Bankruptcy is a set of federal laws and rules that can help individuals and businesses who owe more debt than they can pay. In bankruptcy, the person, corporation, or partnership that owes money is called the debtor. Bankruptcy permits the debtor to work out a plan to repay some or all of the debt, to liquidate assets, or to have some of the debt forgiven (“discharged”) in an effort to obtain a “fresh start”. The bankruptcy laws give the debtor protection and benefits not available outside of bankruptcy, such as requiring that creditors stop all collection efforts while the debtor is in bankruptcy, unless otherwise ordered by the Bankruptcy Court. In bankruptcy, a debtor must make full disclosure of all assets, liabilities, and other financial information, and must either (1) surrender non-exempt (protected) property for liquidation and distribution to creditors, or (2) formulate a plan providing creditors at least as much as they would receive if the assets were liquidated.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court is part of the federal judiciary. Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters, and in almost all districts, bankruptcy cases are filed in the bankruptcy court. Bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court.

An Adversary Proceeding is a lawsuit arising in or related to a bankruptcy case, filed by a party called a "plaintiff" against a party called a "defendant." Adversary proceedings are initiated by filing a document called a "complaint" with the court to resolve both federal and state law issues. Certain types of disputes cannot be handled by motion in the bankruptcy case, but instead require the commencement of an adversary proceeding. Federal Bankruptcy Rule 7001 lists certain types of actions that require an adversary proceeding. Adversary proceedings are governed for the most part by Part VII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. These rules incorporate most of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and are designed to make practice before the bankruptcy and district courts as similar as possible.

Most case files with documents filed on paper have been shipped to the Federal Records Center (FRC). You can either request copies directly from the FRC or you can request the closed case be returned to the Clerk’s Office. To request copies directly from the FRC, please use the Archive Request Form which can be downloaded from the Forms section of this website. If you choose to download this form, you MUST first obtain the locating numbers by either viewing the docket or contacting the Clerk's Office (Sharon Leary at 602-682-4202). Written requests must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope and must contain the case name and case number. In addition, please include your telephone number.

To order a closed file from the FRC to be delivered to the Clerk’s Office for viewing, please submit the Archive Retrieval Form. If you wish to review the case file, it will be returned to the Clerk's Office from the FRC at a cost of $64 to retrieve the first record from the FRC. For retrievals involving multiple boxes, there is a fee of $39 for each additional box (copy fees are additional).