PLEASE SEE NOT SITTING TAB ABOVE FOR DATES JUDGE THORNE NOT SITTING

See Local Rule 9013-2 Regarding Procedures for Emergency Motions

Judge Thorne's Guidelines for Orders Modifying Stay and Sample Order Language

Other miscellaneous guidelines and things to remember

OBJECTIONS MUST BE FILED 2 DAYS PRIOR TO HEARING (example - any objection to Wednesday hearings must be filed by COB Monday)

1. Routine motions (as defined in Local Rule 9013-9) and other motions to which no objection is expected may be listed as "Will Be Granted Without a Hearing" on the call sheet for the hearing date. ALL PRO SE MATTERS WILL BE CALLED.

2. In addition to routine motions, the following motions may also be listed as "Will Be Granted Without a Hearing" on the call sheet for the hearing date:

A. Motions for relief from the automatic stay, in Chapter 7 and 13 cases, where the motion alleges that stay relief is warranted because the debtor has no equity in the collateral and the debtor intends to surrender the collateral. This procedure does not apply to motions for relief from the stay in Chapter 13 cases where the request for relief is based on something other than the debtor's lack of equity in the property.

Please note: These procedures do not apply to motions for relief from stay in Chapter 11 cases.

3. Effect of listing as "Will Be Granted Without a Hearing":

A . If no party requests that the motion be called, it will be granted without hearing in open court.
B . If a party asks the Courtroom Deputy to call the motion, it will be called.
C . If the motion is called, the court will either grant the motion over the objection or continue it to give the movant an opportunity to be heard.

4. How to check whether a motion "Will Be Granted Without a Hearing":

If a motion is being granted without a hearing, it will be marked "WILL BE GRANTED WITHOUT HEARING UNLESS AN OBJECTING PARTY REQUESTS THAT THE MOTION BE CALLED IN OPEN COURT"; on the Court Calendar by no later than 3:00 p.m. the day before the motion is to be presented. The Court Calendar for Judge Thorne is on the court's web site.

OBJECTIONS MUST BE FILED 2 DAYS PRIOR TO HEARING (example - any objection to Wednesday hearings must be filed by COB Monday)

**DO NOT UPLOAD TO THE DOCKET**

Draft orders to follow (“DOTF”) should be directed to thorne_dotf@ilnb.uscourts.gov  within fourteen (14) days of the hearing on the motion, or such other time as ordered by the court.

When submitting a DOTF via email:

1. All parties who appeared with respect to the matter, including the applicable trustee in the matter whether or not the trustee appeared, must be copied on the email;
2. The subject line of the email must identify the case name(s), case number(s) and related docket number(s) for which the DOTF is submitted;
3. The email must indicate that all parties who appeared with respect to the matter have reviewed and (a) signed off on the order (if the order is an actual Agreed Order, all parties’ signatures must be included), or (b) not signed off on the order in which case it must be indicated what the nature of the disagreement is and whether the parties seek a hearing on the disagreement; and
4. The email must include any exhibits referenced in the DOTF.

Failure to abide by any of the foregoing may result in the order being rejected.

All court hearings before Judge Thorne will take place both in person (in Courtroom 682) and via https://www.zoomgov.com.  All hearings will have the same meeting ID 160 9362 1728 with no password required.  Counsel appearing by video must be in appropriate business attire.  To appear by telephone, call Zoom for Government at 1-669-254-5252 or 1-646-828-7666. Then enter meeting ID.

Zoom technology for hearings are available only to parties and counsel with matters before the court. Members of the public wishing to observe are welcome but must come to the Dirksen Federal Building, Courtroom 682, 219 South Dearborn Street in Chicago, Illinois. Please call our chambers at (312) 706-1805 with any questions or requests.

To participate by Zoom, parties and counsel must change their screen name to first initial and last name, as well as client’s name (unless counsel represents multiple clients in one motion call). To change a Zoom name, click the three dots in the top right of the video tile and choose “rename.”

Once your matter is called, unmute your audio and turn on video. When your matter is called, please state your name and (if counsel) your client’s name.

The court will record the entire call. No other recordings are permitted.

You are required to join the hearing at least fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled hearing time for the first matter on which you intend to appear.

You are required to make your appearance clearly before addressing the court, speak slowly and distinctly, and make every effort not to interrupt others.

