ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE

DRAFT ELECTRONIC FILING GUIDELINES AND PROTOCOLS FOR PILOT COURTS IN PROBATE AND FAMILY, DISTRICT, BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURTS; AND THE APPEALS AND SUPREME JUDICIAL COURTS ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE Electronic filing and service is the process of uploading a document from a registered user’s computer, or a public access terminal, using the court’s Intranet or Internet-based electronic case filing system (ECF system), to file the document in the court’s case file, and of providing other registered users with notice of filing and service of, or a copy of, the document filed The ECF system only accepts a “document” in portable document format (PDF) “Clerk” shall include, where the context so requires, Registers of Probate, as well as any respective assistants or deputies 1A “document” is a written pleading, form, notice, motion, affidavit, paper exhibit, brief, judgment, execution, order, mittimus, or other writing filed with or issued by a court For purposes of this rule, “document” includes any transmittal page accompanying the writing “ECF” stands for Electronic Case File, or where the context requires, Electronic Case Filing System “Electronic Filing” (e-filing) means the electronic transmission of original documents to the court, for purposes of filing, and from the court, “Electronic Filing (e-filing) Provider” means the vendor providing e-filing and e-service of documents via the Internet The term shall include the Trial Court Information Service (TCIS) department if TCIS is the e-filing and e-service provider “Electronic Service” (e-service) means the electronic transmission of documents, as described in Rule of the Rules of Civil Procedure, to a party, attorney, or representative under these rules E-service does not include service of process or summons to gain jurisdiction over persons or property, except as provided in C below “Electronic signature” shall mean the information and format indicated in Section I, below “Notice of Electronic Filing” (NEF) means a confirmation that is transmitted, by the e-filing provider, to a registered user and to registered users of record in the case, after a registered user has submitted a transaction through the e-filing provider to a designated court and/or parties and/or their lawyers The NEF displays the date and time the transaction was submitted by the registered user through the e-filing provider The user filing the document shall retain a paper or digital copy of the NEF, which may serve as the submitting party’s proof of filing “PDF” (portable document format) includes the two types of PDF documents: electronically converted PDFs and scanned PDFs Electronically converted PDFs are created from word processing documents (MS Word, WordPerfect, etc.) using Adobe Acrobat or similar software They are text searchable and their file size is small Scanned PDFs are created from paper documents run through an optical scanner Scanned PDFs are generally not searchable and have a larger file size Electronically converted PDFs are preferable for filing with the court using the ECF System “Public Access Terminal” means a publicly accessible computer provided by the court for the purposes of allowing e-filing and viewing of public electronic court records The public access terminal shall be located in the Clerk’s office at the courthouse and made available during normal business hours The Clerk’s office may also offer printed copies of the electronic court records and apply relevant copying fees as permitted by relevant court rules “Transaction” means the record that is created by the e-filing provider with respect to a sent, filed, or served document, including the document(s), Court name, name of case matter, and name of filing party, or filing party’s attorney and firm and other associated information “Transmittal page” shall mean a page generated by the ECF system containing the case information necessary to transmit and file the document Before using these rules, the user should become familiar with all ECF training and documentation materials provided for use of the ECF system A General Information By order dated -, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) authorized certain departments of the Trial Court, the Appeals Court, and the SJC to conduct electronic filing pilot projects (Pilot Projects) Pursuant to that order, courts may designate certain filings to be accepted electronically through the ECF system Participation in the Pilot Project shall be voluntary Registration for the Pilot Project shall be limited to the following: a Attorneys who are members of the Massachusetts Bar b Parties to any case who are not represented by an attorney and who are properly registered and certified under Section B, below, if permitted by the particular pilot court B Effective [date], documents submitted electronically using the ECF system shall be submitted in accordance with these administrative procedures and any applicable standing orders The official court record in Pilot Project cases shall be the electronic case file pertaining to that case, together with any paper documents, attachments, and exhibits filed in accordance with these procedures After [date], the Clerk's office will work exclusively from the electronic record in any Pilot Project case except as otherwise provided herein or as ordered by the judge in a particular case The Clerk’s office may discard all disks submitted or original documents filed for scanning during the Pilot Project upon uploading to the ECF System All documents filed by electronic means must comply with technical standards, if any, established by the Supreme Judicial Court and the Administrative Office of the Trial Court Registration