Electronic Case Files and Administrative Procedures (Vacating General Order 2010-1)
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 5005(a)(2), authorizes the Court to establish practices and procedures for filing, signing, and verifying documents by electronic means.
Effective November 4, 2005, in the Southern District of Georgia, previous General Order 2005-7, Order Adopting Case Management/Electronic Case Files System (CM/ECF) and Local Bankruptcy Rules for Electronic Case Files allowed documents to be filed, signed, and verified by electronic and other means.
Effective October 1, 2010, absent good cause shown and the permission of the Court, attorneys in good standing admitted to practice before this Court, including attorneys admitted pro hac vice, were required to file, sign, and verify documents only by electronic means to the extent and in the manner authorized by previous General Order 2010-1, and the Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Pleadings and Papers by Electronic Means in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Georgia ("Administrative Procedures").
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
1. The Court adopts revisions to the Administrative Procedures, set forth as Exhibit A, and CM/ECF Local Rules, set forth as Exhibit B, to account for changes in rules and policies. This Order vacates General Order 2010-1, and is effective December 1, 2016.
2. Absent a judicial waiver, all attorneys in good standing admitted to practice before this Court, including attorneys appearing pro hac vice, trustees or examiners serving in any case pending in the Court, and the United States trustee shall file, sign, and verify documents only by electronic means to the extent and in the manner authorized by this General Order, the Administrative Procedures, and CM/ECF Local Rules of the Court.
3. Creditors that file fifteen (15) or more proofs of claim during any 12-month period must file claims electronically. Attorneys who file claims for themselves, their firms, or on behalf of any other entity shall file all claims electronically, regardless of number.
4. Attorneys not admitted to practice in the Southern District of Georgia, and other non-attorney filers such as creditors, may request limited user access to file documents by electronic means to the extent and in the manner authorized by this General Order and the Administrative Procedures.
5. The official record of the Court as required by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003 shall be the electronic file maintained by the Court and such paper files as are permitted by the Administrative Procedures.
6. The Clerk's Office will implement and publish the Administrative Procedures, register attorneys, and issue individual logins and passwords consistent with those procedures to permit electronic filing and notice of pleadings and other documents.
7. The login and password used to electronically file or submit any document by a filer who is a registered participant in the Court's CM/ECF system shall constitute the signature of that filer for purposes of the application of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9011 and other applicable rules. The registered filer whose login and password are used to accomplish an electronic filing certifies that the filer and the filer's law firm, if applicable, have authorized the filing.
8. No filer shall knowingly permit or cause to permit his/her login or password to be used by anyone other than an authorized employee of his/her law firm.
9. The electronic filing of a pleading or other paper in accordance with the Court's Administrative Procedures shall constitute entry of that pleading or other paper on the docket kept by the Clerk under the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.
10. Electronic filing does not alter the filing deadline.
11. The Clerk's Office shall enter all orders, decrees, judgments, and proceedings of the Court, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures and CM/ECF Local Rules, which shall constitute entry of the orders, decrees, judgments, and proceedings on the docket kept by the Clerk under the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Any order filed with the electronic signature of a judge shall have the same force and effect as if the judge had affixed his or her signature to a paper order.
12. The Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) generated by CM/ECF constitutes service and notice of a document, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(E) and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9036, on registered CM/ECF users, with the exception of service of.a summons and complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004. The three added days, pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9006(f), do not apply to deadlines to act or proceed after electronic service. For all remaining recipients of service or notice unable to receive a NEF, the filing party shall serve the pleading or paper upon all such entities in accordance with applicable bankruptcy rules. When mailing paper copies of documents that have been electronically filed, the filing party must include the NEF to provide the recipient with proof of the filing.
13. Receipt of a CM/ECF login and password constitutes a request for electronic service and electronic notice pursuant to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.
14. An attorney filing a Verified Pleading should thereafter maintain in his or her office the original Verified Pleading in its entirety for at least five (5) years after the conclusion of all appeals or the expiration of time for filing a timely appeal, whichever is later. The filing of a Verified Pleading constitutes a representation by the attorney who files it that the attorney has in his/her possession at the time of filing the fully executed original Verified Pleading and that he/she agrees to maintain it for the five (5) year period set forth above. A pleading or document that a person signs and thereby verifies, certifies, declares, affirms, or swears under oath or penalty of perjury concerning the truth of the matters set forth in that pleading or document is a "Verified Pleading."
Susan D. Barrett Chief,
United States Bankruptcy Judge
Dated this 30thday of November, 2016.
