Bankr. S.D. Fla. Local Rule 1002-2 — Commencing a Bankruptcy Case – Divisional and Judicial Assignment

High confidence· verified September 26, 2026Local Rules

Summary

Bankr. S.D. Fla. Local Rule 1002-2 — Commencing a Bankruptcy Case – Divisional and Judicial Assignment: the court's own rule, verbatim from Amended and Restated Local Rules of Practice and Procedure for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida (Effective June 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida alongside the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and any judge-specific procedures.

Requirement

(a) Court Divisions. The court is divided into three divisions – the Miami Division, the Fort Lauderdale Division, and the West Palm Beach Division. (1) Miami Division. The Miami Division comprises Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. (2) Fort Lauderdale Division. The Fort Lauderdale Division comprises Broward County. (3) West Palm Beach Division. The West Palm Beach Division comprises Highlands, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties. (b) Division in Which to Commence a Case. (1) Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 Petition. A petition under chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 must be filed in the division of the court in which the debtor’s domicile, residence, principal place of business, or principal assets are located. (2) Chapter 9 or 15 Petition. A petition under chapter 9 or 15 may be filed in any division of the court. (c) Assigning Cases. (1) Chapter 7, 11, 12 or 13 Petition. (A) A chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 petition concerning an individual will be randomly assigned to a judge in the division in which the first address listed on the petition is located. (B) A chapter 7, 11, or 12 petition concerning an entity that is not an individual will be randomly assigned to a judge in the division in which the address listed on the petition as the debtor’s principal place of business is located. (2) Chapter 9 Petition. A chapter 9 petition will be assigned under § 921(b). (3) Chapter 15 Petition. A chapter 15 petition will be randomly assigned to any judge of the court, regardless of the division in which it is filed. (4) Clerk Reassignment of Cases Filed in Wrong Division. The clerk is authorized to reassign to the correct division any petition filed in the wrong division.

Source of truth

(a) Court Divisions. The court is divided into three divisions – the Miami Division, the Fort Lauderdale Division, and the West Palm Beach Division. (1) Miami Division. The Miami Division comprises Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. (2) Fort Lauderdale Division. The Fort Lauderdale

Official source: Bankr. S.D. Fla. — Southern District of Florida (U.S. Bankruptcy Court)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 4, 2026
Effective date: June 1, 2026
Last verified: September 26, 2026benchpath-appfed-flrules-2026-09-26

Change history

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