I. COURT LOCATIONS AND PHONE NUMBERS

The District of Oregon Bankruptcy Court has offices in the following two locations, and they are both open from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. every Monday through Friday except for federal holidays:

PORTLAND OFFICE
1001 SW 5th Ave #700
Portland, OR 97204
All Access: From the 7th Floor
Phone Numbers:Main: (503) 326-1500

EUGENE OFFICE
405 E 8th Ave #2600
Eugene, OR 97401
All Access: From the 2nd Floor
Phone Numbers:Main: (541) 431-4000

Bankruptcy case and adversary proceeding files are public records and available for viewing in the Clerk’s Office until 4:15 pm in either Portland or Eugene, depending on where the case was filed. If the debtor resides in Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion or Polk counties, filings must be made in the Eugene office. If the debtor’s address is in any other county, filings must be made in the Portland office. NOTE: Eugene cases are designated by either a "6", "7", or "8" as the first digit of the five digit portion of the case number. Portland cases are designated by either a "3", "4", or "5" as the first digit of the five digit portion of the case number.

II. ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO CASE AND COURT INFORMATION

The court provides real-time access to electronic case records via PACER services over the internet. You may access at PACER: http s://ecf.orb.uscourts.gov. There is a slight fee charged for access to each page viewed or printed, but with a maximum fee per document.

Please refer to the opening page of the court's PACER site for important information regarding the site. It also provides a valuable link to the court's free web site containing other extensive and frequently updated general court information at: www.o rb.uscourts.gov

If you've ever had a PACER account, it remains active for your use. The access fees are charged to your account.

If you don't presently have an account, or have questions such as regarding fees or access to the federal courts' PACER services (including other court's PACER sites and/or the US Party/Case Index system), contact the PACER Service Center at 1-800-676-6856 or at htt p://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov.

VCIS is a free service that requires a touch-tone telephone. It is updated every 2 hours and provides basic case information. To connect, dial 503-326-2249 within the Portland area or toll free at 1-800-726-2227.

VCIS uses a computer-generated synthesized voice device to automatically read case information in the court's database such as the case number, chapter, date the case was filed, debtor's name (and, if applicable, names of principal adversaries), debtor's attorney's name, trustee's name, judge’s name, date and location of the 341(a) meeting of creditors, any claims filing bar date, case status, and any discharge and/or closing dates of the case. See below if you need further instruction on how to use VCIS.

1. Dial 503-326-2249 within the Portland area, or toll free at 1-800-726-2227.

2. Press in either the name of a case participant, or a case # (without the leading "3" or "6"), or the debtor’s complete nine (9) digit Social Security Number or Tax ID Number. Enter names by pressing the keys on your telephone that correspond to the letters in the name. Use the number 1 key for the letters "Q" and "Z", and skip any characters that are not letters, such as spaces, apostrophes and hyphens.

a. For an individual, enter the surname, given name, then the # sign key. For example, to enter the name "Joe O'Riley", you would press the following keys:

b. For a company, enter the company name, then the # sign key. Leave off suffixes such as "Inc." or "Corp.". For example, to enter the name "Joe's Subs, Inc.", you would press the following keys:

3. The system will read you information about the case. You will also be given a chance to have names spelled out. If more than one case matches, information on each case will normally be read.

VIA THE INTERNET

Documents filed on and after 11/10/03 are stored electronically on the court’s computer system (ECF). These documents may be accessed via the Internet using the PACER system for $.08 per page to a maximum of $2.40 per document.

VISIT THE CLERK’S OFFICE

General - A $26.00 search fee applies if a deputy clerk has to locate the document. If a deputy clerk makes the copies, the copy cost is $.50 per page with no maximum per document. There is a copy machine located in the Portland Office that can be used to make copies of paper documents but only ones filed in that office, at a per page cost of $.15. The vendor removed the Eugene office copier due to lack of use.

