U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon is not a separate branch of the judiciary. It is a unit of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Congress vested bankruptcy jurisdiction in the district courts under 28 U.S.C. § 1334, then let each district refer that work to bankruptcy judges under 28 U.S.C. § 157(a). Oregon's district court entered a standing order of reference years ago, so nearly every case begins in the bankruptcy court rather than in front of a district judge. For a litigant, that is where the file opens and where most of the fight happens.

Judges here are bankruptcy judges, not Article III judges with lifetime tenure. The Ninth Circuit appoints them to fourteen-year terms under 28 U.S.C. § 152. That method of appointment shapes what the court may do. A judge hears the daily motions, confirms plans, resolves objections, and manages the estate's routine business, yet the reach of a final judgment from this unit is narrower than the authority of the district court that referred the case. Know that limit early. It tells you where a contested question can actually be decided with finality.

Core and non-core proceedings split much of what the bankruptcy court does. Under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b), core proceedings are matters that arise under the Bankruptcy Code or could exist only inside a case, such as objections to claims, plan confirmation, preference recovery, and disputes over the discharge. In those matters the court can enter a final order, subject to appeal. Under 28 U.S.C. § 157(c), non-core proceedings are merely related to the case, like a state law breach of contract claim the estate happens to own. There the court usually submits proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to the district court, which enters the final judgment unless the parties consent to let the bankruptcy judge decide.

Jurisdiction is broad but bounded. Section 1334 gives the district court original and exclusive jurisdiction over the case itself, and original but not exclusive jurisdiction over civil proceedings arising in or related to it. Property of the estate under 11 U.S.C. § 541 sweeps in nearly everything the debtor owns anywhere, so this bankruptcy court can reach assets far outside Oregon. That reach is what makes the automatic stay and the recovery powers effective. A creditor in another state can find itself answering here.

The Supreme Court complicated the core line in Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011). It held that a bankruptcy court cannot enter final judgment on certain state law counterclaims even when the statute labels them core, because Article III reserves that power for life-tenured judges. The practical answer, confirmed in Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 575 U.S. 665 (2015), is consent. If both sides knowingly agree, the court may decide a Stern claim and enter judgment. Litigants in Oregon routinely address consent in their first pleadings so the question does not derail the case later.

Withdrawal of the reference is possible. Under 28 U.S.C. § 157(d), the district court may pull any case or proceeding from the bankruptcy court, on its own or when a party shows cause. Withdrawal is mandatory when resolving a matter requires substantial consideration of federal laws outside the Bankruptcy Code, for example a claim tangled with federal labor or securities statutes. A party who wants a district judge to hear a discrete dispute files a motion to withdraw the reference, and the court often keeps managing the rest of the case while that motion is pending.

Two kinds of trustee appear in this system. The U.S. Trustee, part of the Department of Justice, oversees administration, monitors for abuse, and appoints case trustees. A case trustee in a chapter 7 or chapter 13 collects and liquidates or distributes assets and reviews the debtor's filings. Neither is the judge. When a trustee and a debtor disagree, the fight comes back to the court for a ruling. Creditors watch both, since a trustee's decisions affect what any of them recover.

Jury trials sit awkwardly inside this system. A bankruptcy court may conduct a jury trial only if the district court specially designates it and all parties consent, under 28 U.S.C. § 157(e). Absent that, a matter carrying a jury right, such as some fraudulent transfer actions against a party who never filed a claim, may have to move to the district court. Raise the jury question early, along with any demand, so you do not waive a right you meant to assert.

This court operates across Oregon and hears cases filed by residents and businesses throughout the state. Filings are electronic, and most matters proceed by motion with hearings set as the calendar allows. The clerk administers the docket, but a private trustee often runs the front line work in individual cases, so your first real contact may be with a trustee rather than a judge. The bankruptcy court steps in when someone objects, when a dispute needs a ruling, or when the estate moves to recover property.

Appeals from here follow a path unique to bankruptcy. A party may take a bankruptcy court decision to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, or, because the Ninth Circuit maintains one, to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. Five circuits run such panels, the First, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth, and those panels drew 329 filings in the year ending March 31, 2025. From either the district court or the panel, the next stop is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A litigant who prefers a district judge over the panel can elect that route, a choice worth thinking through at filing.