and Certification Registration is accomplished by filling in the on-line ECF registration or by completing an ECF Registration Form, a copy of which is on the participating court’s web page If not submitted on-line, completed ECF Registration Forms should be mailed or hand delivered to: (Clerk of Pilot Court) The registration form must be accompanied by certification of the registrant that he or she has access on a continuing basis to the following hardware and software: A personal computer Internet Browser Software such as Microsoft Internet Explorer® version (or higher), or Firefox® version (or higher) The MassCourts system uses 128-bit encryption to provide the highest level of Internet Security available The browser must support 128-bit encryption and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version 2.0 protocol The browser must be JavaScript-enabled Adobe Reader ® or equivalent software to view PDF documents PDF reader software is free and downloadable from various web-sites Software to convert documents from a word processor format to PDF There are several PDF writer/conversion programs available, some depending on the browser used Access to a scanner to create images of non-computerized documents such as exhibits An e-mail account readily accessible by the registrant The size of the email account must be sufficient to receive large filed documents While this may exceed the size allocated for free email accounts, in general, an account with storage space of at least 100 megabytes is sufficient Any spam filter operation on the network and computer receiving the e-mail must be set to allow notices from the court The browser must be set to accept all cookies The instructions for enabling cookies will vary, depending on the browser you are using Registrants of the ECF system shall be individuals and not law firms, agencies, corporations, or other groups, excepting electronic service providers who have been approved, in the case of the Trial Court, by the Chief Justice for Administration and Management, and in the case of the Appellate Courts, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court for their respective pilots By registering, users agree to electronically file all documents, except those requiring paper filing under Section G below, to the extent the ECF system can accept them Registration also constitutes consent to service of all documents as provided in these procedures, the Massachusetts Rules of Civil, Criminal and Appellate Procedure and in participating courts’ standing orders, by electronic means Upon completion of a properly-executed ECF registration form, a confidential, secure access code shall be assigned to the user The access code shall be used only by the user to whom it is assigned and by any employee or other person that the user authorizes Use of a user’s access code by the user’s employee or other authorized person shall be deemed to be the act of the registered user If the confidentiality of the access code has been inadvertently or improperly disclosed, the user shall, upon learning of such disclosure immediately report it through the ECF system The same access code shall be used for all cases on which the user is an attorney or party The user’s access code and electronic signature shall expire 12 months from the last docket activity on any case in the Trial or Appellate Court for which the user is registered, or while any case for which the user is registered remains active, whichever is longer A user’s access code and electronic signature may be reset as needed for administrative and security purposes Users must furnish an e-mail address that the court and/or any authorized electronic service provider will use to send notice of receipt and confirmation of filing Users may furnish more than one e-mail address for this purpose, with the understanding that any authorized electronic service provider will send notice of receipt and confirmation of filing to all such addresses It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the court has the correct e-mail address(es) Users shall notify the ECF system within days of any change in the information provided for registration To the extent a particular Pilot Project so provides, any person who is a party to a civil action, and who is not represented by an attorney, may register as a user in the ECF system The party must register as provided above If, during the course of the action, an attorney appears on the party’s behalf, the Clerk shall deactivate the party’s registration upon the filing of that attorney’s appearance, unless the party and the attorney are participating in the Limited Assistance Representation program The attorney so appearing, whether or not participating in the Limited Assistance Representation program, may then elect to participate in the ECF pilot project, upon registration as set forth above, or proceed in the traditional method, at the attorney’s option If an attorney participating in the Limited Assistance Repreesentation program elects to proceed in the traditional method, the party user receiving such representation shall continue to receive all material in electronic form Users who wish to stop using the ECF system in a particular case must so notify the Clerk of any court in which the case is pending, through the ECF system The ECF system shall generate a notice to be sent to all parties that traditional methods must be used for this party for future filings and service 10 Any individual who is not an attorney in, or a party to, a case, and who has obtained permission of the court, e.g., a witness seeking a protective order, interveners, amicus curiae, or court investigators, may file in the traditional method or may register as a user and file electronically If the filing is by the traditional