GENERAL INFO.	Opening an adversary proceeding involves entering the necessary information regarding the parties and basic statistical data. The Complaint is filed as part of the adversary proceeding opening process so it will not have to be filed as a separate event. In the opening of an adversary proceeding, you will be adding all plaintiffs and defendants. Since you can enter the parties in any order, CM/ECF will not assume that you represent the first party entered, so you will have to search for and select yourself as the attorney representing the plaintiff. This is different than other areas of CM/ECF where the system automatically links you to your client based upon your login.
HELP SCREENS	Help is available for most screens by clicking on the button. The help box will display describing the fields and what entry is required for the window you are currently viewing. Click on the button at the upper right hand corner of the screen or the button to close the help screen.
STEP 1	Log in to the CM/ECF System using your ECF Login and Password if you aren’t already logged in. NOTE: After logging in, if you click on Netscape Navigator’s (resize) button accidentally instead of clicking the minimize button, or if you drag the sides to resize the Netscape window, there is a Netscape Navigator bug which will throw you out of your CM/ECF session and you will lose all the information that you have entered up to that point. So, resize the window before you login!
STEP 2	Click on “Adversary” in the blue menu bar at the top of the screen.
Adversary Categories	These are the adversary categories.
STEP 3	Click on the hyperlink in the “Adversary Events” list. NOTE: Do NOT click on the hyperlink since this is for “Amended” or “Third-Party Complaints”, not for the original Complaint. The original Complaint will be filed during the opening of the adversary proceeding.
STEP 4	The “Open Adversary Proceeding” screen will now appear. Always leave the default at “ap”. (There are actually no other choices even though the drop down arrow makes it appear that there are.) The current date will appear next to “Date Filed”. The “Complaint” field defaults to “y” for yes to indicate that a Complaint is being filed. You would need to use the arrow to change the default to “n” for no, if you are filing something other than a Complaint, such as a “Notice of Removal”. Click the button.
STEP 5	This next screen is VERY, VERY important. Enter the main bankruptcy case number in yy-nnnnn format. NOTE: You must type in very carefully the case number of the main bankruptcy case in which this adversary is being opened. The name of the main bankruptcy case will not be displayed until after the adversary is already filed with the court, so it is VERY IMPORTANT that you make sure that you type in the correct main bankruptcy case number. NOTE: If you type in the wrong case number, but the number that you enter is an existing bankruptcy case, all parties in that case will receive notice that you have filed an adversary in that case. Also, once the mistake is discovered, you will have to open the adversary once again and link it to the correct case the second time.
STEP 6	After typing in the main bankruptcy case number, click the button.
SKIPPED CASE NO. WARNING	If you do not enter the main bankruptcy case number, the following warning message displays. Once you click the button, the following screen then displays. NOTE: The above screen should only be used in rare circumstances where an adversary is being filed in a district other than the district where the main bankruptcy case is filed. It will normally be necessary to click the browser’s button to return to the previous screen so that you can enter the main bankruptcy case number that you failed to enter the first time.
STEP 7	The information on this next screen can be used to verify that you typed in the correct main bankruptcy case number. Once you have double-checked the case number, click the button.
Searching For the Adversary Parties	The opportunity to search for the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) now displays. These parties will be searched for and selected from or added to the “Party Records” table. Refer to the separate instructions for “Searching For and Selecting or Adding Your Client”.
STEP 8	For the training case, you represent “Community Bank”. Since the word “Community” could have been abbreviated when it was added to the “Party Records” table in the past, only “Comm” should be entered as search criteria so that you find all the variations of parties whose name begins with “Comm”. (Do not add the quotation marks.)
STEP 9	Click the button.
STEP 10	A list similar to the list shown below should display as a result of searching for “Comm”. NOTE: When the court’s database is cleaned up, “Community,” should appear only once in the list shown below. Click on “Community Bank” to highlight it and select this party as the party you represent.
PERSON ADDRESS WINDOW	Once you highlight the party’s name, the following “Person Address” verification window will display. NOTE: The address is not really important. As long as the party name is correct, you may select that party even if the address is wrong because you will have the chance to enter the correct party address on the next screen.