Which chapter of the Code governs your case decides how much of this machinery you will touch, and that is where a litigant's plan begins.

Every case in this bankruptcy court runs under one chapter of title 11, and the chapter you choose shapes the timeline, the cost, and what you keep. Across the country, bankruptcy petitions reached 529,080 in the twelve months ending March 31, 2025, up 13 percent, and 86 of the 90 bankruptcy courts reported more filings than the year before. Oregon's numbers move with that current. The chapters break into four practical tracks, and most individuals land in chapter 7 or chapter 13.

Liquidation is chapter 7, the most common individual filing. A debtor turns over non-exempt property to a trustee, who sells it and pays creditors by priority, and in exchange most remaining dischargeable debts disappear. Many chapter 7 cases are no-asset cases, meaning the trustee finds nothing worth selling after exemptions, so unsecured creditors receive nothing. To qualify, an individual must pass the means test of 11 U.S.C. § 707(b), which measures income against the state median. A business can file chapter 7 to wind down. The court oversees the process, but the trustee does most of the collecting, and the debtor's main appearance is often the meeting of creditors under 11 U.S.C. § 341.

Chapter 13 is for individuals with regular income who want to keep property and catch up over time. The debtor proposes a plan to pay creditors from future earnings across three to five years, and the bankruptcy court confirms it if the plan meets the tests in 11 U.S.C. § 1325. Homeowners use chapter 13 to cure a mortgage default while keeping the house. Debtors who fail the chapter 7 means test often land here instead. A standing chapter 13 trustee collects the monthly payment and distributes it. If the debtor completes the plan, the court grants a discharge of the remaining balance on qualifying debts.

Consider a worked example. A debtor earns 200 dollars a month above the disposable income the plan requires, owes 12,000 dollars in mortgage arrears, and wants to keep a car with a 9,000 dollar lien. A five-year plan spreads the arrears over sixty payments, roughly 200 dollars a month toward the cure, while the car lien is paid inside the plan at the contract rate or a court-approved rate. The trustee takes a percentage fee off the top, often near ten percent, so build that into the monthly number. Miss two payments and the trustee will move to dismiss.

Reorganization comes under chapter 11, used mostly by businesses but open to individuals with debts above the chapter 13 limits. The debtor usually stays in control as a debtor in possession and keeps operating while it negotiates with creditors. A plan can restructure debt, sell assets, or wind a company down in an orderly way. Creditors vote by class, and the bankruptcy court confirms the plan if the tests in 11 U.S.C. § 1129 are met, including the cramdown rules that let a court approve a plan over a dissenting class. Smaller businesses may use subchapter V, added by the Small Business Reorganization Act, which streamlines the process and cuts some of the cost. Chapter 11 is where much of the heavy motion practice in this court happens.

Chapter 12 is narrower, built for family farmers and family fishermen with regular annual income. It works like chapter 13 but with terms suited to cash flow that arrives seasonally rather than monthly. The debt limits and eligibility rules sit in 11 U.S.C. § 101 and 11 U.S.C. § 109. A chapter 12 debtor proposes a plan, and the court confirms it under 11 U.S.C. § 1225. These cases are uncommon next to chapter 7 and chapter 13, but for an Oregon farm facing foreclosure, chapter 12 can hold the land while the plan runs. The court weighs feasibility closely, since farm income can swing hard from one year to the next.

Choice of chapter is not always final. A debtor can convert from one chapter to another, and sometimes a trustee or creditor moves to convert or dismiss under 11 U.S.C. § 1112 or 11 U.S.C. § 706. A chapter 13 that fails may convert to chapter 7. A chapter 11 that cannot confirm a plan may be dismissed or converted. The court decides these motions after notice and a hearing, weighing the debtor's good faith against the creditors' interests. Watch the eligibility limits, because filing under the wrong chapter wastes time and money.

Conversion carries consequences worth pricing in before you move. Property that entered the estate on the chapter 13 filing date may or may not follow into a converted chapter 7 case, and post-petition earnings are treated differently once the case flips. A debtor who converts in bad faith can lose property that a straight chapter 7 filer would have kept. Talk through the timing with counsel. The exemption scheme Oregon debtors elect at filing generally locks in, so the schedules you sign on day one matter long after.