method, such individual shall be required to comply with the rules governing such filing in the traditional way C D Filing and Service of Civil Case Initiating Documents Civil case initiating documents, such as a complaint or petition, may be filed through the ECF system No filing shall be accepted until the required filing fee has been paid, or a waiver of the fee is granted, and until approved for acceptance by the Clerk of the court If the Clerk accepts a case initiating document for filing, the Clerk shall assign a case number and authenticate the document as provided in Section D below Upon acceptance by the Clerk, the ECF system shall send a notice to the filer and to other registered users who are parties to the case, that the filing has been accepted and is available through the ECF system website Case initiating documents shall be served by traditional methods unless the responding party has consented in writing to accept electronic service or service by some other method, as determined by the pilot court Case initiating documents shall be served together with a notice, developed by the Administrative Office of the Trial Court for pilot courts in the trial court, and by the SJC and Appeals Court, respectively for their pilots, to the responding party stating that the case has been electronically filed and giving instructions in the use of the ECF system if the responding party chooses to so A responding party, or an attorney for a responding party, may register to use the ECF system as provided in Section B After registering to use the ECF system, the responding party or attorney may also register as a user on the particular case Such registration by an attorney in the case shall not constitute an appearance; the attorney must separately file and serve his or her appearance in the case The court shall cause an electronic case filing notice indicating the new user and his /her appearance to be sent to the other users in the case Electronic Filing Whenever a pleading or other document is transmitted to the court electronically, the ECF system will automatically generate and send, by e-mail, a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) to the transmitting user and ECF registered users of record in the case The user transmitting the document shall retain a paper or digital copy of the NEF, which shall serve as the court's date-stamp and proof of the court’s receipt of the document The Clerk of court to which transmission is made shall review the document to determine if the document complies with these rules, and any other rules governing the filing of documents generally, and should be accepted for filing If the Clerk accepts the document, the document shall be considered filed with the court at the time the original submission to the ECF system was complete, as stated on the NEF issued by the court Upon acceptance, the ECF system shall issue a confirmation with the date and time of the original submission to serve as proof of filing If the Clerk rejects the document, the document shall not become part of the court record and the user transmitting the document shall receive notification of the rejection The notification of non-acceptance must set forth the reasons the document was rejected A docket entry shall be made reflecting the rejection and the reason or reasons therefore Electronic transmission of a document to the ECF system, and acceptance by the Clerk of court, together with the court’s transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF), constitutes filing of the document for all purposes of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil, Criminal, and Appellate Procedure and court standing orders, and the document shall be entered on the docket maintained by the Clerk pursuant to those rules and any applicable court standing orders The date the document is considered filed shall be determined by the regular designated business hours of the court Any document submitted to the ECF system before the close of regular business hours shall be considered filed on that date, so long as it is subsequently accepted by the Clerk upon review A document submitted after the close of regular business hours shall be considered filed the next business day The ECF system shall note the date and time the document is submitted The ECF system shall receive electronic filings 24 hours per day except when undergoing maintenance or repair All pleadings filed electronically shall be titled in the same way as documents are titled when filing in the traditional method Except by specific order of a judge in each instance, e-mailing or faxing a document to the court does not constitute “filing” of the document A document shall not be considered fil ed until the court generates an NEF E Service of Electronically Filed Documents Unless excused by the Rules of Civil Procedure, or otherwise ordered by the court, all pleadings and other papers must be served on other parties Any pleading or other paper served by electronic means must bear a certificate of service, in accordance with applicable Massachusetts Rules of Civil, Criminal, and Appellate Procedure and any court standing orders stating, that the document has been filed electronically and that it will be served electronically to registered ECF participants The attorney or party filing the document electronically is responsible for serving a paper copy of the document by mail in accordance with applicable court rule to those case participants who have not been identified on the NEF as electronic recipients Example: Certificate of Service I hereby certify that this document(s) filed through the ECF system will be sent electronically to the registered participants as identified on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) and paper copies