STEP 11	Click on the button to close the “Person Address - Netscape” window and to move to the next screen.
STEP 12	The “Community Bank” party information screen now displays. Enter the correct address for the party you are adding. For training, you can simply leave in any address that appears.
STEP 13	Using the arrow, change the default party role of “Blank” to the role type of “Plaintiff”. If you forget to change the party role type, the following message will display. Simply click the button and then, change the party role type.
PARTY TEXT FIELD	The “Party text” field can be used to add further descriptive text regarding the plaintiff, such as “Guardian for the Minor Child …” or “Executor for the Estate of …”.
STEP 14	Click on the button to search for and select yourself as the attorney for the plaintiff. NOTE: Remember that when filing other pleadings, CM/ECF will be able to determine that you are the party filing the pleading on behalf of your client based upon your ECF login and password. However, in an adversary, since you can enter the parties in any order, CM/ECF will not assume that you represent the first party entered, so you will have to search for and select yourself as the attorney representing the plaintiff.
STEP 15	The “Search for an attorney” screen will now display. Any attorney, who has previously filed a pleading in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in a case filed since August 1991, should be on the court’s attorney roll. In the training case, search for yourself using your last name, or search for the attorney for whom you work, using his or her last name. NOTE: Do NOT enter your Bar Id number in the USBC EDKY because it will prevent you from finding your name.
EXAMPLE OF ATTORNEY SEARCH RESULTS	The example below shows how the attorney, Grace Dupree, after searching with the last name of “Dupree”, could then click on her name in the “Attorney search results” box.
STEP 16	A “Person Address - Netscape” information window will then display showing the attorney’s name, and also his/her phone number and address information. The EDKY currently uses the “Bar Id:” field for a different code, so your Bar Id will usually be blank or not a valid Kentucky Bar Id. The name, phone number, and address information should be used to verify that you have correctly selected yourself. Click the button to close the “Person Address - Netscape” information window and to move to the next screen.
STEP 17	The “Attorney Information” window will now display. NOTE: If you change any of the attorney information, this change will only be effective in the current case. This is how you could provide an alternate address in certain cases. NOTE: If any of the information is incorrect, it would be necessary to go into “User Maintenance” under the “Utilities Menu” to make any changes that need to be effective in all your cases.
STEP 18	Next, click the button.
PARTY INFO SCREEN CYCLE	The “Party Information” appears again. This is a loop that occurs in CM/ECF. The “Party Information” screen is the primary screen that is returned to each time one section/cycle of the subsidiary information (like adding an attorney) is completed.
STEP 19	Click on the button to add any aliases of the plaintiff.
STEP 20	The alias information window displays next. Enter up to 5 aliases for the plaintiff. In our training case, the “Community Bank” was formerly doing business as “Laurel Trust & Loan”. Click the button after entering up to 5 aliases. NOTE: Keep clicking the button, if the plaintiff(s) or defendant(s) have more than 5 aliases, until you have added all the aliases.
PARTY INFO SCREEN CYCLE	The “Party Information” appears again. This is a loop that occurs in CM/ECF. The “Party Information” screen is the primary screen that is returned to each time one section of the subsidiary information (like adding aliases) is completed.
STEP 21	Click the button to check the attorney and alias information when you have finished adding them.
STEP 22	A screen similar to the example shown below will display. NOTE: The button on this screen will reverse any changes you made to the screen. It will not clear or delete the attorney or alias information previously added. NOTE: Just click on the check mark to clear the box linking an attorney or alias to the party, if you actually want to remove an attorney or alias that you added. Then, you would need to return to the party screen and click the attorney button or the alias button to enter correct attorney or alias information. Click the button after verifying the information.
STEP 23	The display will loop back to the primary “Party Information” screen again. Click the button to continue with the adversary proceeding opening when you are finished adding information for the plaintiff.
SEARCH FOR A PARTY CYCLE	The “Search for a party” screen will display once again. This allows you to add as many plaintiff(s) as you need to add and to then add as many defendant(s) as you need to add to open the adversary. In our training case, we will only have one plaintiff and one defendant. At this point, we have searched for and selected the plaintiff. We still need to search for and select the defendant.
