Judge Burton R. Lifland

Staff Information

One Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004-1408
Chambers: (212) 668-5663
Courtroom: 623

Courtroom Deputy: Monica Saenz de Viteri
(212) 284-4049

Law Clerk: Lara Fogel
(212) 284-4052

Law Clerk: Aharon Schorr
(212) 284-4053

Law Clerk: Aaron Slavutin
(212) 284-4054

Law Clerk: Catherine LoTempio
(212) 284-4561

Judge Tabs

Chambers' Rules

Unless otherwise ordered, matters before Judge Lifland shall be conducted in accordance with any Case Management Order entered in the case and, to the extent not inconsistent, the following practices:

Scheduling

Pursuant to Local Rule 5070-1, a moving party or applicant must contact Chambers to obtain a hearing date prior to filing and serving a motion, cross-motion, application or any other request for relief requiring a hearing.
Requests for relief requiring a hearing that are filed without first obtaining a hearing date will not be acted on.
Parties may not grant extensions of time on briefing without prior consent from Chambers.
Adjournments, other than those requested at the hearing, will be granted only if agreed to by all parties or, after consent is sought and denied, as granted by the Court after a request to chambers, copied to the other side, and stating the basis for the request. The moving party must contact the Courtroom Deputy to obtain the adjournment.
Requests for adjournment should be made no later than 12 noon on the business day before the scheduled hearing; requests made after that time will be granted only where good cause exists for the untimely request.
All adjournments must be noticed with the filing and service of a “Notice of Adjournment” prior to the original hearing date. A hearing will not be officially adjourned until the Notice of Adjournment is filed on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) System.

Orders to Show Cause

Parties must contact Chambers prior to filing an order to show cause. (See Local Rule 9077-1(a)). Counsel should be prepared to submit the following documents for the Court’s review: a copy of the underlying motion, proposed order to show cause (in Word or WordPerfect format only) and a supporting affidavit.
If the request for an order to show cause is granted, the papers must be filed on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system. The Court will contact the movant regarding the disposition of the requested order to show cause.

Notices of Presentment

Parties wishing to move by notice of presentment should consult Local Bankruptcy Rules 9074-1 and 2002-2 to determine what matters may be handled on presentment. These rules also describe the notice and filing requirements when presenting a motion or application by presentment. If you have a question regarding whether a matter may be heard on presentment, please contact Chambers.
Motions for relief from stay will not be considered on presentment.
Parties do not need to contact Chambers to schedule a date and time for presentment but do need to contact the Courtroom Deputy for a hearing date in the event there is an objection.
After the applicable objection period has passed, the underlying motion and an electronic version of the proposed order in Word or WordPerfect format should be submitted to Chambers prior to the scheduled date and time for presentment. The cover must contain a representation that (i) the movant sought relief by notice of presentment and (ii) the objection period has passed and no objections were filed.

Submission of Orders

Proposed orders must be submitted with the moving papers in Word or WordPerfect format.
Proposed orders may be submitted either by mail or hand delivery; upon permission from Chambers, under limited circumstances, orders may be submitted via e-mail in Word or WordPerfect format. Exhibits to an Order should be submitted as “.PDF” document. An e-mail address will be provided, once the approval to e-mail has been granted.
- Orders submitted by mail should contain a hard copy of the order, accompanied by a CD Rom or flash drive containing an electronic copy of the order in Word or WordPerfect format.
In addition to the requirement above, any proposed orders submitted after the court has ruled may be submitted by mail, hand delivery or e-mail. If permission to e-mail is granted by chambers, then the e-mail must contain the following information:
- (a) The name, telephone number and email address of the person submitting the order.
- (b) The case name and the ECF document numbers of the relevant motion papers.
- (c) If the relief was granted by the Court, the cover letter must contain a representation that the relief was granted and the date on which it was granted.

2004 Orders

Requests for 2004 orders may be submitted ex parte but the Court in its discretion may require notice and a hearing.

Sealing Orders

Requests for filing and maintaining information under seal may be submitted ex parte and must indicate the grounds for sealing. A party requesting sealing must submit to Chambers both a copy of (a) the relevant pleading in proposed redacted form for filing on the docket and (b) the unredacted form. Every proposed order requesting sealing must provide for the movant to unseal or dispose of the confidential information at the conclusion of the matter. Every proposed sealing order must provide, in substance, that it is without prejudice to the rights of any party in interest, or the UST, to seek to unseal the document or any part of it.

Conferences

Requests for conferences should be made by calling chambers at 212 668 5663.

Form and Content of Briefs

Unless ordered otherwise, briefs and motions with embedded argument and citations shall be submitted in text searchable format and include a table of contents, headings, and a table of authorities.

Copies of Pleadings

Parties must provide a hard copy of every pleading, with exhibits, to chambers at the time of service.

"First Day" Motions

Parties wishing to schedule first day hearings in Chapter 11 cases should contact Chambers on the date of filing to discuss scheduling of the hearing. Two copies of first day motions should be provided to chambers in advance of the hearing.
It is expected that Debtor’s counsel will have consulted with the United States Trustee in advance regarding all relief to be requested at the First Day Hearing.

Evidentiary Hearings and Trials

Written direct examinations or proffers may be used for evidentiary hearings and trials at the direction of the Court, or at the request of the parties unless the Court orders otherwise.
Unless otherwise provided by the Court, the parties shall exchange pre-marked exhibits no less than fourteen days before trial.
Motions in limine must be filed at least fourteen days before trial, with responses due seven days before trial.

Discovery Disputes

Pursuant to Local Rule 7007-1(b), discovery motions may not be filed until the parties have (a) conferred among themselves to resolve the dispute and (b) participated in a conference with the Court. Parties should contact Chambers to schedule a conference.
Prior to any request for a conference on a discovery issue, the party requesting the conference is required to make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute with opposing counsel consistent with Local Rule 7007-1(a).

Telephonic Appearances

Judge Lifland does not permit parties to appear telephonically for any hearings.

Miscellaneous

Questions on all other issues should be directed to Chambers, either to the Courtroom Deputy or the law clerk assigned to the case.

Calendars

Court Calendar

Opinions

Judge Lifland's Opinions

Profile

Burton R. Lifland is the former chief, and currently, Bankruptcy Judge of the Southern District of New York and former Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Second Circuit. At the time of his appointment as a Bankruptcy Judge in 1980 he was a private legal practitioner in New York.

Judge Lifland earned his B.A. degree from Syracuse University in 1951 and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1954.

Prior to his judicial appointment in 1980, he practiced law with the firms of Lifland, Marcus & Angel; Levy, Levy & Ruback; and Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg & Casey.

Judge Lifland is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a contributing author of Chapter 11 Theory and Practice: A Guide to Reorganization, "Practical Prefile Considerations and Commencement of Case." He is a contributing editor of Norton Bankruptcy Law. Judge Lifland is a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. He is also a past member of the Judicial Conference Subcommittee on Bankruptcy Case management and a current member of the American Bar Association’s SABRE (Select Advisory Committee on Business Reorganization) as well as a founding member of the International Insolvency Institute. He has been a lecturer at the Practicing Law Institute, and the American Law Institute/American Bankruptcy Institute and other professional institutions.

Southern District of New York

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Judge Burton R. Lifland

Staff Information

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