will be sent to those indicated as non-registered participants on _(date)_ Service by electronic means shall be treated the same as service by mail for the purpose of adding three (3) days to the prescribed period f o r a response If a NEF sent to a user's e-mail account is rejected or returned undeliverable, the ECF system will automatically notify the filing party and place an entry on the docket reflecting the rejection The filing party shall then serve the document on that user by traditional methods The user whose e-mail account rejected the notice shall be treated by the court and by all parties to the case as a nonregistered party until the party corrects the problem and re-registers with the ECF system.1 By registering in the ECF system, parties or attorneys presumptively agree to electronic service If a party or attorney so registered wishes to have service in any particular case by traditional methods, he or she must notify the Clerk and all other parties and attorneys in the case An attorney or self-represented party may submit a request to the Clerk of court to begin electronic filing of documents after commencement of the case The decision to allow electronic filing of documents after the case has been commenced is in the sole discretion of the Clerk of court If the request is granted, the requester shall register under these rules and shall send a notice to the other parties by traditional methods stating that the case has been electronically filed and shall include instructions for how to use the ECF system if the other parties choose to so The ECF system shall not be used for the electronic exchange of discovery materials and other communications between the parties that are not intended to be filed with the court Discovery materials and other communications between the parties that are not filed with the court may be exchanged electronically between the parties by mutual consent Electronic service shall be deemed complete at the time of transmission of the NEF For the purpose of computing time to respond to documents received by electronic service, any document served on a day or at a time when the court is not open for business shall be deemed served at the time of the next opening of the court for business F 1Payment of Fees The ECF system will have one or more methods for electronic payment, including credit cards, debit cards, electronic funds transfers, or debit accounts Users shall make any payment due to the Clerk of court through the ECF system unless otherwise ordered by the court Documents that require payment of a fee are not considered filed until the fee is paid or a waiver of the fee is granted Users may submit a request for waiver of any fees using a form provided by the ECF system for this purpose The court may charge a fee for the use of the ECF system; electronic filing services may charge a fee for their services The amount of any such fee shall be subject to the approval of the Chief Justice for Administration and Management, in the case of the Trial Court, or of the respective Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and of the Appeals Court with respect to their respective courts G Format and Content of Documents As noted, all documents submitted in the ECF system must be in PDF format Additionally, users shall format all electronically filed documents in accordance with statutes, rules and standing orders governing formatting of paper documents, including page limits and font style and size No deviation shall be allowed except by court order To the extent that mandatory information is required to transmit and file documents to the court in electronic form, users shall provide such information A document shall be rejected for failure to include information in any one of the mandatory fields identified by the system The ECF system may have limits on the length or number of exhibits Exhibits rejected by the system for this reason shall be filed and served by traditional methods Leave of court may be granted for traditional filing and service of exhibits in appropriate cases Users shall maintain an original paper document of each electronically filed document in electronic form until final disposition of the case, including any appeal Each filed document must be self contained, with links, if any, only to other documents submitted simultaneously or already in the court record The following documents shall be filed only on paper: a Impounded documents The term “impounded” includes information contained in papers, documents or exhibits that is withheld from public inspection and cannot be published, disseminated, or otherwise disclosed It includes information so classified by statute, court rule, or court order and includes information sealed, privileged or otherwise not available for public inspection See Section H b Ex parte motions and applications, where allowed by court rule; c Original pretrial hearing and trial exhibits; and d Medical records Original paper filings may be made of the following types of documents and need not be filed electronically However, they may be scanned and filed into the ECF system by a filing party or the Clerk’s office: a All handwritten pleadings; b All pleadings and documents filed by self-represented litigants who are incarcerated or who are not registered filing users in the ECF system; c Executed service of process documents; and d Attachments to filings H Confidential or Impounded Information 10 Impounded Documents/Cases At this time, the court will not permit the electronic filing of impounded documents These documents should be filed as always, clearly labeled as an impounded document, with the appropriate accompanying notice of impoundment or motion to impound pursuant to the Uniform Rules of Impoundment Procedure, and any other applicable