Judge Michael E. Ridgway

Chambers Address:

7W Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse Map
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Phone: 612-664-5260

Courtroom Location (Minneapolis):

Courtroom 7 West
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Hearing Information

To obtain a hearing date in a case or proceeding assigned to Judge Ridgway:
Contact the Courtroom Deputy:
612-664-5263
mnb_ridgway_hearings@mnb.uscourts.gov

To obtain a hearing date in a case or proceeding pending in the Fergus Falls office:
Contact the Courtroom Deputy:
612-664-5263
mnb_fergus_falls_hearings@mnb.uscourts.gov

Judge Tabs

Communication

Ex Parte

Parties in interest, attorneys and other professionals MUST NOT communicate in person, by phone or by e-mail with the bankruptcy judge concerning bankruptcy cases or proceedings, unless expressly authorized to do so. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9003(a). Parties or attorneys seeking relief from the court must obtain a hearing date and time from the courtroom deputy for the judge assigned to the case, and file a Notice of Hearing (setting forth the date and time of the hearing provided by the courtroom deputy) and a written Motion specifying the relief sought. Local Rules 9013-1 - 9013-2 govern motion practice and are available on the Court's website, www.mnb.uscourts.gov, under Code, Rules, Forms and En Banc Orders.

Seminars Disclosure

The U.S. Judicial Conference adopted a private seminars disclosure reporting policy (pdf) that requires educational program providers and judges to disclose certain information relevant to judges' attendance at privately-funded educational programs.

Any organization covered by the policy that issues an invitation on or after January 1, 2007 (for a program beginning after that date), to a federal judge to attend an educational program as a speaker, panelist, or attendee and offers to pay for or reimburse that judge, in excess of $305, must disclose financial and programmatic information.

Click to view a Seminars Disclosure report.

Rules for Self Calendaring

Attorneys may self-calendar lift stay motions and applications for compensation. Chapter 7 Trustees, attorneys representing Chapter 7 Trustees and the United States Trustee may self-calendar all their motions. Attorneys need not contact the courtroom deputy to schedule these motions or applications, except for those being filed in a closed case or if a continued hearing is being sought. Always refer to appropriate Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Local Bankruptcy Rules regarding the filing and service of motions and required notice periods.

To locate available hearing dates, follow the link Chamber Hearing Preset located on the Bankruptcy Events page in CM/ECF. Note you must be logged into CM/ECF to view the calendar report.

For more information, please call 612-664-5263.

Order Preparations & Hearing Guidelines

Cases venued in Fergus Falls will be heard only in Fergus Falls, except when there are extremely extenuating circumstances, and then only by prior court approval. Note: the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota does not staff the courthouse in Fergus Falls.
Initial hearings are treated as preliminary hearings. Local Rule 9017-1 states: “No evidence will be presented at an initial motion hearing. The court will determine at the initial motion hearing whether an evidentiary hearing is required.”
Moving documents unless otherwise provided by the Federal Rules Bankruptcy Procedure, must be filed in accordance with Local Rule 9006-1(a).
Expedited hearing requests are governed by Local Rule 9006-1(d). “The court will rule on the request for expedited hearing when the motion is heard.”
A court appearance is required, unless otherwise informed by the Court.
In a proposed order, avoid placing Judge Ridgway’s signature block on a standalone page. Do remember when drafting a proposed order that less is more. Please note that there is no “e” in Judge Ridgway’s last name. His proper name is Michael E. Ridgway.
Submitting proposed orders. Ordinarily, proposed orders are filed with the motion. If you are submitting an order after the motion has been filed, use the "Supplemental Attachment" event to submit the filing.
The date. Please put a place for the date on the left side below the text of the order. Do not put a month or year, simply put the word “Dated:”. The line used to put the date is also unnecessary.
Electronic format. All proposed orders must be submitted in electronic form. The document should be converted directly from Word or WordPerfect to PDF. Scanned orders will not be accepted. Court staff may contact you for a word processing version of your proposed order if necessary.
Avoid reinventing the wheel. Use our official Local Forms, which are available on the Court’s website.
Proofread. Avoid typos. Clear writing signals clear thinking. Be sure correct legal descriptions are used when referring to real property. Also, please check that the case caption reflects the correct name(s) of the debtor(s) and corresponding case number.

United States Bankruptcy Court

District of Minnesota

Honorable Katherine A. Constantine, Chief Judge • Tricia Pepin, Clerk of Court

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Judge Michael E. Ridgway

Hearing Information

Judge Tabs

Ex Parte

Seminars Disclosure