It is highly recommended that you use a headset or earbuds with a microphone for this court call.  Using a separate headset microphone instead of a built-in computer microphone reduces distortion, eliminates background noise, and ensures that everything you say will be picked up.
The result will be a more accurate record of the proceeding. 

To ensure the quality of the record, the use of speaker phones, public booths or phones in other public places is prohibited.  All background noise is strictly prohibited.

Parties who appear must keep their audio on “mute” other than to make their appearance and unless and until addressed by the court.  The court will not seek to reconnect parties who have been disconnected.  Parties are encouraged to call back and reconnect to the call.

Parties filing a motion, application or other pleading, including, without limitation, an objection or response thereto, must participate via zoomgov.com.  No telephonic or video appearance will be allowed unless it is made through zoomgov.com.

An amended notice of motion must be filed prior to each hearing for all new matters set to be heard on or after November 7, 2022.  View required notice of motion here.  All matters that do not conform to the amended notice will be stricken.

Pursuant to FRBP 7058, FRCP 58 applies in adversary proceedings. FRCP 58(a) requires that "every judgment and amended judgment must be set out in a separate document." FRCP 58(a) sets forth a list of motions that do not require a separate order from the judgment. That list does not include motions for default judgment. Thus, in order to comply with FRBP 7058 and LBR 9013-1(C)(5) (which requires each motion to have an accompanying proposed order), a motion for default judgment must be accompanied by 2 orders: (a) an order granting the motion for default judgment; and (b) a judgment order.

Motions for default judgment must also be accompanied by: (1) an affidavit establishing the default per FRBP 7055(a); (2) if the complaint is not verified, an affidavit establishing the truth of the allegations in the complaint upon which judgment is sought per FRBP 7055(b)(2)(C); and (3) as applicable, an affidavit establishing compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including an attached Status Report generated in accordance with such Act.

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

1. State the case number of previous cases dismissed within one year of the filing of the present case;
2. Include copies of 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;
3. State in detail the basis for continuing the stay in effect or imposing the stay; and
4. Append a detailed affidavit containing specific facts demonstrating all circumstances including those related to the substantial change in the debtor's financial or personal affairs, to rebut the presumption.

Cases filed under Chapters 7, 11 and 12:
All 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:
All attorneys seeking approval of their fees in Chapter 13 cases must file an application with an itemization of their time in tenths of an hour, unless a flat fee is authorized pursuant to Local Rule 5082-2. A fully executed Court-Approved Retention Agreement (CARA) revised as of 3/15/21 must be attached if applicable.

Requests for reimbursement of the following items of expense pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Section 330(a)(l)(B) will be treated as follows:

1. Reimbursement of costs associated with photocopying shall be limited to 10 cents per page absent proof of actual expense in a greater amount.
2. Any cost related to use of computer for legal research shall be considered overhead included in billing rates absent proof of an actual expense attributable to the particular case in which the request is made. This does not limit requests for compensation for time required of counsel to do the research.

Pursuant to trial order entered and/or discussed in open court.

All trials and evidentiary hearings will be in person in the courtroom. 

All trial exhibits must be uploaded on the docket as instructed in the Pretrial Order.

Each separate exhibit must be uploaded as its own separate pdf.  Multiple exhibits uploaded together as one pdf will be rejected.

Each attorney participating in a trial before Judge Thorne must be a member of the District Court Trial Bar or supervised by an attorney who is a member.

1. The parties are responsible for contacting chambers to schedule the mediation, and must be prepared to communicate to chambers the anticipated length of the mediation.
2. The parties must agree to make a good faith attempt to settle through mediation and are required to have at least one person of decision-making authority in attendance at the mediation with their counsel.
3. At least two (2) business days before the scheduled mediation each party must email thorne_dotf@ilnb.uscourts.gov a position statement not to exceed five pages. Unless the parties agree that the statements are not confidential, the statements will be treated as confidential.  The statement must NOT be FILED and should not be provided to the opposing party.

Beginning March 27, 2024, Judge Thorne will no longer be using in-person court reporters. Instead, Judge Thorne will be using the Electronic Court Recording Operator (ECRO) System.
Transcripts of proceedings conducted by Judge Thorne when Court Reporter was not present may be ordered by contacting:

D&E REPORTING
Dirksen Federal Building
219 S. Dearborn-Rm 661
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 986-1920
email address:
D.and.E.Reporting@gmail.com