Lehigh Cnty. C.P. Civil Court Local Rules Rule 205.4

Records - Civil Division.

(a)(1) Authorization for Electronic Filing of Civil and Family Legal Papers

(i) In accordance with Pa. R. C. P. No.239.9, the Lehigh County Court of

Common Pleas mandates the electronic filing of legal papers in Civil cases

and the electronic service of such papers effective March 19, 2018, and

mandates the electronic filing of legal papers in Family cases (i.e. custody

and divorce matters), with the exception of Protection From Abuse and

Domestic Relations cases, and the electronic service of such papers

effective January 1, 2020 as specifically defined within this rule. The

applicable general rules of court and court policies that implement the

rules shall continue to apply to all filings regardless of the method of

filing. Electronic filing and service shall be governed by this rule.

(ii) In the context of this rule, “legal papers”, which shall be filed

electronically shall be in all civil, custody and divorce cases, but not

including Domestic Relations, Protection from Abuse cases or Orphans’

Court matters.

(iii) All registered participants are eligible to file the legal papers as indicated

in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) above.

Comment

The primary intent of this rule is to facilitate the filing of all legal papers that are

expressly permitted under this subsection.

(b)(1) Authorized Electronic Format of Legal Papers Electronically Filed. All legal

papers shall be filed electronically in Portable Document Format (PDF). Any

legal paper or exhibit submitted in hard copy/paper format shall incur an

administrative fee of $1.00 per page for the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil

Division to convert the legal paper or exhibit to a Portable Document Format

(PDF) and the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division shall return the hard copy

legal paper or exhibit to the filing party for retention as required by Pa.R.C.P. No.

205.4(b)(4).

(c)(1) A legal paper filed electronically shall be deemed the original document.

(c)(2) Website - Access to the Website

(i) Website. All legal papers shall be filed electronically through the Clerk of

Judicial Records – Civil Division’s Electronic Filing System “Odyssey

File and Serve” (OFS) which shall be accessible through the Lehigh

County Website, www.lehighcounty.org

(ii) Access to the Website. To obtain access to the Electronic Filing System,

counsel and any unrepresented party must apply for and receive a User

Name and Password.

(d)(1) Payment of Filing Fees

(i) The Clerk of Judicial Records – Civil Division will accept electronic

payment of all filing fees with the following credit and debit cards:

Discover, MasterCard, American Express, Visa and eCheck.

(ii) The credit or debit card will be charged with a convenience fee dictated by

the credit card vendor.

(iii) The Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division will accept payment of

electronic filing fees in cash, checks, credit or debit card when filing in

person at the counter in the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division.

(e) Reserved

(f) Local Procedures

As authorized by Pa.R.C.P.No.205.4(0, the following local administrative procedures are

adopted:

(i) As provided by Pa.R.C.P No. 1023.1, the required signature on an

electronic filing of legal papers is established by submission of a filing and

the application of a digitized signature or the name of the filer proceeded

by /s/ accompanied by the attorney’s printed name or a scanned document

with an original signature. Verification will be achieved through the use of

an email address and a password obtained from the OFS System. The OFS

system will verify the user ID against the state ID number. Verification for

parties other than attorneys will be verified through the user ID.

(ii) The legal paper must include a signature block, and the name of the filer

under whose user name and password the legal filing is submitted.

(iii) The Electronic Filing Application (OFS) shall provide to the filer, using

the email address registered by the filer, a Courtesy Email acknowledging

that the filing was received. An Official Notification will be displayed in

the Electronic Filing System, which includes the time and date, as a

pending filing awaiting approval by the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil

Division. Within six (6) business hours of the receipt of the legal paper,

the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division shall provide the filer with

notification through the Electronic Filing System that the legal paper has

been either accepted or rejected.

(iv) If a legal paper is accepted, it shall be deemed to have been filed as of the

date and time it was received by the Electronic Filing System; however, if

a legal paper is submitted without the requisite filing fee, the legal paper

shall be deemed to have been accepted for filing as of the date payment is

received pursuant to 42 P.S Section 21073(b),”The Clerk of Judicial

Records-Civil Division shall not be required to enter on the docket any

suit or action or order of court or to enter any judgment thereon and

perform any services whatsoever for any person, political subdivision or

the Commonwealth until the requisite fee is paid."

Note: As required by Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(c) (1) access to the Electronic Filing System shall be

available at all times, except for routine maintenance; however, legal documents can only

be reviewed by the staff of the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division during normal

office hours. Therefore, filers are cautioned to file required legal papers well in advance

of any filing deadlines to enable timely correction and re-submission in the event a legal

paper is not acceptable for filing.

(v) Pa.R.C.P. No. 204.1(3) requires that the first sheet of all pleadings,

motions and other legal filings shall contain a 3-inch space from the top of

the paper. This space shall be reserved solely for the use of the Clerk of

Judicial Records – Civil Division for the electronic date and time stamp,

and other official use.

(vi) As required by Pa.R.C.P 205.5, the filer shall include the statewide cover

sheet with the initial filing.

(vii) If a legal document is refused for filing, the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division shall specify a reason. Subject to the Rule 205.4 (e)(3), a

legal paper refused for filing shall be deemed as not having been filed.

(viii) Neither the Court nor the Clerk of Judicial Records-Civil Division shall be

required to maintain a hard copy of any legal paper, notice, or order filed

or maintained under this rule.

(g) Service of Legal Papers

(i) Once an electronic filing has been accepted by the Clerk of Judicial

Records-Civil Division, it shall be the responsibility of the filing party to

provide to the Sheriff of Lehigh County, the proper service fee and the

documents for Original Service and Writs.