Local Rule 1015: Joint Administration and Affiliated Debtor Cases

L.R. 1015 – Joint Administration and Affiliated Debtor Cases. The debtor or a party in interest may request by motion that cases in this Court regarding a debtor and its affiliate(s) be jointly administered. A motion for joint administration shall be filed as early in the case as possible. Unnecessary delay may result in the Court's denial of the motion for joint administration. Such a motion shall be served on all creditors, the Trustee (if any), the Trustee's attorney, and any examiner in the case. The motion for joint administration shall be filed in the case requested to be designated as the lead case. Joint administration of a debtor and its affiliates, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, shall not be a substantive consolidation of the cases.

A. Designation of Lead Case. Unless otherwise stated in the order granting joint administration, when multiple affiliated cases are filed, the first case filed (i.e., the case having the lowest case number) shall be designated as the lead case.

B. Docket. A single case docket and case file shall be maintained in the lead case after entry of the order for joint administration.

C. Style of Court Documents. Pleadings and other documents filed after entry of the order for joint administration shall be styled with the caption of the lead case, shall include the affiliated debtors from the jointly administered cases, and shall set forth the bankruptcy docket number of the lead case. Such documents shall be filed in the lead case only.

D. Claims. A separate claims register shall be maintained for each affiliated case. A proof of claim shall specifically state the name and case number of the debtor against which the claim is asserted. If claims are asserted against more than one of the affiliated debtors in a jointly administered case, a separate original proof of claim shall be filed in each case.