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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 08-1406

THE COURTS

Title 249--PHILADELPHIA RULES

PHILADELPHIA COUNTY

Order Implementing Electronic Filing as provided in Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4; Trial Division Administrative Doc. No. 01-2008

[38 Pa.B. 4071]
[Saturday, August 2, 2008]

Order

   And Now, this 16th day of July, 2008, as authorized by Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4(a)(1), it is hereby Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that:

   (a)  Discretionary Electronic Filing. Commencing at 9 a.m. on August 4, 2008, parties may electronically file all ''legal papers,'' as defined in Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(a)(2), with the Prothonotary through the Civil Trial Division's Electronic Filing System as more specifically provided in Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure No. 205.4 and Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4. If a legal paper is electronically filed, the Civil Electronic Filing System will automatically serve all persons who have previously submitted electronic filings in the same case, pursuant to Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4 and Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4 (g), but the filing party must serve all others as required by rules of court. All legal papers filed in a hard-copy format must be served by the filing party as required by rules of court.

   (b)  Mandatory Electronic Filing. Commencing at 9 a.m. on January 5, 2009, parties shall electronically file all ''legal papers,'' as defined in Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(a)(2), with the Prothonotary through the Civil Trial Division's Electronic Filing System as more specifically provided in Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure No. 205.4 and Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4. If a legal paper is electronically filed, the Civil Electronic Filing System will automatically serve all persons who have previously submitted electronic filings in the same case, pursuant to Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4 and Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(g), but the filing party must serve all others as required by rules of court. All legal papers filed in a hard-copy format must be served by the filing party as required by rules of court.

It Is Further Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that:

   (1)  In order to accommodate the scanning of legal papers presented in hard-copy format and saving in an electronic format as authorized by Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4, in addition to the requirements of Pa.R.C.P. No. 204.1, all hard-copy ''legal papers'' must conform to the following requirements:

   (a)  all legal papers must be printed on only one side of the paper;

   (b)  all orders must contain a 3-inch space from the top of the page for all electronic court stampings, filing notices, etc.;

   (c)  legal papers must not be stapled or permanently bound, but must be secured by binder clips or other fasteners which do not puncture or otherwise interfere with scanning;

   (d)  bar codes on any page of the legal paper interfere with scanning and must therefore be crossed out or otherwise redacted;

   (e)  to avoid scanning errors, Exhibit separator pages must be used instead of Exhibit tabs;

   (2)  In order to accommodate the filing of documents in an electronic format as authorized by Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4, all ''legal papers'' as defined in Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(a)(2), must conform to the following requirements:

   (a)  All files must be no larger than 3MB each. If an electronic file exceeds this limit, then it must be split into multiple files;

   (b)  All PDF pages must be 8 and 1/2 inches in size exactly. Other file sizes may be incompatible with electronic filing;

   (c)  No security, passwords or other restrictions may be placed on electronic files. If an electronic file contains passwords or other security devices, it will be rejected; and

   (d)  After an electronic file is created, it must not be modified in any way. If an electronic filing is modified, it may be incompatible with the electronic filing system and will be rejected.

   (3)  Until January 5, 2009, Discovery Hearing Requests may be filed or faxed as provided in Philadelphia Civil Rule *208.3(a)(4), or may be filed through the Civil Trial Division's Electronic Filing System. Electronically filed Discovery Hearing Requests shall be served by the Civil Electronic Filing System on all persons who have previously submitted electronic filings in the same case, pursuant to Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4 and Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(g), but the filing party must serve all others as required by rules of court. Discovery Hearing Requests filed in a hard-copy format must be served by the filing party as required by rules of court.

   This Administrative Order is promulgated as authorized by Pa.R.C.P. 205.4 and Philadelphia Civil Rule No. *205.4, and in accordance with Pa.R.C.P. No. 239 and the April 11, 1986 Order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, No. 55 Judicial Administration. This Administrative Order shall become effective on August 4, 2008. The original Administrative Order shall also be filed with the Prothonotary in a Docket maintained for Administrative Orders issued by the Administrative Judge of the Trial Division, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, and shall be published on the Pennsylvania Judiciary's Web Application Portal: ujsportal.pacourts.us/Rules/RulesSelection.aspx. Copies of the Administrative Order shall be submitted to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, the Civil Procedural Rules Committee, American Lawyer Media, The Legal Intelligencer, Jenkins Memorial Law Library, and the Law Library for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and shall be posted on the web site of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania: courts.phila.gov/regs.

By the Court

HONORABLE D. WEBSTER KEOGH,   
Administrative Judge, Trial Division
Court of Common Pleas

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-1406. Filed for public inspection August 1, 2008, 9:00 a.m.]


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