Each chapter opens the same way, with a petition, schedules of assets and debts, a statement of financial affairs, and, for individuals, proof of credit counseling. The filing triggers the automatic stay at once. Creditors receive notice and a claims bar date. The court sets deadlines for objecting to discharge or to specific debts, and those deadlines are short and unforgiving. A creditor who wants to challenge a debt's dischargeability under 11 U.S.C. § 523 must act inside the window the bankruptcy court sets, usually sixty days after the first meeting of creditors.

Filing the petition opens the case, but the real contests, the objections, the recovery actions, and the stay fights, play out as litigation inside it. That litigation carries its own rules, and it is where creditors and debtors square off before the judge.

Litigation inside a bankruptcy case takes two forms, and telling them apart is the first practical skill. An adversary proceeding is a full lawsuit filed within the case, governed by Part VII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, which borrow most of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A contested matter is a dispute raised by motion under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9014, faster and lighter than a full suit. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7001 lists what must proceed as an adversary proceeding, including actions to recover money or property, to determine a lien's validity, to object to a discharge, and to obtain an injunction. The bankruptcy court treats the two tracks differently, so filing the wrong one costs time.

An adversary proceeding starts with a complaint and a summons, much like a district court case. The defendant answers, the parties conduct discovery under the incorporated civil rules, and the bankruptcy court can rule on summary judgment or hold a trial. Because these are separate proceedings, they carry their own docket number inside the main case. Nondischargeability actions under 11 U.S.C. § 523 run this way, as do objections to a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727 and most lien and avoidance actions. A creditor claiming the debtor ran up a debt by fraud files an adversary complaint, and the bankruptcy court decides whether that debt survives the discharge.

Contested matters cover the routine but consequential motions. The most common is a motion for relief from the automatic stay. That stay arises the moment a petition is filed under 11 U.S.C. § 362, and it stops collection, foreclosure, repossession, and most lawsuits against the debtor cold. A secured creditor who wants to foreclose files a motion, and the bankruptcy court decides whether to lift the stay for cause, such as a lack of adequate protection, or because the debtor has no equity and does not need the property to reorganize. The stay is powerful, and violating it can expose a creditor to damages, so most creditors ask the bankruptcy court first rather than acting on their own.

Preference actions let the estate claw back certain payments. Under 11 U.S.C. § 547, a trustee or debtor in possession can recover a transfer made to a creditor within ninety days before filing, or within a year for insiders, if it let that creditor receive more than it would have in a chapter 7. The aim is equal treatment among creditors rather than punishment. A creditor sued for a preference can raise the statutory defenses in section 547(c), most often ordinary course of business or a contemporaneous exchange for new value. The bankruptcy court weighs those defenses on the facts, and preference litigation often settles once both sides price the risk.

Fraudulent transfer law reaches further back. Under 11 U.S.C. § 548, the estate can undo transfers made within two years before filing that were either actually intended to defraud creditors or made for less than reasonably equivalent value while the debtor was insolvent. Through 11 U.S.C. § 544, the trustee can also borrow state fraudulent transfer law, which in Oregon reaches back further than the federal two years. A debtor who moved a house into a relative's name for nothing shortly before filing invites this claim. The bankruptcy court examines intent through the badges of fraud and tests value against the balance sheet at the time of the transfer. Recovered property flows back to the estate for all creditors.

Creditors have a set of moves and a calendar that punishes delay. Filing a proof of claim preserves the right to share in any distribution, and the claims bar date is firm. Objecting to another creditor's claim, seeking stay relief, demanding adequate protection, and opposing plan confirmation are the usual tools. A creditor who believes the debtor hid assets or lied on the schedules can push the trustee to investigate or file its own nondischargeability complaint. The bankruptcy court expects creditors to raise these issues within the deadlines set at the start of the case, and a creditor who sleeps on a claim usually loses it.

Debtors move too. A debtor in possession or trustee files avoidance actions, objects to inflated or unsupported claims, seeks turnover of estate property under 11 U.S.C. § 542, and asks the bankruptcy court to value collateral or strip a wholly unsecured junior lien in the right chapter. A debtor facing a stay relief motion responds by offering adequate protection or showing equity in the property. When a creditor violates the stay, the debtor can move for sanctions. The court can award actual damages, and for a willful violation against an individual, it can add punitive damages under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k).