Documents Filed On and after 11/10/03 - Copies may be obtained from a public terminal in either Clerk’s Office location at the cost of $.10 per printed page, but with no maximum fee per document.

Documents Filed prior to 11/10/03 - Documents in cases that are still open and were filed prior to 11/10/03 are only available in paper and only at the Clerk’s Office location where the case was filed.

Closed cases filed prior to 11/10/03 are only kept in the Clerk’s Office location where the case was filed for a limited amount of time (generally no longer than 2 years from the case filing date) due to a lack of storage space. They are then sent to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Seattle, Washington. See below for details about how to obtain copies in closed case files that are at NARA.

VIA THE MAIL

You must mail any written request to the Clerk’s Office location where the case was filed. For a Portland case (where the first number of the four or five digit portion of the case number is either “3" or“4" ), mail to 1001 SW 5th #700, Portland OR 97204. For a Eugene case (where the first number of the four or five digit portion of the case number is either “6"or “7), mail to 405 E 8th Ave #2600, Eugene OR 97401. Each written request must contain the debtor(s) name, case number, and precisely which documents are to be copied. In addition, you must include your name, address and daytime telephone number along with an appropriately sized self-addressed, stamped envelope. Finally, you must also include $26.00 per document along with a copy fee of $.50 cents per page copied. All fees must be submitted in the form of either a bank cashier’s check, a money order or a personal check made payable to: Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court. If you do not know how many pages there are, you may send a “Not to Exceed” check with the amount lines left blank. Below the line for writing out the dollar amount, write “Not to Exceed $(enter estimated amount here)”. In addition to the search fee we suggest an amount of at least $35.00, although $65.00 is more appropriate for larger cases.

CERTIFIED COPIES

Certified copies of documents filed prior to 11/10/03 are only available at the Clerk’s Office location where the case was filed. Certified copies of documents filed on and after 11/10/03 may be obtained from either office. You must pay a $9.00 certification fee per document, and you must also comply with all of the appropriate requirements and pay all of the fees detailed above in either the “visit the clark's office” section or the “copies by mail” section , whichever applies).

DOCUMENTS IN CLOSED CASES BEING STORED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES & RECORDS ADMINISTRATION(NARA)

If a case you are interested in was filed prior to 11/10/03 and was closed and sent to NARA, there are several options available to you. All of the options require you to contact the Clerk’s Office where the case was filed either by phone or mail to get the information as to the Accession Number, Location Number and Box Number which are necessary to enable the archives to locate the file. When contacting the Clerk’s Office to request this service, you must give your name, phone number and address as well as the debtor’s name and case number.

The proper Clerk’s office to contact is either in Portland (where the 4 or 5 digit portion of the case number begins with either “3" or “4" - Phone: (503)326-1500 and press “O” for the operator), or in Eugene (where the 4 or 5 digit portion of the case number begins with either “6" or “7" - Phone: (541)431-4000 and press “O” for the operator).

Copies via mail or fax from NARA- You can request copies of paper documents by mail or fax directly from NARA. To do this you must first request that the Clerk’s Office send you a form which gives you the information necessary for NARA to locate the case file and gives details of the options available with this service. Costs are included on the forms and vary depending on what you want copied.

Visit NARA- You can view the file and obtain copies in person at the NARA office in Seattle. You must first request that the Clerk’s Office send you a form which gives the location information necessary for NARA to find the file and gives you directions for finding the NARA office plus other useful information.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 USC § 1681c], both the credit reporting agency and the creditor are required to correct inaccurate or incomplete information on a credit report. The credit bureau will reverify the item in question with the creditor at no cost to the consumer. The credit reporting industry has a policy that requires a creditor to respond to a reinvestigation within 30 days. After the reinvestigation is complete, the credit reporting agency will notify the consumer of the outcome. If information in the report has been changed or deleted, the consumer will receive a copy of the revised report. For additional information on credit report disputes click on the credit repoting agencies below.

Some of these agencies are:

The Federal Trade Commission has a number of educational publications on its web site to help consumers address credit and financial issues.

