ELECTRONIC FILING-MONTGOMERY COUNTY OHIO

The General Division and the Clerk of Court have prepared an entry to guide the implementation of the e-filing project.  The entry was developed in accordance with proposed e-filing standards established by an Ohio Supreme Court Committee on technology standards.  The

The Court recently conducted a webinar training session for e-filing users.  Over 100 participants received training through this method.  The questions and answers from this training follow.

1.         Are convenience fees due even when an indigency affidavit is filed?

            No. If the check box is selected for “Affidavit Of Indigency”, then there is no deposit required and therefore no convenience fee. An Affidavit of Indigency must be filled with the submission.

2.         Are other courts contemplating implementing e-filing systems from Tybera or any other vendors?

            Yes. Many Courts in Ohio are looking at eFiling and we have been involved in showing them what our system is capable of.

3.         When filing complaints with attached exhibits, is it an option to upload the exhibits as a separate PDF, rather than in the same file?

            Yes, you may prepare your complaint as a separate PDF from the exhibits but it will be an attachment to the complaint and will be reflected as one document for the record.  You must add your complaint to the submission then select attachment or exhibit as your next document type.  You will be asked what document you want the attachment or exhibit attached to; you must select the complaint.  You can add as many attachments as you need while staying within the size guidelines.  The complaint and exhibits will be combined as one document for the record.

4.        Can a notification be sent to the Sheriff’s office when an Order is signed to cancel a foreclosure sale?

           No, we are currently working with the Sheriff’s office with the goal of complete automation. This particular Order is on the list of things to automatically deliver.

5.        Can you repeat what information goes into the Filer Reference No.?

The filer reference no. would be any number and/or name that you may assign to your client.  Filer Reference No. is better known as your client case number.  The filer reference no. is not a mandatory field so if you do not assign a client number or name, you can leave this field blank.

6.         Do you have to use /s/ for signature or can you use your real signature?

            The /s/ is the acceptable electronic signature for attorneys and we do not need a wet signature. It is more labor intensive  to electronically file a document with your “real signature”. It requires you to print your document, sign the document, and then scan it back to an electronic format (PDF). Scanned documents prevents us from taking advantage of : the ability to search documents or copy and paste, and Scanning also increases the size of documents. You can always create an image of the actual signature and insert this image on the signature line if necessary. 

7.         For Summary Judgments - Are we required to file the motion for leave and order granting leave first, and then file the msj and entry second?

You must file the Motion and the Entry as separate documents but you can include them in the same submission.  The Court actually prefers the Motion and the Entry be filed in the same submission.  If you want the Entry to be attached to the Motion as well, you can mark that as an exhibit and include this in the PDF document. Please make sure to label this as an exhibit.  The Motion must be filed as a PDF document and the Entry for the Judge to sign must be a .doc, .docx, or .wpd file format.

8.         I work for Ohio Atty Gen - we don’t pay filing fees.  What is our process for the “select a   payment method?”

The Payment Options is based on the Organization the user is assigned to. The Ohio Attorney General’s office is considered “exempt” from deposits or filing fees.  If you are initiating a new case, the “select a payment method will not even be available”.  The fees will be assessed to the case but you will not be required to pay the deposit up front.

9.         If you file a Motion and Entry (example: Motion for Summary Judgment) we usually attach the Entry to the back of the Motion.  Do we need to file the    Entry separate from the Motion since the judge needs to sign it? Do we file as one document - PDF. or DOC?

You must file the Motion and the Entry as separate documents but you can include them in the same submission.  The Court actually prefers the Motion and the Entry be filed in the same submission.  . The Motion gets filed as a PDF (because it does not require a Judges signature) and, if you like, you could attach, as a PDF, a version of that Order. This is not the same as filing the order. You are simply showing the order you have prepared and it will become one Docket entry with the Motion.

The Entry/Order you need signed by the Judge MUST come in as a .DOC or .DOCX. There is no other way to file an entry for Judges to sign. They are filed individually in a Word Processing format that can be opened, changed, if needed and finally signed. This process then converts the signed order to a PDF.    

10.       Is the instrument number mandatory for praecipes?

            The Prior Instrument Reference is not mandatory. Only items with an asterisk (*) before the box are mandatory.