Procedure controls outcomes in this arena more than argument. Deadlines are jurisdictional in places, the service rules for adversary proceedings differ from ordinary motion practice, and the bankruptcy court holds parties to both. A litigant who knows whether a dispute belongs in an adversary proceeding or a contested matter, who calendars the bar dates, and who raises consent and jury questions early avoids the traps that sink otherwise strong positions. The court rewards preparation. In a system built on speed and finite estate assets, the party who moves first and moves correctly usually shapes the result.

Moving first shapes the trial result, but it rarely ends the matter. A party who loses a final order in the bankruptcy court can appeal, and Oregon gives that party a choice at the first level. Under 28 U.S.C. § 158, an appeal runs either to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon or to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. The two forums apply the same law and the same standards. They differ in who sits and where the next appeal lands.

The election belongs to the parties, within limits. Any party may file a timely statement electing to have the appeal heard by the district court instead of the panel. If no one makes that election, the appeal proceeds to the BAP. A litigant who wants the district judge rather than the three bankruptcy judges of the panel must say so in writing and on time, because silence sends the case to the panel by default. Both routes review the same record from the bankruptcy court, so the choice is about forum, not a second trial.

Sitting bankruptcy judges make up the appellate panel. Five circuits operate BAPs, the First, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth, and the panels handled 329 filings in the twelve months ending March 31, 2025. A judge from the district whose order is under review does not sit on that appeal. The panel issues written decisions that guide practice across the circuit, though they bind less firmly than opinions from the Ninth Circuit itself.

Standards of review govern how much deference the order receives. The reviewing court examines legal conclusions of the bankruptcy court de novo, that is, without deference. It reviews findings of fact for clear error and reverses only when left with a definite conviction that the trial judge got it wrong. Discretionary calls, such as the terms of a sale or the denial of a continuance, draw abuse of discretion review. Mixed questions fall along that spectrum depending on how much they turn on facts. Knowing which standard applies tells you whether an appeal is worth the cost.

Finality controls timing. Most appeals require a final order, and the Supreme Court in Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, 575 U.S. 496 (2015), held that an order denying confirmation of a chapter 13 plan is not final while the debtor remains free to propose another. That rule matters because a party who waits for the wrong order can lose the right to appeal, while a party who appeals too early draws a dismissal. Interlocutory orders may be reviewed only by leave, and the reviewing court decides whether to grant it. The bankruptcy court's docket often contains many separate orders, and each has its own clock.

The deadline is short. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8002 gives fourteen days from entry of the order to file the notice of appeal, far tighter than the thirty days common in civil appeals. A motion to alter or amend can reset that clock, but only if filed on time. A party who wants to stop the order from taking effect during the appeal must seek a stay under Rule 8007, usually first from the bankruptcy court itself. Without a stay, a sale closes, funds disburse, and the appeal can become moot before it is briefed.

Above the first level sits the Ninth Circuit. Whether the appeal went to the district court or the BAP, the next stop is the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which reviews the bankruptcy court's original decision under the same standards and gives no deference to the intermediate court's answer. A further petition to the Supreme Court is possible but rare. This structure means the factual findings, made close to the evidence, tend to survive, while legal rulings face fresh eyes twice.

Bankruptcy rarely lives alone. A debtor often arrives with a lawsuit already pending in an Oregon circuit court, and the filing changes that case at once. The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 halts continued prosecution against the debtor. A party may remove a related state claim to the bankruptcy court under 28 U.S.C. § 1452, and the other side may move to remand on equitable grounds. Jurisdiction over these related disputes flows through 28 U.S.C. § 1334, which also carries two abstention doctrines.

Abstention comes in two forms. Mandatory abstention under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(c)(2) requires the bankruptcy court to step aside for certain state-law claims that can be timely adjudicated in state court, when the only federal hook is the bankruptcy itself. Permissive abstention under section 1334(c)(1) lets the court decline in the interest of comity even when the mandatory test is not met. The court weighs how far the state case has progressed, how novel the state-law question is, whether the claim is core, and whether keeping the dispute serves the estate. A creditor with a nearly finished state trial often argues for abstention; a debtor seeking one forum for everything argues against it.

Preclusion and prior judgments add another layer. A state-court judgment entered before the petition can bind the parties in the bankruptcy court through issue preclusion, which matters in dischargeability fights where the creditor already proved fraud. The bankruptcy court will not sit as an appellate court over a state judgment. A litigant who understands how the state case and the federal case fit together can decide whether to lift the stay, remove the action, or let the state forum finish, and each path carries its own deadlines and its own risk.

