Local Civil Rules of Court

CIVIL RULE 16 ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE

A. GENERAL
B. REGISTRATION AND DESIGNATION OF ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION ADDRESS
C. ELECTRONIC FILING OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS
D. ELECTRONIC SUMMONS
E. ELECTRONIC SERVICE OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS
F. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS
G. COLLECTION OF FEES
H. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF ORDERS AND OTHER PAPERS
I. PUBLIC ACCESS AND PRIVACY
J. SIGNATURES
K. HARD COPY DOCUMENTS

A. GENERAL

(1) DESIGNATED ACTIONS

All actions provisionally designated as complex pursuant to CRC 3.400(c), and all actions classified by the Complex Litigation Judge as Complex Litigation, are designated for electronic filing and service unless exempted by order of the Complex Litigation Judge for good cause.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

(2) ELECTRONIC FILING SERVICE PROVIDER (VENDOR)

The Court has contracted with an electronic filing service provider (Vendor) to furnish and maintain an electronic filing system for the Court. The Court's Electronic Filing Website address is http://www.scefiling.org. The Court's vendor is:

Andy Jamieson, Glotrans
2915 McClure St., Oakland, CA 94609
Telephone: (510) 208-4775
Email: support@glotrans.com

(Eff. 7/01/10)

B. REGISTRATION AND DESIGNATION OF ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION ADDRESS

Each party who appears in an action designated for electronic filing and service must promptly register with Vendor and provide an electronic notification address at which the party agrees to accept service. Vendor will assign the party a confidential login and password to the Court’s electronic filing system.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

C. ELECTRONIC FILING OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS

Except as expressly provided in this Rule, or as expressly authorized by the Court, all pleadings, motions, memoranda of law, declarations, orders, or other documents filed in an action designated for electronic filing and service shall be filed through the Court’s electronic filing system.

(1) METHODS OF FILING

A document may be filed by:

a. Using the confidential login and password provided by the Vendor to transmit the document in electronic form over the Internet; or

b. Mailing or faxing the document in paper form to Vendor, who shall then convert it to electronic form, file it with the Court, and serve it on designated parties. Parties choosing this method of filing will be charged an additional fee reflecting Vendor’s then-current published rates for this additional service.

(2) FORMAT

A document submitted for electronic filing shall be in PDF format. The document shall also comply with the Rules that would apply if the document were filed in paper form.

(3) MAINTENANCE OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS

An original of all documents filed electronically, including original signatures, shall be maintained by the party filing the document.

(4) COMPLETION OF FILING

When a party transmits a document in electronic form over the Internet for filing through the Court’s electronic filing system, a confirmation of receipt will be sent to the party’s electronic notification address. The Court will promptly review the document and send a notice indicating whether the document has been accepted for filing or rejected.

(5) DATE OF FILING

A document may be electronically transmitted to the Court’s electronic filing system at any time on any day. If the document is accepted for filing, the date of filing will be the date on which the document was transmitted, provided that the transmission occurred prior to 5:00 p.m. pacific time on a court day. Otherwise, the date of filing will be the next court day.

(6) SYSTEM OR USER FILING ERRORS

If a document is rejected because of (1) an error in the transmission of the document to the Vendor which was unknown to the transmitting party, or (2) a failure to process the electronic transmission, the Court may enter an order permitting the document to be filed nunc pro tunc.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

D. ELECTRONIC SUMMONS

On electronic filing of a complaint, a petition, or another document that must be served with a summons, the party shall electronically transmit the summons with the document.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

E. ELECTRONIC SERVICE OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS

All parties shall serve other parties through the Court’s electronic filing system. Parties, or their designated counsel, shall receive all documents electronically filed and served upon them via access to the Court’s electronic filing system. However, a Motion for Determination of Good Faith Settlement may alternatively be served pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 877.6, subd. (a)(2).

(1) EFFECT OF ELECTRONIC SERVICE

The electronic service of a pleading or other document shall be valid and effective service on all participants and shall have the same legal effect as an original paper document.