The "automatic stay" provided by 11 U.S.C. §362 in most circumstances stops the commencement or continuation of most actions or proceedings that a creditor might take or be in the process of taking to collect money or property from the debtor. In some circumstances, however, if a debtor has had a prior case or cases dismissed within one year prior to the filing of the new case, the stay may not go into effect, or may be effective for only a short period of time, such as 30 days, unless the debtor takes action to reimpose or continue the stay. A creditor wishing to proceed with action against the debtor or the debtor's property in a case in which the stay is in effect must get permission from the court by obtaining relief from the automatic stay or face a potential claim for damages, including costs and attorney's fees, and, in appropriate circumstances, punitive damages. Creditors who are uncertain of their rights, or unsure if the automatic stay applies to them, should seek legal advice.

While the information presented above is as accurate as possible as of the date of publication, it should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority. It is highly recommended that legal advice be obtained from a bankruptcy attorney or legal association. For filing requirements, please refer to the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11, United States Code), and the Local Rules for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon.

A bankruptcy “estate” is defined in Title 11 of the United States Code § 541. It is a very broad definition and includes all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property, wherever located, as of the commencement of the case. It also includes any property in which the debtor has an ownership interest that is recovered by the trustee if it was merely out of the possession of the debtor. In certain circumstances, property acquired by the debtor within 180 days after the filing of the case may also be considered part of the bankruptcy “estate”.

An attorney should be consulted if there is any question as to whether specific property will be included in the bankruptcy “estate” and the exemptions available to the debtor which may exclude certain property.

The trustee in a bankruptcy case is the representative of the estate.

In chapter 12 or 13 cases, the appointed trustee receives the payments from the debtor and disburses those funds to the debtor’s creditors according to the debtor’s plan which has been approved by the court.

In a chapter 7 case, the appointed trustee examines the debtor at the First Meeting of Creditors in an effort to locate and take charge of the debtor’s nonexempt assets, if there are any. The trustee will then take whatever steps are necessary to reduce those assets to cash. Since there generally is not enough money to pay all the creditors in full, the trustee, under the supervision of the office of the US Trustee, disburses the funds according to the priorities set out in 11 USC §507.

To be eligible to serve as a trustee, the individual or corporation must be competent to perform the duties of trustee and, in chapter 7, 12, or 13, must reside or have an office in the judicial district or adjacent to the district in which the case is pending. The trustee must also maintain an insurance bond which guarantees faithful performance of the trustee’s official duties.

Promptly after a case is filed with the court, the United States Trustee appoints a disinterested person who is a member of the panel of trustees established pursuant to 28 USC §586.

The compensation of a trustee is set by statute [11 USC § 326].

The Office of the U.S. Trustee (often referred to as the UST) is an Executive Branch agency that is part of the Department of Justice. Its function is to oversee the administration of bankruptcy cases. The U.S. Trustee establishes and supervises a panel of private trustees in chapter 7 cases, appoints standing trustees in chapter 12 and 13 cases, and appoints case trustees in chapter 11 cases. The U.S. Trustee monitors the administration of chapter 11 cases by, among other things, reviewing disclosure statements and plans of reorganization, and monitoring post-confirmation plan performance. The U.S. Trustee also monitors bankruptcy cases for possible fraud which may be reported to the United States Attorney for investigation and prosecution.

If you wish additional information regarding either the trustee program in general or individual trustees, you should contact the Office of the U.S. Trustee at:

For cases filed in Portland: 620 SW Main St Rm 213, Portland OR 97205 (503) 326-4000

For cases filed in Eugene: 405 E 8th Ave #1100, Eugene OR 97401- 2706 (541) 465-6331

You may also visit their web page by clicking here for Eugene or clicking here for Portland.

Copies of the Local Bankruptcy Rules for the District of Oregon can be downloaded from this Web Site in PDF Format, or obtained from the Clerk’s office.