court rules and standing orders a Motions to Seal A party may electronically file a motion to file a document under seal If the motion is granted, the assigned judge will electronically file an order authorizing the filing of the document under seal The filing party shall then deliver the document to the Clerk’s office for conventional filing under seal A paper copy of the order must be attached to the documents filed under seal and delivered to the Clerk Ex Parte Motions These motions must be filed as hard copies Confidentiality The confidentiality of an electronic record or an electronic or paper copy thereof, is the same as for the equivalent paper record Where the confidential or impounded document is scanned or otherwise placed in the electronic case file, the ECF system may permit access to confidential or impounded information only to the extent provided by law No person in possession of a confidential or impounded electronic record, or an electronic or paper copy thereof, may release the information to any other person except as provided by law, or court order a If a document is confidential or impounded, it shall be identified as confidential or impounded by the submitting party when it is filed The ECF system may require users to enter certain information, such as social security numbers, in confidential fields b Where the confidential or impounded document is scanned or otherwise placed in the electronic case file, the ECF system shall place a visible mark on documents identified as confidential or impounded I Submitting Redacted Documents The parties may request or the court may require the submission of redacted documents which have sensitive or confidential information removed from them When filing the original document electronically, the original unredacted document should not be attached to the entry In its place attach a PDF file which includes the caption of the document and the notation “Impounded Document” The filer shall retain the original for future production, if necessary, for two (2) years after the expiration of the time for filing a timely appeal J Signature 11 Attorneys The user log-in and password required to submit documents to the ECF system shall serve as that user's signature for purposes of Mass.R.Civ.P.11 and for all other purposes under the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure and the standing orders of any court participating i n t h e p i l o t All electronically filed documents must include a signature block and must set forth the attorney's name, Board of Bar Overseers number, address, telephone number and e-mail address The name of the ECF user under whose log-in and password the document is submitted must be preceded by a "/s/" and typed in the space where the signature would otherwise appear For example: /s/ John A Smith John A Smith BBO#123456 123 Main Street Boston, MA 02210 617-987-6543 jasmith@internetprovider.com Persons not represented by an attorney All electronically filed documents must include a signature block and must set forth the individual’s name, address, telephone number and e-mail address On the signature line above the signature block on the document to be electronically filed, “/s/” must be typed in the space where the signature would otherwise appear For example: /s/ John B Doe John B Doe 123 Main Street Boston, MA 02210 617 123-4567 johnbdoe@isp.com Multiple Signatures The filer of any document requiring more than one signature (e.g, stipulations, joint motions, joint status reports, etc.) must list thereon all the names of other signatories by means of a signature block for each signatory For example: /s/ John B Doe John B Doe 12 123 Main Street Boston, MA 02210 617 123-4567 johnbdoe@isp.com /s/ Jane M Doe Jane M Doe 123 Main Street Boston, MA 02210 617 123-4567 johnbdoe@isp.com /s/ Attorney John A Smith John A Smith BBO#123456 123 Main Street Boston, MA 02210 617-987-6543 jasmith@internetprovider.com In submitting such a document, the filer m u s t c e r t i f y that each of the other signatories has expressly agreed to the form and substance of the document and that the filer has their actual authority in writing to submit the document electronically The filer shall retain the record evidencing this concurrence for future production, if necessary, until two years after the expiration of the time for filing a timely appeal, or of the final conclusion of the case if an appeal is taken A non-filing signatory or party who disputes the authenticity of an electronically filed document containing multiple signatures must file an objection to the document within 14 days of the date on the NEF, or of receiving actual knowledge of the filing, if the non-filing signatory or party is not a recipient of the NEF Affidavits Affidavits may be filed electronically; however, the electronically filed version must contain a "/s/ name of signatory" block, as above, and indicating that the paper document bears an original signature The filer shall retain the original for future production, if necessary, for two years after the expiration of the time for filing a timely appeal Signature of Notaries Documents notarized by traditional methods may be filed through the ECF system if a hand written signature and physical seal appear on the original document The user shall submit a scanned copy of the notarized document to the ECF system, and the court shall maintain the scanned document as the official court record The court may require the submitting party to produce the original paper document if validity of the notarization is challenged The filer shall retain the original for production, if necessary, for two years after 13 expiration of the time for filing a timely appeal, or of the final conclusion of the case if an appeal is taken Summons and Complaint