11JDCR 1.15

(a) Short title. 11JDCR 1.15 may be cited as “E-Filing Rules.”

(b) Definitions.

(1) “Electronic Filing Service Provider” (EFSP) means the service provided by the court for e-filing and e-service of documents via the internet. The service may be accessed at http://www.go.tybera.net.nv or, once it is available, in person at the courthouse using a public access terminal at the court clerk’s office.

(2) “Public access terminal” means a publicly accessible computer provided by the court for the purposes of allowing e-filing and viewing of public court records. The public access terminal shall be located in the Court Clerk’s office at the courthouse and made available during normal business hours.

(3) “Electronic filing” (e-file) means the electronic transmission of documents to the court, and from the court, for the purposes of filing. Electronic filing may occur at a public access terminal or may occur at a remote computer with internet access.

(4) “Electronic service” (e-service) means the electronic transmission of documents to a party, attorney or representative under these rules. Electronic service does not include service of process or summons to gain jurisdiction over persons or property.

(5) “Clerk of the court” (clerk) means the clerk of the court or any deputy court clerk.

(6) “Nonconforming documents” include documents that do not comply with the E-Filing Rules and/or Part 3 of the Eleventh Judicial District Court Rules.

(7) “PDF” means an electronic file that is saved in a portable document format.

(c) Official court records.

(1) Electronic documents. For documents that have been electronically filed or converted, the electronic documents are the official court record, and electronic documents have the same force and effect as documents filed by paper means.

(2) Form of record. The clerk shall maintain the official court record of a case in electronic format in combination with traditional paper formats consistent with Rule 4 of the Nevada Electronic Filing and Conversion Rules (NEFCR). Documents submitted by paper means will be converted to electronic format and made part of the electronic record. Once a document is electronically filed or converted, the electronic document is the official court record, and the court must maintain the document in electronic form. If exhibits are submitted, the clerk will maintain the exhibits by paper means or, where appropriate as determined by the clerk, by electronic means.

(3) Retention of original documents after conversion. The court clerk shall keep a paper format copy of the initial complaint, petition, or other case initiation document and any final order(s).

(4) Exceptions to document destruction. The following documents may not be destroyed by the court after conversion to electronic format, unless otherwise permitted by statute, court rule, or court order:

(A) Original wills;

(B) Original deeds;

(C) Original contracts;

(D) Court evidentiary exhibits (see NRS 3.305, NRS 3.307, and the Protocol for Storage, Retention, and Destruction of Evidence); and

(E) Any document or item designated in writing by a court to be inappropriate for destruction because the document or item has evidentiary, historic, or other intrinsic value.

(5) Confidential documents. The court clerk is authorized to maintain as confidential documents that meet the criteria established by rule or law for being maintained as confidential. If a document is filed as “confidential,” in the “Special Filing Instructions for the clerk” section of the E-Flex electronic filing system, the clerk, under the direction of the court, will verify that designation and after review may modify the designation of any document incorrectly identified as “confidential.” Once the designation as “confidential” is confirmed, the document will be filed under seal and will not be accessible to the public, but will be accessible to court staff and, where applicable, to certain governmental entities as authorized by law, court rule, or court order allowing the parties to access the sealed files.

(6) Sealing court records. If a document is requested to be sealed, the clerk will determine the validity of the sealing request and approve the sealing if proper.

(7) Rejection of confidential designation. If the clerk determines that a document does not meet the criteria to be filed under seal, the clerk shall notify the party. If after receiving notice that the proposed confidential document may not meet the requirements to be sealed, the party may file a written motion, in accordance with SRCR 3, requesting sealing that shows good cause to seal the document. Good cause requires a valid statutory or other legal basis.

(8) Electronic case file. The clerk may maintain the original and official case file in electronic format.

(9) Originals. Originals of any hand-signed exhibit, affidavit, verification, or similar document that are e-filed with the court must be maintained by the filer until proceedings are finalized. Finalization occurs when a final order is entered and rights to appeal have been exhausted.

(d) Scope of E-Filing Rules.

(1) Effective date. The E-Filing Rules shall take effect on either July 1, 2021, or upon approval of the EFSP software by the Administrative Office of the Courts, whichever occurs later. As of the effective date of this rule, except as expressly provided herein, the Eleventh Judicial District Court will commence requiring electronic filing and service of pleadings and other documents designated in this rule in all cases.

(2) Mandatory participation unless exempted. Unless specifically exempted under these rules or by order of the court, all parties or their attorneys are mandated to participate in electronic filing and service. Unless exempted, all parties or their attorneys shall register for electronic filing with the EFSP and designate a primary email address to which electronic service shall be rendered. Unless specifically exempted, all attorneys are required to participate in electronic filing and service on behalf of their clients.