The forum shapes the lawyer you need. Section one described a bankruptcy court that operates as a unit of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, exercising jurisdiction that the district court refers to it by a standing order. A lawyer who appears here works before a specialized court with its own clerk's office and a bench that sees the same disputes week after week. Debtor work and creditor work pull in different directions, and many practitioners choose one. Some firms staff both sides with separate teams.

Debtor's counsel guides the filing and everything after. In a consumer chapter 7, that means the means test, the schedules, and the exemptions that decide what the client keeps. In chapter 13, it means a plan the trustee and the bankruptcy court will confirm and a budget the client can actually meet for three to five years. In a business chapter 11, the work grows heavier, with first-day motions, cash collateral fights, a disclosure statement, and a creditors committee to answer. A debtor's lawyer who misstates assets or misses a deadline can cost the client a discharge, so candor and calendaring matter as much as advocacy.

Creditor's counsel protects a claim against a shrinking estate. A secured lender wants relief from the automatic stay, adequate protection, or a friendly sale. An unsecured trade creditor wants its proof of claim allowed and watches for preference exposure, because the trustee may sue to recover payments the debtor made in the ninety days before filing under 11 U.S.C. § 547. A creditor who believes a debt arose from fraud files a dischargeability complaint in the bankruptcy court within the bar date. Each of these moves has a deadline, and the court enforces them strictly.

Trustees sit at the center of most cases. In chapter 7 a panel trustee liquidates assets for creditors; in chapter 13 a standing trustee administers plan payments; in many chapter 11 cases the debtor stays in possession but answers to the United States Trustee, a Justice Department office that polices the system. A lawyer's working relationship with these trustees affects how smoothly a case runs. Trustees are not adversaries in the ordinary sense, yet they hold real power, and counsel who understands what a trustee needs can resolve objections before they reach the bankruptcy court.

The Code regulates what lawyers earn. A professional employed by the estate, including debtor's counsel in a chapter 11, must be approved under 11 U.S.C. § 327 and paid under 11 U.S.C. § 330, which lets the bankruptcy court review fees for reasonableness and cut them. Section 328 allows pre-approved terms, and 11 U.S.C. § 329 requires every debtor's attorney to disclose the fee arrangement, which the bankruptcy court can examine and reduce if excessive. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2016 sets the application process. This oversight means the court reviews the bill, which protects debtors and creditors alike from fees that drain the estate.

Fee arrangements vary by case type. Consumer chapter 7 counsel often charge a flat fee paid before filing, because fees owed for pre-petition work can be discharged. Chapter 13 counsel frequently work under a 'no look' fee that the bankruptcy court accepts without a detailed application, with more paid for contested work. Creditor's counsel usually bill hourly, sometimes recovering fees from a secured claim where the contract and 11 U.S.C. § 506(b) allow. Ask any prospective lawyer how they charge, when they get paid, and whether the bankruptcy court must approve the fee.

Verification protects a client who cannot easily judge a stranger's credentials. This directory lists lawyers with dated, editor-reviewed verification checks, so you can see when a firm's standing was last confirmed rather than trusting a stale profile. Before you hire, confirm active bar admission and look for a record of appearances in this court. Ask about the mix of debtor and creditor work the firm handles. A lawyer who mostly represents secured lenders may not be the right fit for a family seeking a fresh start, and the reverse holds too.

Fit also depends on scale. A single-asset real estate chapter 11 and a two-vehicle chapter 7 both belong in the same bankruptcy court, yet they demand different experience. Ask how many cases of your type the lawyer has closed and who answers the phone when the trustee calls. Because this bankruptcy court sits within the district court and its final orders can travel to the district judge, the BAP, or the Ninth Circuit, ask whether the firm handles appeals or refers them out.

The theme from the opening holds to the end. The bankruptcy court is a specialized arm of the district court, built for speed and for the orderly division of finite assets, and the lawyer you choose should match that design. Read the verification date on any profile you rely on in this directory, confirm the credentials yourself, and treat the choice of counsel as the first strategic decision in a case where procedure often decides the outcome. The right lawyer knows the bankruptcy court's rhythms, the trustees who appear in it, and the deadlines that turn a strong position into a lost one.