A summons and complaint, petition, or other initiating document that is electronically signed in compliance with this Section bears a sufficient signature under any statute or rule Use An electronic signature shall be used only by the user to whom it is assigned or his or her assignee Upon learning that the confidentiality of the electronic signature has been inadvertently or improperly disclosed, the user shall immediately report such disclosure through the ECF system a Attorneys are responsible for electronically filed documents to the same extent as for paper filings Attorneys using the ECF system are subject to sanctions and/or contempt proceedings as may be provided by statute or rule, and are subject to discipline for any violation of a duty to the court imposed by statute or rule b Self-represented parties are responsible for electronically filed documents to the same extent as for paper filings Self-represented parties using the ECF system are subject to sanctions and/or contempt procedures as may be provided by statute or rule 1Signatures of Court Officials If the signature of a court official is required on a document, an electronic signature may be used The electronic signature shall be treated as the court official's personal original signature for all purposes under Massachusetts statutes and court rules Where a nonelectronic signature would be located on a particular order, form, letter, or other document, the official's printed name shall be inserted The electronic signature of a court official shall be used only by the official to whom it is assigned and by such designees as the official may authorize The court official is responsible for any use of his or her electronic signature by an authorized designee 10 A court official may delegate the use of his or her electronic signature to an authorized designee pursuant to the security procedures governing the respective Pilot Court Upon learning that the confidentiality of the e-signature has been inadvertently or improperly disclosed, the court official shall 14 immediately report that fact to the consolidated court automation program Court officials shall safeguard the security of their electronic signatures and exercise care in delegating the electronic signature K Privacy To address the privacy concerns created by Internet access to court documents, unless otherwise ordered by the court, all ECF users and filers shall comply with the Supreme Judicial Court’s Interim Guidelines for the Protection of Personal Identifying Data in Publically Accessible Court Documents See http://www.mass.gov/cours/sjc/docs/interim-pid-guidelines.pdf It shall not be the responsibility of the Clerk’s office to review each document to determine if pleadings have been modified and are in the proper form L M Attachments to Filings and Exhibits (other than hearing and trial exhibits) Attachments to filings and exhibits must be filed in accordance with the court’s ECF User Manual, unless otherwise ordered by the court A filer must submit as attachments only those excerpts of the referenced documents that are directly germane to the matter under consideration by the court Excerpted material must be clearly and prominently identified as such Users who file excerpts of documents so without prejudice to their right to timely file additional excerpts or the complete document, as may be allowed by the court Responding parties may timely file additional excerpts or the complete document that they believe are directly germane Filers shall not attach as an exhibit any pleading or other paper already on file with the court in that case, but shall merely refer to that document File Size Limitations and Conventional Filing of Documents Documents submitted electronically are subject to paper page limitations set by order of the participating court A filing party must limit the size of the PDF file to no more than megabytes Documents significantly larger than megabytes will be rejected by the ECF system Filers should take into consideration that scanned images take up considerably more space on the system than PDF files containing electronically generated documents converted to PDF However, larger documents or exhibits may be submitted electronically if they are broken up into separate megabyte segments and attached to the main document 15 N O Because documents scanned in color or containing a graphic take much longer to upload, filing parties must configure their scanners to scan documents at 200 dpi and in black and white rather than in color Documents appearing in color in their original form, such as color photographs, may be scanned in color and then uploaded to the system The filer is required to verify the readability of scanned documents before filing them electronically with the court Documents or exhibits submitted in the traditional method shall be served on other parties as if not subject to these procedures When a user submits paper documents or exhibits in the traditional method, the filing user shall file a Notice of Filing with Clerk’s Office electronically A paper copy of the Notice of Filing with the Clerk’s Office must accompany the documents submitted to the court The Notice of Filing with Clerk’s Office shall describe each of the documents that will be retained as paper copies in the Clerk’s office files, or include an index of the documents if they are voluminous Orders and Judgments Except where otherwise required, the assigned judge or Clerk may electronically sign all orders Orders electronically signed by a judge shall be routed to the Clerk for review and docketing Any order signed electronically has the same force and effect as if the judge had affixed his/her signature to a paper copy of the order and it had been entered on the docket in the traditional method The