Minnesota Bankruptcy Court Announces Important Changes to Chapter 13 Confirmation Calendars and Procedures

Beginning in June 2026, the Minnesota Bankruptcy Court will implement a revised schedule for Chapter 13 confirmation hearings.

Each judge will conduct two Chapter 13 confirmation calendars per month: a primary calendar and a supplemental calendar. Continuances may be scheduled only to a judge's primary calendar. The supplemental calendar is reserved for court scheduling and will be used only for cases that have not been continued. Parties may not notice or request continuances to supplemental calendars.

The hearing times for each judge will be as follows:

• Judge Fisher - 9:00 a.m.
• Chief Judge Constantine - 11:00 a.m.
• Judge Bruggeman - 1:00 p.m.

The updated Chapter 13 confirmation calendar schedule is available here: https://www.mnb.uscourts.gov/chapter-13-confirmation-dates-0

In addition to the schedule changes, the Court is implementing new CM/ECF events and revised filing deadlines:

• Trustee Recommendation for Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation
• Trustee Recommendation for Postconfirmation Chapter 13 Plan Modification

The Chapter 13 Trustee's Office may file the "Trustee Recommendation for Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation" or "Trustee Recommendation for Postconfirmation Chapter 13 Plan Modification" no later than 3:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding the scheduled Chapter 13 confirmation hearing.

Upon filing this event, the case will be stricken from the Court's public hearing calendar, and the parties should anticipate that the plan will be confirmed without a hearing. If the Court determines that a hearing is necessary, a separate docket entry will be issued notifying parties that the matter will be called for hearing.

Orders confirming plans will generally be entered on the business day following the Chapter 13 confirmation calendar.

Note: If circumstances change after the recommendation is filed, the Trustee's Office may use the associated withdrawal event to remove the case from the confirmation queue. Once withdrawn, the Trustee's Office should determine the appropriate next action. Filing a withdrawal does not automatically continue or remove any scheduled hearing from the calendar.

Additional docketing information for the Trustee Recommendation events can be found here: https://www.mnb.uscourts.gov/information-trustees

• Agreed Continuance of Preconfirmation Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing

The deadline for filing an "Agreed Continuance of Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing" is changing from 2 p.m. on the Wednesday before Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing to 3 p.m. on the Monday before the Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing. Failure to file a timely agreed continuance will result in the confirmation being called for a hearing.

• Agreed Continuance of Chapter 13 Motion to Dismiss

The deadline for filing an "Agreed Continuance of Chapter 13 Motion to Dismiss" is changing from 2 p.m. on the Wednesday before Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing to 3 p.m. on the Monday before the Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing. Failure to file a timely agreed continuance will result in an order granting the motion to dismiss.

Note: Unless an event is being withdrawn, failure to file an agreed continuance for each applicable hearing item may result in orders being entered on matters not properly continued. If that occurs, parties may be required to file a motion to vacate the resulting order.

Additional docketing information for the Agreed Continuance events can be found here: https://www.mnb.uscourts.gov/attorney-procedures

• Modified Chapter 13 Plan
• Modified Chapter 13 Plan and Notice of Confirmation Hearing

Parties will use the "Modified Chapter 13 Plan" event when there is adequate notice time for creditors, the trustee, and other parties in interest to review the modified plan before the existing confirmation hearing date. The confirmation hearing date will remain unchanged.

Parties will use the "Modified Chapter 13 Plan and Notice of Confirmation Hearing" event when there is insufficient notice time before the currently scheduled confirmation hearing. This event will continue the confirmation hearing to a future chapter 13 calendar date and provide notice of the continued hearing. A separate Agreed Continuance is not required when using this event.

If a Motion to Dismiss is scheduled in conjunction with the confirmation hearing and the filing of the modified plan does not result in withdrawal of the Motion to Dismiss, the filer must still separately file a Notice of Agreed Continuance regarding the Motion to Dismiss hearing.

Once a Chapter 13 plan has been confirmed, any subsequent changes to the confirmed plan must be filed using the "Motion to Modify Chapter 13 Plan" event.

Additional docketing information for the Modified Chapter 13 Plan events can be found here: https://www.mnb.uscourts.gov/attorney-procedures

Questions about the new schedules, deadlines, or procedures may be directed to [email protected]