INTRODUCTION

Executive Summary

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California met the year’s unprecedented challenges with innovative management and administration. Highlights include:

  • Peter H. Carroll assumed the post of Chief Bankruptcy Judge on January 3. Judge Carroll, the sixth Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District, has served as a bankruptcy judge since 2002. Judge Carroll will serve as Chief Judge through 2014.
  • The Court welcomed six new judges in 2011. Judges Mark S. Wallace and Scott C. Clarkson were sworn in on January 20 to serve as bankruptcy judges in the Santa Ana Division. Judge Wayne Johnson was sworn in on February 28 to serve in the Riverside Division. Judge Sandra R. Klein, sworn in on April 22, and Judges Julia W. Brand and Neil W. Bason, sworn in on October 24, maintain chambers in Los Angeles.
  • Judges Geraldine Mund and Kathleen H. Thompson, assigned to the San Fernando Valley Division, retired in early 2011 and were appointed to recalled judge status. The district welcomed the additional assistance of recalled Judges William V. Altenberger and Gregg W. Zive, and that of Judge Charles E. Rendlen, III, who serves the Court on a temporary inter-circuit assignment from the Eighth Circuit.
  • For the fourth consecutive year, the Central District led the nation in total bankruptcy filings. The Court received 134,709 filings, the second most in the Court’s history, surpassed only by 2010 (142,789). Bankruptcy filings in the Central District of California accounted for nearly 10 percent of the nation’s filings.
  • The Central District led the nation in both the number and percentage of pro se cases. During 2011, of the 134,709 bankruptcy cases filed in the district, 39,014 (29 percent) were filed by self-represented debtors. With the opening of the Joint Federal Pro Se Clinic in Riverside in November, all five divisions now have onsite legal aid clinics for pro se litigants.
  • California Central was selected as one of three bankruptcy courts in the nation to participate in the Pro Se Pathfinder, a project to develop an electronic filing module for self-represented debtors. Judge Maureen A. Tighe was appointed to the Pathfinder project team. The Court is engaging in a collaborative effort with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the bankruptcy courts in New Mexico and New Jersey to develop a web-based application that will permit self-represented debtors to prepare and submit a bankruptcy petition electronically.
  • The Court continued its aggressive efforts to discharge and close cases, closing 146,345 cases in 2011. This past year, the Clerk’s Office paid out $6.73 million in trustee payments, breaking the previous year’s post-BAPCPA record.
  • The Court approved a number of new and revised Local Bankruptcy Rules (LBR) forms that became effective during 2011. Thirty-nine forms were released on the Court’s new biannual timetable, which calls for releases in June and December.
  • In January, the Clerk’s Office formed the Operations Support Team, a select group of deputy clerks who specialize in handling high-volume processes for district-wide operations tasks. The effort has resulted in greater consistency of work processes across divisions and greater efficiency.
  • Throughout 2011, the Court’s newly expanded Staff Development team launched a number of key training and development initiatives, among them the Performance Management Program, the Paths to Success Leadership Program, and the Gateway Leadership Program.
  • Starting in April, the Court partnered with the bar to present “Raising the Bar on Bankruptcy,” a year-long training initiative designed to educate Court staff about bankruptcy from a practitioner’s perspective.
  • In 2011, the Court undertook efforts to expand public outreach by making use of social media to disseminate information. The Court’s Twitter account provides real-time news updates, while the YouTube channel offers educational videos about bankruptcy.
  • As a result of strong collaboration among chambers, clerks, and staff to streamline Court procedures, the Central District achieved the lowest Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) costs per bankruptcy case nationwide, saving the judiciary more than $2 million in 2011.
  • In 2011, the Clerk’s Office implemented a new mobile version of the Court’s Lodged Order Upload (LOU) software, and developed enhanced monitoring capability for processing orders. As a result of these initiatives, the Central District reduced its processing time for orders more than 30 percent.