assigned judge or Clerk may sign a paper copy of the order, which shall then be scanned into the ECF and docketed after review by the Clerk When mailing paper copies of an electronically filed or scanned order to a party who is not a registered participant in ECF, the Clerk’s office will include the NEF to provide the non-participant with proof of the filing A Clerk, if appropriate, may enter routine orders, issued by a judge or Clerk as the case may be, by a text-only entry upon the docket entitled “Electronic Order.” In such cases, the text-only entry shall constitute the court's only order on the matter and counsel will receive a system generated NEF Motions for Leave to File 16 In any case of an electronic filing in which a party seeks leave of court to file a document or to amend a document previously filed, the party must attach electronically to the motion seeking leave a copy of the document which the party proposes to file That document must be marked “Proposed [document designation].” If leave to file the document is granted, the party proposing the document must then electronically file the original of that document, indicating in the caption of the document that leave has been granted P Submitting Proposed Order Proposed orders may be submitted electronically in PDF All proposed orders must be either attached as an exhibit to a motion or stipulation or contained within the body of a stipulation The court may request t h a t p a r t i e s s u b m i t proposed orders in word processing format on a compact disk (CD) or by e-mail Q R Transcripts Trial Court Proceedings A transcript of a proceeding of a participating trial court shall be filed in the traditional manner by the court reporter The transcript will be maintained in the case file in the Clerk’s office Transcripts from other Courts A transcript of a proceeding of another court shall be filed electronically in PDF, if so available, otherwise on paper Depositions Transcripts of depositions, when required to be filed, shall be filed electronically using ECF or on either a compact disk in PDF, if so available, otherwise on paper Correcting Docket Entries Once a document is submitted and becomes part of the case docket, corrections to the docket are made only by the Clerk’s office The ECF system will not permit the filing party to make changes to the document(s) or docket entry filed in error once the transaction has been accepted A document m a y be incorrectly filed in a case, e.g., as the result of posting the wrong PDF file to a docket entry, selecting the wrong document type from the menu, or entering the wrong case number and not catching the error before the transaction is completed The filer should not attempt to refile the document unless instructed to so by Clerk’s office staff If an error is initially discovered by a filer, the filer should contact the Clerk’s 17 office requesting a correction as soon as possible, giving the case number and document number for which the correction is being requested If appropriate, the Clerk’s office will make an entry indicating that the document was filed in error The filing party will be advised if the document needs to be refiled S T Technical Failures A filer whose filing is made untimely as a result of a technical failure of the court’s ECF system may seek appropriate relief from the court Known systems outages will be posted on the web site, if possible Problems on the filer’s end, e.g phone line problems, problems with the filer’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), or hardware or software problems, among others, will not constitute a technical failure under these procedures nor excuse an untimely filing A filer who cannot file a document electronically because of a problem on the filer’s end must file the document conventionally with the document in PDF format, on a compact disk, or contact the Clerk’s office for permission to submit the PDF document via email Filers are strongly urged to electronically file any documents due on a given day during normal business hours Self-Represented Litigants Litigants in civil actions may register with ECF or may file (and serve) all pleadings and other documents on paper The Clerk’s office will scan into ECF any pleadings and documents filed on paper in accordance with Section H of these procedures U Access to Electronically Stored Documents All filings that are public may be viewed at the Clerk’s office The public may access court files in the ECF system through the court’s public access terminals in the Clerk’s office, and, when available, over the Internet Access to data other than that available on public access terminals or through public access Internet sites will require ECF system authentication V Retention Unless otherwise ordered by the court, documents that are originally filed as paper r e c o r d s and subsequently uploaded to the ECF system may be destroyed and need 18 not be maintained in its paper form by the Clerk’s office Any document requiring an original signature shall be maintained by the attorney until two years after the expiration of the time for filing a timely appeal or of the final conclusion of the case if an appeal is taken 19 ... user and file electronically If the filing is by the traditional method, such individual shall be required to comply with the rules governing such filing in the traditional way C D Filing and Service. .. access code and electronic signature may be reset as needed for administrative and security purposes Users must furnish an e-mail address that the court and/ or any authorized electronic service provider... e -filing provider with respect to a sent, filed, or served document, including the document(s), Court name, name of case matter, and name of filing party, or filing party’s attorney and firm and