STEP 24	The debtor is the defendant in our training case, so search for the debtor, using her last name, “Onassis”. If you know it, you should also enter her Social Security number to narrow down the matching parties.
STEP 25	Click the button.
STEP 26	Normally, if you enter a social security number, only one name should be in the list. For the training case, click on any “Onassis” debtor.
STEP 27	A “Person Address - Netscape” information window similar to the example below should now display. NOTE: The address is not really important. As long as the party name is correct, you may select that party even if the address is wrong because you will have the chance to enter the correct party address on the next screen. Click the button to close the “Person Address - Netscape” information window and to move to the next screen.
STEP 28	Since the defendant in our training case is a debtor in a bankruptcy case, address as well as name information will now display. Add or make any necessary change to the address information. NOTE: Any changes made to the address/phone/etc. information will only change the information for the current adversary proceeding.
STEP 29	Using the arrow, change the default party role of “Blank” to the role type of “Defendant”.
PARTY TEXT FIELD	The “Party text” field can be used to add further descriptive text regarding the defendant, such as “Guardian for the Minor Child …” or “Executor for the Estate of …”.
ATTORNEY INFO. RE DEFEND- ANTS	DO NOT add an attorney for the defendant/debtor. Even if you know which attorney filed the bankruptcy case for the debtor, this same attorney may not choose to represent the debtor in an adversary proceeding. The debtor/defendant may choose to represent himself or herself in the adversary proceeding or the debtor/defendant may hire an attorney experienced in adversary litigation to represent him/her. When the defendant/debtor files an “Answer” to the “Complaint”, his/her attorney will be added to the adversary.
STEP 30	Click on the button to add any aliases for the defendant. For training, we will not add an alias for the defendant.
REVIEW OF DEFEND- ANT INFO.	It is not necessary to click the button since we have not added an attorney for the defendant and we haven’t added an alias for the defendant in this training case.
STEP 31	Click the button to continue with the adversary proceeding opening when you are finished adding information for the defendant.
STEP 32	Our training case just has one plaintiff and one defendant and we have now added both of them. After adding all parties, click the button. This “Search for a Party” routine will repeat itself until all plaintiffs and all defendants have been added and you “end” the party selection.
STEPS 33 - 39	The adversary statistical data screen now displays. Unless the US is a plaintiff or a defendant in the adversary, accept the default, “3 US not a Party”. Select the “Nature of suit” of the complaint from the drop down list. NOTE: If there are multiple suits in the adversary, only one can be selected. If one of the natures of suit is a “727 Objection to Discharge”, it is important to select this one as the “Nature of Suit”. Unless the adversary is an action being removed from state court, or an adversary being reinstated or reopened, or an adversary being transferred in from another District, accept the “Origin” default of “1 Original Proceeding”. Unless the adversary case is being transferred to the EDKY, skip the “Transfer date” field. Leave the “Rule 23” default of “n” for no, unless this adversary is a class action lawsuit. Unless you are demanding a jury trial for your client, the plaintiff, leave the “Jury Demand” default as “None”. If you are demanding a jury trial, change the default to “Plaintiff”. If there is a dollar demand, enter the amount in thousands, rounding off to the nearest thousand. For example, if the demand were for $4550, $5000, or $5499, you would enter “5” (without the quotation marks).
STEP 40	For the training case, the “Complaint” is objecting to the discharge of the debt owed to Community Bank, so select “426 Dischargeability 523” as the “Nature of suit”. Verify that all the statistical information is correct and then, click the button.
STEP 41	The opportunity to search for and select the .pdf image of the “Complaint” is now provided. Follow the steps set out in the separate instructions on “Browsing For and Selecting the Correct .pdf Document” to find, open, review, and select the “Complaint” .pdf image. For the training case, the .pdf documents will be on the local “c:/” drive. NOTE: At your law firm, the .pdf documents may be stored on a network drive or on the “c:/” drive of a staff member’s computer.
