the summons. A pretrial scheduling order will be issued following the pretrial conference, and will include the trial date(s) and pretrial deadlines. If the parties wish to continue a pretrial scheduling conference they must contact chambers for permission.

Reissuance of Summons in Adversary Proceedings:  Summons must be served within 7 days of the date of issuance.  See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004(e).  Should a summons expire prior to service, a party may request reissuance of the summons by filing a letter on the docket. The party should be mindful of the 90-day limitation imposed by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m), incorporated by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004.  If the 90-day time limit has passed, the party's request for reissuance of the summons should be accompanied by a motion to extend the time for service.

Section 105 Conferences: Judge Barreca will conduct a case management conference under Section 105 of the Bankruptcy Code in some newly filed Chapter 11 cases. If a case management conference is scheduled, counsel for the debtor-in-possession will receive an order via ECF which will include deadlines for filing certain information and notifying creditors.

Calendar Settings: Judge Barreca's available motions calendar dates are posted on the court's website.  Reaffirmation and fee waiver hearings are set by the court. See Local Rule 1072-1.

Confirming Motions and Trials: Judge Barreca requires all contested motions, evidentiary hearings, and trials to be confirmed for argument. Matters are to be confirmed for argument via ECF by filing a "Notice to Court of Intent to Argue," in accordance with the timeframes set forth in the chart found at  Local Rule 9013-1(d)(8). Continued matters must be re-confirmed for argument in the same manner. Matters for which responses are due at a time of hearing should be confirmed for argument at least two days prior to scheduled hearing. Matters not timely confirmed for argument may be stricken by the court. Local Rule 9013-1(b)(5). Unrepresented parties should contact Judge Barreca's courtroom deputy to confirm hearings: Jessica Smith, (206) 370-5310.

Continuing or Striking Motions and Trials:

Motions may generally be continued or stricken by making an appropriate request in ECF. However, motions may not be continued or stricken from the calendar without the agreement of any party who has responded or objected to the motion. By uploading an ECF notice of request for a continuance (or notice of a motion being settled or withdrawn), counsel is representing that the agreement of all participating parties has been obtained. A contested request for a continuance must be made by motion, on shortened time. If the status of a motion changes after it has been confirmed for argument, the party who confirmed the matter is responsible for updating the court as soon as counsel is aware of the change in status. If a motion is continued, it must be reconfirmed for the continued hearing date using ECF.

Evidentiary hearings and trials may not be continued or stricken without court approval. An agreed request for continuance may be made by filing a letter on the docket, and should include: (a) a representation that the continuance is agreed, (b) the date to which the matter is being continued, and (c) proposed revised deadlines. In advance of filing the letter, counsel should contact Judge Barreca Courtroom Deputy, Jessica Smith, at (206) 370-5310 to obtain an available future hearing or trial date(s). A matter will not be continued until the parties definitively agree on a continued date(s). A matter has not been officially continued until a minute entry is made by chambers continuing the matter to a specified date(s). A contested request for a continuance must be made by motion and noted for hearing prior to the trial date.

Once a request for a continuance has been granted, counsel are responsible for agreeing to and preparing an amended scheduling order, which should be submitted to Judge Barreca for signature as a received unsigned order. The amended scheduling order template is available from Jessica Smith. When a matter set for an evidentiary hearing or trial is resolved prior to the court date, counsel should immediately contact chambers by telephone and make an appropriate ECF entry such as "Notice to Court, Agreement Reached."

Required Procedures for Discovery Disputes:
(1)  Mandatory Procedure. Unless excused from complying with these procedures by order of the court for good cause shown, a party must seek to resolve any dispute arising under FRBP 7026-7037 or FRBP 2004 in accordance with the following procedure.

(2)  Required Discovery Conference.  Prior to the filing of any motion relating to discovery, counsel for the parties must meet in person or by telephone in a good faith effort to resolve the discovery dispute. It is the responsibility of counsel for the moving party to arrange the conference. Counsel for the moving party must serve a letter by e-mail or regular mail that requests the conference and outlines the terms of the discovery order to be sought.

(3)  Discovery-related Motion and Required Written Stipulation.  If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute, the moving party must file and serve a notice of motion together with a written stipulation by the parties.

(A)  The stipulation must be contained in one document and must identify, separately and with particularity, each disputed issue that remains to be determined at the hearing and the contentions and points and authorities of each party as to each issue.

(B)  The stipulation may not simply refer the court to the document containing the discovery request forming the basis of the dispute. (For example, if the sufficiency of an answer to an interrogatory is in issue, the stipulation must contain, verbatim, both the interrogatory and the allegedly insufficient answer, followed by each party's contentions, separately stated.)

(C)  In the absence of such stipulation or a declaration of counsel of noncooperation by the opposing party, the court will not consider the discovery motion.

[See Local Rules, W.D. Wash. LCR 26-37 and Local Rules, W.D. Wash. Bankr. LBR 7026-1]

All Uncontested Fee Applications and Final Reports: Applicants who have filed fee applications and final reports to which no party has objected need not appear at the scheduled hearing unless instructed to do so by chambers.

Other Uncontested Matters: Orders in uncontested matters should be submitted via ECF with a declaration of no objection. Local Rule 9013-1(f)(2)). Judge Barreca calls agreed and unopposed matters first on his motions calendars, prior to contested matters, but prefers orders to be submitted electronically.

Shortening Time: A motion to shorten time should be made by separate motion and may be filed ex parte. The movant should simultaneously file (1) the motion to shorten time, (2) a received unsigned order shortening time (using the "Order Upload" docket event), and (3) the underlying substantive motion. The motion to shorten time should include a statement of efforts made to give notice to the opposing party of the movant's intent to bring a motion on shortened time. The received unsigned order shortening time should include (a) the date and time of the hearing on shortened time, (b) the response date, and (c) a deadline for providing notice of the underlying substantive motion to parties in interest. Parties submitting a received unsigned order shortening time should be aware that Judge Barreca will commonly edit the hearing date, response date, notice date, or other items.

Motions for Relief from Stay:  Motions for relief from stay must state a basis for waiving the 14-day stay under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4001(a)(3) (link is external) if such waiver is sought in the order.

Chambers' Copies of Filed Papers:  Judge Barreca does not require compliance with LBR 9013-1(d)(4), except: (a) in any matter for which opposition has been filed, when all pleadings, together with supporting documents, exceed 25 pages in length; (b) Motions for Summary Judgment and any respective supporting and responsive documents; and (c) when chambers make a specific request for copies. Under these circumstances, one copy is sufficient, unless otherwise specified by chambers. Chambers’ copies shall be provided within 5 days before the scheduled hearing. Chambers’ copies shall be clearly indexed in three-ringed binders. Chambers’ copies shall be timely served on chambers or delivered to the appropriate box in the office of the Clerk of Court.

Contacting Chambers: Judge Barreca's chambers can be reached at (206) 370-5310. Please respect the prohibition against ex parte communication (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9003(a)), and avoid communications concerning matters other than procedural or scheduling matters. Emails should not be used to communicate with chambers regarding a case. Communication with a law clerk is deemed to be communication with the Judge.

Chapter 11 Plan Confirmation Hearings and Orders: Evidence sufficient to permit Judge Barreca to make the findings necessary to confirm the plan under Section 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code should be submitted with the preconfirmation report required by Local Rule 3020-1(a). The confirmation order should substantially comply with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3020(c)(1) and the Official Form referred to in that rule.

Request for Sanctions:  Judge Barreca requires that all requests for sanctions be brought by separate motion. The motion should indicate the type of sanctions requested and address all statutory rule or case law requirements for the sanction.