August E Newsletter

US District Court for
the District of Utah

Volume 11
August 2006

Inside This Issue

Attorney Docketing Study	Bankruptcy Help Desk	Finding Correct Events for Paying Online
Looking for the Right Tools?	Note from Clerk's Office	Pay.gov Update
Properly Filing Exhibits	Viewing Restricted Documents
		View Previous Newsletters

Note from the Clerk's Office

Welcome to this edition of our newsletter. This newsletter serves to update all our e-filers on CM/ECF. It also provides tips and reminders to make your electronic filing experience a more pleasant one. Please share this with your support staff who assist you with filing in CM/ECF.

Efiling is now MANDATORY for all members of the Court's Bar! If you are not yet a registered efiler and have not yet signed up for a training session, please do so today! You can register for training on-line at http://ors.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/class.pl

If you are not sure how to efile a document call the Help Desk BEFORE you file the document!

If you believe you have filed incorrectly please call the Help Desk BEFORE you file the document again!

Finding the Correct Events for Paying Fees Online Sherlock Thinking

The district court announced in our July newsletter that attorneys may now pay their fees online. There has been some confusion as to the proper way to file some of the pleadings that require a fee. Here are some simplified instructions about those documents.

Pro Hac Vice

The event to use when filing is found under the category Motions. From the list you will select "Admission Pro Hac Vice (fee collected during entry)." This will allow you to pay the fees online at the time of filing the document.

Remember: There are new forms for submitting the Pro Hac Vice application. The forms may be obtained by clicking here or from our web site at http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/documents/formpage.html. Pro Hac counsel must complete the Application and MUST provide their mailing address on the document. If the Pro Hac counsel has not previously registered as an efiler in the District of Utah they must also complete and submit this form. Local counsel will complete and file the Motion with the Application, Electronic Case Filing Registration Form (if needed), and the Proposed Order as attachments. Local counsel will also email the Proposed Order in WordPerfect or Word format to the judge.

Initiating a New Civil Case

Counsel should email the Civil Cover Sheet and Complaint or Initiating document, with the parties listed in PDF format, to: Utdecf_clerk@utd.uscourts.gov. You must have this email in before 4:00 p.m. to have the case filed that day.

The Clerk's office will open the case after assigning a case number and judge. They will then enter a "Remark - New Case" on the docket and the NEF will be emailed to counsel. This will let the filers know that it is now time for them to efile the Complaint or other Initiating Document in the case. This must be done on the same business day to maintain the filing date as the case is not considered to be filed until the fee is paid. AMENDED COMPLAINTS AND ANY DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ADD PARTIES MUST STILL BE DOCKETED BY THE COURT.

These are simplified instructions on how to efile and pay fees online. For the complete instructions please click here or download a copy at http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/documents/pay.gov_announce.html.

A study by the district for attorney filings in June 2006 reveals that the heaviest time for attorney electronic filing is in the afternoon, and that filings peak between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

If you are unsure what event to use to file a document, CALL the Help Desk at (801)524-3248.

Helpful Hints from the Help Desk

Question: Why can't I see a document that says that it is Restricted?
Answer: Documents are Restricted to protect potential personal information. Only efilers that have entered an appearance on the case may view these documents. In order to view them remember - "Use E before P." This means use your ECF login first, then if prompted again use your PACER login.

Question: How can I get help with efiling in Bankruptcy Court?
Answer: The Help Desk receives many calls relating to filing in the Bankruptcy Court. We are unable to answer these questions. We have, however, located the phone number for the Help Desk at the Bankruptcy Court, it is (801)450-3443.

Properly Filing Exhibits

When exhibits are properly filed and labeled they are an extremely useful part of the docket for all users. Here are examples of how some users have filed their exhibits.

This is in example of how NOT to file your exhibits. You will notice that there is no type of description or labeling at all. At first glance of this docket sheet you can not tell what the attachments might be.
example of bad exhibits

This example is a little better. You will see that the attachments have been labeled. Any user would still have to read the main document or open each attachment to determine what is being filed.
example of ok exhibits

This is an example of the best way to file attachments. It is clear from the docket sheet exactly what each attachment is. If you were using a system similar to the previous example you could add text so that it would read: Exhibit A - Invoice from June 2005. This allows you to still have some type of organizational layout and provide a description as to exactly what the user will be viewing.
example of good exhibits

Pay.gov Update

Beginning August 13, a new field to enable the collection of the security code that appears on the back of user's credit card will be added to the Pay.gov screen. This field, while not used for verification by Pay.gov, can be used later in the process by a bank if a cardholder disputes or questions a transaction appearing on his bill. If a customer disputes his bill and the code is not present, the bank may not be able to reprocess the chargeback due to the technicality. The same is also applicable if the billing address entered on Pay.gov's Online Payment screen does not match the cardholder's billing address.

Screen view

Looking for the Right Tools?

The Administrative Procedures Manual is an invaluable tool for all efilers. You can find it on our web site at:

http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/cmecf/documents/ecfpage2.htm#OrdersRules.

We get many inquiries re: how to email chambers, where the chambers email addresses are, what to do with proposed orders, questions about attorney signatures and certificates of service. Please take some time to acquaint yourselves with this manual and as always, if you have any questions, please call the help desk at 524-3248.