.PDF WARNING MESSAGE	If you click on the button to advance without attaching a .pdf document, a “Warning Message” will be displayed. Click the button to close the message. You will then, once again, have the opportunity to browse to select the .pdf image of the document.
ATTACH- MENTS	The legal mind thinks of an attachment as any supporting document(s) stapled or attached to the back of the main pleading. These types of legal attachments will be referred to in this documentation as “supporting documentation”. In the USBC EDKY, the “attachment” feature is used in only two situations: (1) when the main pleading, plus any supporting documentation is more than 50 pages in length, and (2) for attaching proposed orders. The “Complaint” in this training case is less than 50 pages, so leave the attachment setting at “No”.
STEP 42	The following screen will now appear. Do NOT type anything in the empty box if you are paying the fees by credit card via the Internet. NOTE: Type “No Fee” in the empty box if this is an adversary where a filing fee is not owed, such as an adversary filed by a debtor(s) or government agency. NOTE: Type “Deferred” in the empty box if this is an adversary filed on behalf of the trustee where the filing fee will be deferred until there are monies in the estate to pay the filing fee. For the training case, leave the field empty and click the button.
STEP 43	The opportunity to modify the docket text will now display. The “text box” shown below is where you would type further description of the “Complaint”. For example, if multiple natures of suit were listed in the “Complaint”, they could be entered here.
STEP 44	Click the button after making any necessary modifications to text.
FINAL DOCKET TEXT SCREEN	The “Docket Text: Final Text” now displays. NOTE: Any text you added to the “text box” on the previous screen will appear in italics. NOTE: The “Attention!!” message shown above is to alert you to the fact that this is the point of no return! This is the last opportunity to make any changes before the adversary proceeding is officially opened.
NOTES RE: ERRORS MADE WHILE FILING	If the docket text is incorrect, click on the browser’s button as many times as necessary to find the error and correct it. NOTE: You will not be able to use the button to correct your errors if you are using Internet Explorer 5.5 because you will be thrown out of the system the 2^nd time you click it. You will need to click on the “Adversary “ hyperlink in the main menu bar. Then, you will have to start opening the adversary proceeding all over again and you will have lost most of the adversary proceeding opening information that you have entered. NOTE: : If using Netscape Version 4.7, you can usually go backwards and forwards through the various screens using the browser’s “Back” and “Forward” buttons without losing any data as long as you make no changes. But, if you make a change, the information on the screens from the point of the error forward will have to be re-entered after you have corrected the error because the information from the error forward will have been lost. Also, if you back up to a screen earlier than the screen where you search for the .pdf document, you will lose the .pdf document and you will have to search for the .pdf document and select it all over again.
STEP 45	Click the button to complete the opening of the adversary.
STEP 46	Click the button when the “Summary of Current Fees” window displays, and follow the separate instructions for “Payment of Fees Via the Internet”, if you wish to go ahead and pay the filing fee immediately. Click the button, if you wish to pay all the filing fees for a particular day all at once near the end of the day. Later, when you desire to pay all your accumulated filing fees for the day, follow the separate instructions for “Payment of Fees Via the Internet”.
NOTICE OF ELEC- TRONIC FILING	After you have continued the filing or completed the payment process, the “Notice of Electronic Filing” will now appear. One of the most important pieces of information on this notice is the case number assigned to your adversary proceeding. NOTE: The “Notice of Electronic Filing” of the “Complaint” is being e-mailed to parties in both the adversary proceeding and to parties from the main bankruptcy case. The e-mail notice regarding the disposition of the adversary proceeding will also be e-mailed to parties in both cases. The other e-mail notifications in the adversary proceeding will only go to the parties in the adversary.
SPREAD-ING OF CERTAIN EVENTS	When an adversary proceeding is opened, the “Complaint” .pdf image and the docket text summary information is spread over to the main bankruptcy case. In the example above, the “Complaint” can be viewed in the adversary proceeding by clicking on the number “1” document hyperlink. In the main case, the “Complaint” can be viewed by clicking on the number “6” document hyperlink. When judgment is rendered in the adversary proceeding, the information regarding the disposition of the adversary will also spread over to the main bankruptcy case.