Vincent P. Zurzolo
How Judge Zurzolo rules, drawn from 2 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Zurzolo
Vincent P. Zurzolo has served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California since April 1988. He was the court’s chief judge from 2006 through 2011 and was reappointed in 2002 and 2016. Before joining the bench, he practiced law at Greenberg Glusker.
Judge Zurzolo's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Zurzolo, as published on the court's website (checked October 10, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Appearances (General Rules and Exceptions) ↗
- Auction Sales -- Bidding Procedures ↗
- Instructions for the Professional Compensation and Fee Budget ↗
- Instructions for Telephoning Chambers: ↗
- Judge Zurzolo - Judicial Practice Guide ↗
- Judicial Variance Statement ↗
- Notice of Amended Standards to be Employed in the Review of Application for Authorization of Employment of Professionals ↗
- Notice of Standards to be Employed in the Review of Applications for the Allowance of Compensation and the Reimbursement of Expenses ↗
- Requests for Hearings on Emergency or Shortened Notice Basis (LBR 9075-1) ↗
- Instructions for Chapter 11 Post Confirmation Status Report ↗
- Order Setting Procedures for Adversary Proceeding Status Conferences ↗
- Pre-Trial Procedure: Instructions for Preparing Model Pre-Trial Stipulation and Model Order ↗
- Procedures Regarding Trials and Evidentiary Hearings - ↗
- Telephonic Appearance Procedures ↗
- How to Get Section 362 Orders Entered and Served Correctly and Quickly ↗
Key rules
Conferences
Attorneys, trustees, and self-represented parties must register before appearing in person or by phone.
“All attorneys, trustees and self-represented parties must register to appear in person or by phone.”
Conferences
Check tentative rulings for appearance, supplemental-filing, and order-lodging instructions.
“Judge Zurzolo posts tentative rulings that may do any the following: (1) Instruct parties to register to make a court appearance; (2) Inform of the Court’s intended ruling and that appearances are waived; (3) Instruct a party to file supplemental documents; or (4) Lodge an order using the LOU Procedure.”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 10, 2026).
How Judge Zurzolo decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
When evaluating a credit-counseling eligibility defect, the court considers whether the debtor has a reasonable explanation, promptly completes counseling, and lacks a viable repayment alternative outside bankruptcy.
“The following factors are pertinent:”
Reasonable reliance on counsel can weigh against dismissal when a debtor promptly cures an eligibility defect.
“Debtor is entitled to rely”
Procedural preferences
Zurzolo’s published hearing instructions require participants to register before the hearing and indicate whether they will appear in person or by telephone.
“ALL PARTIES must check-in before the hearing by registering to indicate whether you will appear in person or by phone.”
Telephone participants should join the court's line fifteen minutes before the hearing and remain muted until their matter is called.
“join Judge Zurzolo’s Zoom Gov line 15 minutes before the hearing. Keep your phone on mute until your matter is called.”
Cautions
Video appearances are not offered under the posted procedure.
“Is there a choice to appear by video? No”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED THAT the Stipulation is Approved.”
The opinion held that prepetition credit-counseling ineligibility was not jurisdictional and could be cured under a discretionary, fact-specific standard.
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The eleven terminated sampled matters lasted 156 to 1,350 days, with a median of 531 days. Three newly filed sampled matters remained pending. This fixed sample is descriptive and is not a complete caseload census.
Draft for Judge Zurzolo with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Zurzolo, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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- Grounded in Judge Zurzolo's own signed orders
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