Honorable Vincent F. Papalia

United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey

Zoom Link for Remote Hearings (TBA)

Please be advised that starting May 1, 2025, Court Solutions will no longer be utilized for any hearing scheduled before Judge Vincent F. Papalia but instead will transition to Zoom. While in-person appearances for contested matters are preferred, any party wishing to appear remotely may do so by clicking on the Zoom link below or use a telephone to dial-in using the dial-in information provided below.

(A standing Zoom Meeting ID will be provided shortly prior to May1, 2025)

Staff Information

Juan Filgueiras | Courtroom Deputy - (973) 645-3262

Mariela Primo | Court Reporter - (973) 776-3457

Christy McDonald | Career Law Clerk - (973) 368-1246

Sydney Chapman | Term Law Clerk - (973) 645-3321

50 Walnut Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Courtroom 3B

Chambers e-mail: chambers_of_vfp@njb.uscourts.gov

Judge Tabs

Communication

Judge Papalia's staff may be contacted by telephone, email (chambers_of_vfp@njb.uscourts.gov) or regular mail. For emergent applications, parties should notify Chambers by email. Parties should be guided by D.N.J. LBR 5071-1 regarding adjournment requests.

IN-PERSON/TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES: Effective March 28, 2022, Judge Papalia will be returning to in-person hearings, with the option for any party to request to appear telephonically through CourtSolutions in lieu of in-person participation. Please note: This change does not apply to appearances in Chapter 13 cases, which shall proceed as set forth in the following paragraphs.

APPEARANCES IN CHAPTER 13 CASES: In Chapter 13 cases, parties may continue to appear telephonically through Zoom begining May 1, 2025; however, any person who wishes to appear in person may request to do so on notice to the Chapter 13 Trustee sent to the Court and the Chapter 13 Trustee no later than two (2) business days prior to the scheduled hearing. The Calendar Call for all Chapter 13 matters (both Confirmations and Motions) begins at 10 a.m. All parties should log in at least 5 minutes before the Calendar Call. Please also note that the Court’s Docket may reflect the Confirmation Hearing time as 8:30 a.m. However, this time is stated only for calendar control purposes. The Confirmation Calendar will actually begin at 10 a.m. along with the Motion Calendar.

For health safety requirements for entering the Courthouse, please be guided by the Court’s General Order regarding Court Operations and Procedures during COVID 19, which is available on the Court's website, http://www.njb.uscourts.gov and must be reviewed sufficiently prior to the scheduled hearing to ensure that the person(s) entering the courthouse are in compliance with those requirements before seeking entry. Those not in compliance will not be permitted to enter the courthouse and must make arrangements to appear by Zoom.

Copies of Papers

NEW PROCEDURE: In addition to mandatory e‑filing, Judge Papalia requests courtesy copies of all papers with voluminous exhibits (in excess of 5 exhibits or 50 pages) be provided in a binder with tabs and delivered to Chambers within two (2) business days of their filing, unless sooner action is required.

This requirement does not apply to stay relief motions in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 cases, unless the parties are otherwise advised by the Court.

Motions

Motions:

Parties should be guided by D.N.J. LBR 9013-1 through 9013-5 regarding the filing of motions, responsive papers, and cross-motions.

Chapter 7 and 11: Motions in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 cases are scheduled on Tuesdays. Appearances are required on contested motions, while uncontested matters are decided on the papers.

Chapter 13: Motions and confirmation hearings in Chapter 13 cases are scheduled on Chapter 13 days (the first and third Thursdays of each month).

First Day Motions in Complex Chapter 11 Cases: The parties should notify Chambers regarding the filing and scheduling of all first day matters. Parties should also be guided by D.N.J. LBR 9013-5.

Proposed orders should be submitted in accordance with D.N.J. LBR 7058-1, 9013-1, 9013-4, and 9021-1.

Discovery Disputes: Judge Papalia prefers to resolve most discovery disputes without the filing of a formal motion. In most cases, the parties seeking relief should contact chambers to request permission to file a short letter (2-3 pages) outlining the issue(s). If granted, the opposing party may respond with a similar length letter and the Court will schedule a hearing (usually telephonic) to address the issue(s). The parties must state that they made a good faith effort to resolve the dispute prior to bringing it to the Court’s attention. Parties should also be guided by D.N.J. LBR 7037-1.

Telephonic appearances: Judge Papalia is amenable to telephonic appearances in accordance with the policy stated on the Court's website:www.njb.uscourts.gov. Upon approval from the chambers of Judge Papalia, counsel may appear telephonically by arranging a telephone appearance through CourtSolutions, by going to http://www.Court-Solutions.com or calling (917) 746-7476 no later than 3:00 p.m. the court day prior to the hearing date.

For additional calendar information, see www.njb.uscourts.gov

Trial

Trial:

Pretrial Procedures: Parties should be guided by D.N.J. LBR 7016-1.

Pursuant to D.N.J. LBR 9019-1 and 9019-2, all adversary proceedings are presumptively referred to mediation.

Pursuant to D.N.J. LBR 7016-1(b), if the parties submit Local Form Joint Order Scheduling Pretrial Proceedings and Trial and Local Form Mediation Order not later than three days before the scheduled pretrial conference, they do not need to appear at the pretrial conference.

Requests to Enter Default and Default Judgment: Parties should be guided by D.N.J. LBR 7055-1. Judge Papalia reviews the adversary complaint with respect to which default judgment is requested and will schedule a proof hearing where necessary.

Fee Applications

Fee Applications:

Counsel should be guided by D.N.J. LBR 2016-1 through 2016-5.

Reaffirmation Agreements

Reaffirmation Agreement:

Parties should be guided by 11 U.S.C. § 524 and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4008.

Leases: Judge Papalia does not approve reaffirmation agreements on leases. The parties may enter into a lease assumption agreement without need for Court approval.

Transcripts

Transcripts:

How to Request a Written Transcript of a Court Hearing:

Contact the appropriate transcription service per below.

Judge	Transcription Service	Phone	Email
Judge Papalia	J&J Court Transcribers	609-586-2311	jjcourt@jjcourt.com

Click here for the Court’s transcription fees.

How to Request an Audio Reproduction of a Proceeding on Compact Disc:

To request audio of a hearing on compact disc, the requesting party should send a written letter of request to the Court with the case number, case name and hearing date. The request should be accompanied with a $32 money order made payable to: "Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court" for the reproduction fee.

The compact discs are data discs and can only be played after downloading the audio player from our website. Click here to download the Court Recordings Audio Player.

How to Request Audio on the Docket:

To have audio of a hearing put on the docket (known as a tagged hearing), send an email or call the Court Recorder per below. To expedite the process and ensure the Court is able to complete the request, a request for audio tagging should be made prior to the hearing date. See D.N.J. LBR 5007-1.

Listening to recordings on the docket requires a PACER account. There is no fee for audio on the docket.

Click here for instructions on how to listen to a tagged hearing.

Judge	Court Recorder	Phone	Email
Judge Papalia	Mariela Primo	973-776-3457	Mariela_Primo@njb.uscourts.gov

United States Bankruptcy Court

District of New Jersey

Honorable Michael B. Kaplan, Chief Judge | Jeanne A. Naughton, Clerk of Court

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Honorable Vincent F. Papalia

Staff Information

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