(2) SERVICE OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED DOCUMENTS

The Vendor will provide electronic service for all documents requiring service, including those which are not filed with the Court.

(3) SYSTEM OR USER SERVICE ERRORS

If electronic service on a party does not occur because of (1) an error in the transmission of the document to a party which error was unknown to the serving party or Vendor, (2) a failure to process the electronic filing for service when received by the Vendor, or (3) the party’s erroneous exclusion from the service list, the party to be served, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, shall be entitled to an order extending the date for any response or the period within which any right, duty or other act must be performed.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

F. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS

Parties required to file electronically under this Rule may be excused from filing a particular document electronically if it is not available in electronic format and it is not feasible for the filer to convert it to electronic format by scanning it to PDF. Such a document may be manually filed with the Clerk of Court and served upon the parties in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the California Rules of Court for filing and service of non-electronic documents. Parties manually filing a document shall file electronically a Notice of Manual Filing setting forth the reason the document cannot be filed electronically.

(1) DOCUMENTS FILED UNDER SEAL

A motion to file documents under seal shall be filed and served electronically. However, documents lodged with the Court conditionally under seal, as provided in CRC 2.551(d), shall be submitted in paper form, pending hearing on a motion to seal.

(2) EXHIBITS AND REAL OBJECTS

Exhibits to declarations that are real objects (such as construction materials or core samples) or other documents (such as plans or manuals) that may not be comprehensively viewed in an electronic format may be filed and served conventionally.

(3) LODGMENTS

Documents attached to a Notice of Lodgment may be lodged and served conventionally in paper form. However, the actual document entitled “Notice of Lodgment” shall be filed electronically.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

G. COLLECTION OF FEES

(1) COURT FEES

Parties shall pay statutory filing fees to Vendor by credit card at the time of the electronic filing.

(2) VENDOR FEES

Fees charged by Vendor to parties or attorneys for access to and electronic transmission of documents are solely the property of Vendor and are in addition to any charges for statutory filing fees of the Superior Court.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

H. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF ORDERS AND OTHER PAPERS

The Court may issue, file, and serve notices, orders, and other documents electronically, subject to the provisions of this Rule. No paper service will be made by the Court.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

I. PUBLIC ACCESS AND PRIVACY

(1) PERSONAL IDENTIFIERS

Except as provided in CRC 2.500 through 2.507, an electronically filed document is a public document at the time it is filed unless it is sealed under CRC 2.551(b) or made confidential by law. In order to promote electronic access to case files while also protecting personal privacy and other legitimate interests, parties must refrain from including, or must redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal data identifiers from all pleadings and other papers filed with the Court under this Rule, including exhibits, whether filed electronically or in paper, unless otherwise ordered by the Court:

a. Social Security numbers. If an individual’s social security number must be included, only the last four digits shall be used.

b. Names of minor children. If a minor child must be mentioned, only the initials of that child shall be used.

c. Dates of birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included, only the year shall be used.

d. Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits shall be used.

(2) PRIVILEGED OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

No party shall intentionally include within pleadings, nor attach as exhibits, any matter that the party knows to be properly subject to a claim of privilege or confidentiality.

(3) FILING OF SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS

A party wishing to file a document containing the personal data identifiers listed above, or material known to be subject to a claim of privilege, may file an unredacted document under seal as provided in this Rule. The party must file a redacted copy for the public file.

(4) RESPONSIBILITY FOR REDACTION

The responsibility for redacting personal identifiers and privileged or confidential information rests solely with counsel and the parties. The Clerk will not review each pleading or other paper for compliance. The Court may impose sanctions for violation of these requirements.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

J. SIGNATURES

The requirements for signatures on documents are set forth in CRC 2.257.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

K. HARD COPY DOCUMENTS

The Court will maintain the hard copy file as the official Court record. Filers must provide two hard copies of documents electronically filed within three court days of receiving notice of acceptance for filing.

(Eff. 7/01/10)

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