11.       Is there a link to find out which types of cases are still done as paper filings?

            Currently: Certificate of Judgment; Executions and Criminal cases types within the     Montgomery County, Common Pleas Court, General Division are still being filed in         paper.

12.       For documents that have filing fees, do you have a link telling us which ones need filing fees?

            We do not have a link in the Eflex site to tell you which documents have a filling fee. You can access the filing fees at http://www.clerk.co.montgomery.oh.us/legal/cvfees.cfm   

13.       What is the emergency box for?

            The emergency box is to be checked if you are filing a TRO or perhaps an Order to Withdraw Sheriff Sale (and the Proposed Order is getting submitted the morning of the sale!).  When the box is checked, the submission is flagged and marked red in order for the Clerk to catch the emergency.  If a filer develops a habit of marking everything “emergency”, the Clerk’s office will take note and will eventually reject the filings.

14.       Are you planning another session?

            Yes. We will be setting future webinar dates in the next few weeks and broadcast those    to all electronic filers.

15.       I was wondering if this webinar was going to be taped so that one of the staff at our firm   may view it at a later date.

            The Webinar was not taped. Our goal is to do these periodically so that updates to the system are always captured. The future dates will be communicated as soon as they are available.

The General Division and the Clerk of Court have prepared an entry to guide and govern the implementation of the electronic filing project. This entry was prepared and has been approved by the Supreme Court Committee on technology standards. The specific standards for e-filing were developed with input from many potential users.  This entry is being published to seek comment from members of the Bar and other interested parties in Montgomery County. Please review the proposed entry and provide any comments.

The portable document format for electronic documents is in wide use in the business and legal community.  PDF has been previously discussed as the standard that will be used for electronic filing in Montgomery County.  The basic tools and functions for PDF are contained in most word processing programs.  There are many other functions for PDF documents that are used by attorneys in their daily practice.  A site named Acrobat For Legal Professionals explores application of PDF tools that attorneys are using to add efficiency to their practice.

During the week of March 17th, the Court and Clerk started the design review phase of e-filing.  As previously discussed, the vendor chosen for this project was Tybera.  Representatives from Tybera were on site in Montgomery County to start the design phase of the project.  This involves group discussions with clerk and court staff to document and analyze current processing methods.  A critical analysis of “how we do things” is necessary so that we avoid the mistake of automating ineffecient processes and methods.  A demonstration of the review queue will be presented to the Judges to give them a better understanding of how electronic review and signatures will work.

A recent article in the Florida Bar News examined the role of attorneys in the development and use of emerging technology in the courts.  Florida has been very active in the use of electronic records and other technology advancements. From the beginning, the Montgomery County e-filing project has included Bar Association and Attorney representatives in the planning effort.

Many courts in the United States are moving to e-filing.  This filing method has a presence in 99% of the Federal Courts and is used many state courts.  The National Center for State Courts provides significant resources and information on e-filing.

In its simplest form, electronic filing is the substitution of an electronic document for a traditional paper document. With the evolution of Internet technology, electronic filing has become a highly secure and reliable method for sending, receiving, and managing [Read more →]

One of the early decisions of the e-filing group was to research and recommend a document format standard for Montgomery County e-filings. PDF or portable document format was developed by Adobe Systems. This type of electronic document has become a de facto standard for all types of electronic documents and information. A user may prepare a document, picture, or scan with virtually any type of software and “print” the output to PDF. The printed output appears as an electronic file or document viewable by anyone with a reader that is readily available at no cost. A document could be prepared with any kind of word processor on either a Windows PC or an Apple. The final product is an exact image of the original document. The document can be made secure from alteration and even printing.

The Technology Standards Committee of the Ohio Supreme Court has been very active in developing standards for computer technology for the Ohio Courts. Standards have been developed for fax filing and case management. Standards for electronic filing of court documents have been published for comment during the coming months. The Montogomery County e-filing work group have examined these standards and determined that they will be used as a framework and foundation for any systems recommended for testing or implementation. The standards as written provide a great deal of information about how e-filing can be implemented in an effective and efficient manner. These standards can be accessed at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/actc/standards/efiling.pdf.