(3) Clerk to perform duties. The court and the clerk may issue, file, and serve notices, orders, and other documents electronically, subject to the provision of these E-Filing Rules.

(4) Goal of E-Filing Rules. The primary goal of these rules is to ensure that all parties, either through their attorney, or through the party if the party is self-represented, receive service and other notifications from the court via electronic communication (i.e., email).

(5) Protected information. The use of information contained in a document filed electronically or information accessed through the electronic filing system must be compliant with state and federal law.

(e) Registration for E-Flex.

(1) Mandatory. The Eleventh Judicial District Court has established and approves the use of an electronic filing system, consistent with the technical standards established by the NEFCR. After the system is fully functioning, a public access terminal is installed, and these rules are operational, the court shall not accept or file any pleadings or instrument in paper form unless specifically provided for in these E-Filing Rules. Unless exempted under these rules, a self-represented party shall e-file a document either:

(A) By registering to use the EFSP; or

(B) In person, by electronically filing through the public access terminal. Parties filing in person shall be responsible for furnishing the pleading or record on a flash drive.

(2) Authorized users. For the purposes of accessing the EFSP over the internet, the following users are authorized to register as EFSP users:

(A) Licensed attorneys and the staff identified as authorized users by the attorney, including, but not limited to, paralegals and secretaries;

(B) Judges and masters and their staff;

(C) Court administrative staff, including technical support staff;

(D) The clerk and the clerk’s staff;

(E) Self-represented litigants;

(F) If the capability becomes operational, such other public users, including media representatives; and

(G) If the capability becomes operational, individuals who are not authorized to access the EFSP over the internet may obtain access using the court’s public access terminal located in the courthouse to e-file their pleadings and access publicly e-filed documents.

(f) Exemption from E-Flex. A party may seek to be exempted from the E-Flex filing requirements. Such exemptions are discouraged, and a party or attorney must make a thorough application to the court to be granted such an exemption. The following describes the exemptions and the effects of an exemption:

(1) Service of process by E-Flex system. A self-represented litigant may file an Application for Electronic Service Exemption form. Exemptions will be approved only if one of the following is demonstrated with particularity:

(A) The applicant does not have access to a computer with internet access or does not have an internet email address;

(B) Mandatory electronic filing service would cause undue hardship or significant prejudice to the applicant; or

(C) Other reasons specified by the applicant that establish good cause.

(2) E-filing. A self-represented litigant may apply to be exempted from filing through the E-Flex system. This request may be simultaneously filed with a request to exempt the litigant from service of process through the E-Flex system. Exemptions will be approved only if one of the following reasons is demonstrated with particularity:

(A) The party does not have a computer;

(B) The party does not have internet service;

(C) The party does not have the ability to e-file;

(D) The party lacks the financial resources; or

(E) Any of the justifications set forth in the exemption from service requirements set forth above.

(3) Prisoners. Any prisoner housed at the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) is qualified automatically for such an exemption, unless the court and the prison where the prisoner is incarcerated have agreed to a program for electronic filing.

(4) Attorneys. It is anticipated that attorneys will electronically file their documents and receive service of process for the documents through E-Flex unless granted a specific order that exempts their office from the use of the electronic filing system. An attorney must file an appropriate motion setting forth the grounds for the request. In addition, the attorney must demonstrate that the attorney has limited resources, that the attorney is unable to meet the requirements for electronic filing but is able to identify a date to become compliant, and that the attorney’s client(s) cannot pay the per-filing costs of participation.

(5) Effect of exemption.

(A) A party or attorney who is exempted from e-filing service by this rule will not be served electronically, and the E-Flex electronic filing system shall not serve the opposing party through the system. Service must be effected through a paper format under the NRCP. If exempted from service, the party shall serve all parties, and all service upon the party shall be accomplished by the means established by the NRCP for paper filings.

(B) If all of the parties or their attorneys are using electronic filing and electronic service, then all parties are governed by the E-Filing Rules. If at least one party is not using electronic filing and electronic services, then the party using electronic filing and electronic services is governed by the E-Filing Rules and the party not using the electronic filing and electronic services must follow the rules governing paper filing.

(6) Exemption applies to all cases involving party or attorney. If a party or attorney is registered for electronic filing in a separate case, the party or attorney will not qualify for an exemption unless the exemption is applied to all cases in which the party or attorney participates.

(g) Requirements for documents.

(1) Requirements for e-filing. All pleadings and papers presented for electronic filing, with the exception of exhibits, must be:

(A) In a portrait orientation;

(B) Rotated right-side up; and

(C) With the exception of proposed orders and documents that require court signature, all filings should be submitted in a PDF format that is not larger than 30 megabytes.

(2) Proposed orders. Proposed orders and documents requiring court signature should be submitted in Word document format with no signature and date line for the judge. If not submitted in this format, a proposed order will be rejected.

