Judge Goldgar

Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar - General Information

Courtroom 642
Chambers: (312) 435-5642
Courtroom Deputy: (312) 435-5531
Information line: (312) 435-6012

Chambers:

Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse
219 South Dearborn Street
Chambers 638
Chicago, IL 60604

Staff:

Nancy Castellano
Courtroom Deputy

Kim Krawczyk
Law Clerk

Brendan Mockler
Law Clerk

Procedures for Cases Assigned to Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar

Chicago
Hearings on Motions:

PLEASE SEE ORIGINAL MOTION/ADVERSARY SCHEDULE FOR DATES JUDGE NOT SITTING

Motions and Confirmation Hearings in Chapter 13 Cases

	Original (New) Motions:	Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m.
	Trustee Motions:	Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m.
	Set Matters:	Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.
	Confirmation Hearings:	Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m.

Motions in Chapter 7 and 11 Cases

	Original (New) Motions:	Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.
	Set Matters:	Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.

Return Dates

	Adversary Proceedings:	Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.
	Involuntary Petitions:	Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.

Noticing Motions for Set Matter Time: If a case or adversary proceeding is already on the set matter call for a particular day, a motion may be noticed for the set matter time on that day to be heard with the set matter. The motion need not be noticed for the original motion time.

Lake County
Hearings on Motions:

JUDGE GOLDGAR HOLDS COURT IN LAKE COUNTY APPROXIMATELY EVERY THIRD FRIDAY. PLEASE SEE ORIGINAL MOTION/ADVERSARY SCHEDULE FOR LAKE COUNTY COURT DATES.

Motions and Confirmation Hearings in Chapter 13 Cases

	Original (New) Motions:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 9:30 a.m.
	Trustee Motions:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 10:00 a.m.
	Set Matters:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 10:30 a.m.
	Confirmation Hearings:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 11:00 a.m.

Motions in Chapter 7 Cases

	Original (New) Motions:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 1:00 p.m.
	Set Matters:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 1:30 p.m.
	Reaffirmations:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 2:00 p.m.

Return Dates

	Adversary Proceedings:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 1:30 p.m.
	Involuntary Petitions:	Fridays (as scheduled) at 1:30 p.m.

Motions in cases where the debtor resides in Lake County are heard in Lake County and must be noticed for an appropriate date and time in Lake County, not in Chicago.

Proceedings in Chicago by Agreement: If all parties agree, adversary proceedings and contested matters in Lake County cases may be transferred and heard in Chicago. Transfer may be raised with the court informally at a status hearing or other court appearance; no formal motion for transfer is necessary.

Trials in Lake County Cases: All trials in Lake County cases are conducted in Chicago. Under no circumstances will matters be tried in Lake County.

Motions Ruled on in Chambers:

Where appropriate, motions will be ruled on in advance in chambers, and the ruling will be listed on the call sheet. (Except in limited circumstances, motions will not be denied in advance.) If a motion has been granted but the order submitted with the motion changed in any respect, the motion will be listed as “Granted as Modified.”

If a motion has been ruled on in advance, the motion will not be called unless a party objects to the ruling and asks the courtroom deputy before the motion call begins to have the motion heard. To see whether a motion has been ruled on in advance in chambers, check the “court calendar” portion of Judge Goldgar’s web page.

Motions for Relief from Automatic Stay:

Motions for relief from the automatic stay must be accompanied by a properly completed Required Statement to Accompany All Motions for Relief From Stay.

Motion to Extend or Impose Automatic Stay:

Motions to extend the automatic stay in effect pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3) or to impose the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(4) must:

(a)	state the docket number of previous cases dismissed within one year of the filing of the current case;
(b)	include copies of the Schedules I and J from previous cases dismissed within one year of the filing of the present case and Schedules I and J from the current case; and
(c)	state in detail the reasons why the stay should either be extended or imposed.

Motions for Approval of Attorneys’ Fees:

Cases filed under Chapters 7, 11 and 12:
Attorneys or other professionals in cases filed under Chapters 7, 11 and 12 seeking approval of their fees must submit an itemization of their time in tenths of an hour and in the format required under Local Rule 5082-1.

Cases filed under Chapter 13:
See Local Rule 5082-2

Discovery Motions:

Strict compliance with Local Rule 7037-1 is required for all discovery motions.

Summary Judgment Motions:

Strict compliance with Local Rules 7056-1 and 7056-2 is required in the briefing of all summary judgment motions.

Emergency Motions:

See General Order 12-01.

Telephonic Participation in Hearings:

Telephonic participation is available for hearings in Chicago under limited circumstances. See Standing Order No. 5.

Telephonic participation is not available for hearings in Lake County.

Courtesy Copies of Motions (copies to be delivered to chambers):

Except for emergency motions, courtesy copies of motions and briefs are unnecessary.

Service of Motions:

In contested matters (as defined in Bankruptcy Rule 9014), service of motions must comply with Rule 7004. Corporations must be served in accordance with Rule 7004(b)(3) by serving an officer, a managing or general agent, or an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process. Service on a corporation at a P.O. Box to which payments are sent is not sufficient.

Oral Argument and Ruling Dates on Contested Motions:

Motions that have been briefed will be taken and decided on the briefs. Oral argument on motions will not be entertained unless specially set by the court or specifically requested for good cause shown. When a briefing schedule is set by counsel, a ruling date will also be set. On the ruling date, the court will either rule orally or will deliver to the parties in court a written ruling.

Pretrial Procedures:

Status Hearings and Discovery: Each adversary proceeding is set for an initial status hearing and for periodic status hearings thereafter. At the initial status hearing, a discovery cutoff will be set. Discovery cutoffs will generally be extended for cause until a final discovery cutoff is set. At the status hearing following the final cutoff and the close of discovery, a trial date will be scheduled.

Final Pretrial Order: The trial date will be set forth in a final pretrial order sent to the parties. The final pretrial order will also contain deadlines for the filing and exchanging of witness lists, exhibit lists, stipulations of fact, and trial briefs, a deadline for the exchange of the exhibits themselves, and a deadline for objections to exhibits. Strict compliance with the final pretrial order is required. Failure to comply with the final pretrial order will result in the imposition of sanctions. See, e.g., Michael v. Khan (In re Khan), 321 B.R. 709, 711 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2005).

Trial Procedures:

Opening statements are discouraged and will be allowed only if specially requested by the court or requested by counsel for good cause shown.