(3) Exhibits. Exhibits must be:

(A) In PDF format but may be in either portrait or landscape orientation; and

(B) Filed as a separate document linked to the main document.

(4) Legibility. All documents presented for electronic filing must be legible.

(h) Documents specifically exempted from e-filing requirements. Certain documents cannot be e-filed. The following is a nonexhaustive list of documents that must be filed in paper format:

(1) Trial exhibits.

(2) A document or image that is barred from electronic storage, including, but not limited to, sexually explicit images of a minor.

(3) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, any document submitted for in camera inspection.

(4) Any document or exhibit that cannot be scanned or otherwise converted to PDF.

(5) Upon a showing of good cause, a document that would otherwise be required to be filed through the electronic filing system.

(i) Documents exempt from E-Flex service requirements. The following documents must be served in paper format:

(1) The initial complaint or petition or case initiation document;

(2) A interpleading document or document that brings in a third party that was not part of the original case; or

(3) Any document that the court orders to be served in a paper format.

(j) Process for e-filing documents. A filer may begin electronically filing by accessing the E-Flex system at go.tybera.net/nv. There, the filer may request an account to electronically file with the Eleventh Judicial District Court. On the main webpage at go.tybera.net/nv, there are instructional videos to assist a filer in the process. The filer may also contact a court clerk for assistance.

(k) E-filing review.

(1) Review. After a document is submitted for filing in the E-Flex system, the clerk of the court shall review the document to determine whether it has been submitted appropriately.

(2) Rejection. Subject to providing notice to the filing party, the clerk is authorized to reject for filing the following nonconforming documents:

(A) A document that does not have a district court case number, except case-initiating documents or a case that has a wrong case number;

(B) A document that does not have an affirmation required by statute;

(C) Exhibits not properly submitted;

(D) A document that is submitted in the wrong case;

(E) An unsigned pleading;

(F) An unsigned order that is not submitted as a proposed order; or

(G) Any document that is not legible or does not comply with these E-Filing Rules.

(3) Process following rejection. If the clerk rejects a nonconforming document, the clerk shall notify the party attempting to make the filing of the reasons for rejecting the document using the “note to filer” section of Court Review.

(4) Objection to court. If the clerk and the party are unable to agree upon the corrections, the party attempting to file may submit an objection to the court within 2 business days after the initial notice of the rejection was served via email upon the filing party and if the clerk has extended the time for resubmission time in subsection 3 above.

(5) Date of filing when document rejected. When a document is submitted, the E-Flex electronic filing system inserts a date stamp for the day on which the document is submitted. If the document is approved for filing during the review process at a date later than the submitted date, the e-filing stamp will reflect the day that the document was submitted to the E-Flex electronic filing system and not the date the document was approved for filing.

(6) Rejection for failure to pay filing fees. The clerk shall reject any e-document that is submitted without payment of a requisite statutory fee, unless the appropriate in forma pauperis application is submitted simultaneously with the filing of the document. The clerk shall notify the party using the “note to filer” section of Court Review.

(l) Service of process.

(1) Participants. By participating in the E-Flex system and not seeking an exemption to the service provisions set forth herein to the E-Flex system, a self-represented party or attorney representing a party consents to service by electronic means. Service is deemed effectuated by the E-Flex system sending the pleading or other document to the self-represented party or attorney at the email address given to the court.

(2) Exemptions. Service shall be accomplished by paper means in the following cases:

(A) In cases where an attorney or self-represented party has failed to designate an email address for service;

(B) Where the party being served is exempted by court order or by these rules;

(C) Where the document cannot be e-filed;

(D) Where service is upon a party who has not appeared in the lawsuit; or

(E) Where service is upon a third party who has not designated a service contact.

(3) Court notification. When the filer submits, and again when the document is accepted for filing, the E-Flex system sends an email to the email address of the filer who submitted the document through the E-Flex electronic filing system. The email contains a hyperlink to access the document or documents that have been filed electronically.

(4) Completion and time of electronic service. Electronic service is complete when the electronic filing system sends the email to the parties in the action.

(5) Service of discovery documents. Discovery requests and responses must be served by paper format, not through the E-Flex system. The party requesting or responding to discovery is responsible for accomplishing service in any manner permitted by the applicable Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure and for filing a proof of service with the court for the following documents:

(A) A document required to be filed in a paper format under these rules;

(B) A document that cannot be served electronically on a party who is listed in the action; and

(C) A civil protective order or criminal no contact order.

(m) NEFCR govern.

(1) Unless provided otherwise herein, the NEFCR govern.

(2) Mailbox rule. The 3 additional days to respond to a paper served by mail or electronic means provided under NRCP 6(d) shall not apply to computation of time to respond to papers served via the E-Flex electronic filing system (see NEFCR 9(f)(2)).

(3) Service. All electronic service shall occur in conformity with and be governed by NEFCR 9.