Philadelphia Cnty. C.P. President Judge General Court Regulation In Re: Adoption ... 5

Explanatory Note: The source of this rule is Administrative Docket No. 01-2008, issued by Administrative

Judge D. Webster Keogh on July 16, 2008. Adopted by the Board of Judges on November 20, 2008: effective

on January 5, 2009. Amended May 15, 2014, effective July 6, 2014.

Rule *204.2 Philadelphia Domestic Relations Pleadings and Other Legal Papers. Format.

(a) In order to accommodate the filing of documents in an electronic format of Philadelphia

Domestic Relations Matters as authorized by Philadelphia Civil Rule *205.4.1., all “legal

papers,” as defined by Pa.R.Civ.P. 205.4.1(a)(2), must conform to the following

requirements:

(1) All files must be no larger than 50MB each. If an electronic file exceeds this limit,

then it must be split into multiple files;

(2) All PDF pages must be 8 and 1/2 inches in size exactly. Other file sizes may be

incompatible with electronic filing;

(3) 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

(4) 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.

(b) In order to accommodate the scanning of legal papers presented in a hard-copy format

and saving in an electronic format, in addition to the requirements of Pa.R.Civ.P. 204.1., all

hard-copy “legal papers” must conform to the following requirements:

(1) all orders must contain a 3-inch space from the top of the page for all electronic

court stampings, filing notices, etc.;

(2) legal papers must not be stapled or permanently bound, but must be secured by

binder clips or other fasteners which do not punctuate or otherwise interfere with

scanning

(3) bar codes on any page of the legal paper interfere with scanning and must

therefore be crossed out or otherwise redacted; and

(4) to avoid scanning errors, Exhibit separator pages must be used instead of Exhibit

tabs.

Explanatory Note: Domestic Relations Rule *205.4.1.(b) applies to all legal papers filed

in Philadelphia Family Court.

Rule *205.4 Electronic Filing of Legal Papers Filed in the Civil Trial Division.

(a) Commencing at 9:00 AM 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 Office of Judicial Records 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 *205.2.

Explanatory Note: The term “legal paper” as defined in Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(a)(2) encompasses all

pleadings and other papers filed with the Office of Judicial Records – even if the legal papers are not

adversarial in nature and do not require the non-filing party or parties to respond (such as Notice of Tax

Liens).

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

be filed in a portable document format (“pdf”). Additionally, all proposed orders submitted

with pleadings, motions, and stipulations requiring judicial approval shall also be filed in a

Microsoft Word document format. As authorized by Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4 (b)(1), in the event

any legal paper or exhibit is submitted to the Office of Judicial Records in a hard-copy format, the

Office of Judicial Records shall convert and maintain such legal paper or exhibit to a portable

document format, and the Office of Judicial Records 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)(5).

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

(i) Website. All legal papers shall be filed electronically through the Civil Trial Division’s

Electronic Filing System (“Electronic Filing System”) which shall be accessible through

the website of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, http://courts.phila.gov, or at such

other website as may be designated from time to time.

(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, Password, and Personal

Identification Number (“PIN”).

(d)Payment of Filing Fees.

(1) The Office of Judicial Records will accept for payment of all filing fees cash, checks

and the following credit and debit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and

Visa.

(2) The Office of Judicial Records will not accept advance deposit on account of future

filing fees due to the difficulty in monitoring and accounting for such advance deposits.

(3) Electronic Filing Fees and Costs. As authorized by Act 81 of 2006, the Office of Judicial

Records shall collect an electronic filing fee for each legal paper or exhibit filed as

established by the Office of Judicial Records with the approval of the President Judge of

the Court of Common Pleas. In addition to such electronic filing fee, commencing on

January 5, 2009, the Office of Judicial Records is authorized to charge the sum of $1.00

per page for each page of a legal paper or exhibit which is filed in a hard copy format and

which must be converted by the Office of Judicial Records to a portable document format.

All fees collected pursuant to this rule shall be set aside by the Office of Judicial Records

and remitted monthly to the First Judicial District’s Procurement Unit. All such fees and

costs collected will be used for the implementation and maintenance of the electronic filing

system and additional development, enhancements and training

(f) Local Procedures. As authorized by Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4 (f), the following administrative

procedures are adopted:

(1) Signatures on Pleadings, Verifications, Documents and Other Legal Papers. The

electronic filing of legal papers utilizing the issued User Name, Password and PIN issued

as provided by this rule and Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4, constitutes the party’s signature on

electronic documents as provided by Pa.R.C.P. No. 1023.1 and, if the filing party is an

attorney, constitutes a certification of authorization to file it as provided in Pa.R.C.P. No.

205.1. Additionally, the following provisions apply:

(i) Filing Party. The legal paper must include a signature block, and the name of

the filer under whose User Name, Password and PIN the legal paper is submitted

must be preceded by a “/s/” and typed in the space where the signature would

otherwise appear.

(ii) Client Verifications and Documents Executed by Clients or Other Persons. The

Verification required by Pa.R.C.P. Nos. 206.1 and 1024 and the signature page(s)

of any document or legal paper executed by any party other than the filing party

must be scanned and attached to the electronic filing in a portable document format

at the time the legal paper is submitted.

(iii) Documents requiring signatures of more than one party must be scanned and

attached to the electronic filing in a portable document format at the time the legal

paper is submitted.

Note: This subsection is designed to address issues which may arise regarding signatures on legal papers and

documents. A filer’s use of the User Name, Password and PIN issued through the EFS is the filer’s “electronic

signature.” However, often, legal papers require that verifications be executed by non-filers and deficiencies

in content and execution could be subject to preliminary objections. Moreover, many legal papers or

documents require multiple signatures. In order to avoid prejudicial delay, this section requires that the filing

party scan such legal papers, documents or signature pages and attach them to the electronic filing at the time

of submission.

(2) Upon receipt of the legal paper, the Office of Judicial Records shall provide the filing

party with an acknowledgment, which includes the date and time the legal paper was

received by the Electronic Filing System.

(3) After review of the legal paper, the Office of Judicial Records shall provide the filing

party with e-mail notification, or notification on the Electronic Filing System, that the legal

paper has been accepted for filing (“filed”) or not accepted or refused for filing.

(4) 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; provided, however, that 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 was received. The Office of Judicial Records is

authorized to refuse for filing a legal paper submitted without the requisite payment. If the

pleading or legal paper is accepted for filing, it will be electronically served as authorized

by Pa.R.C.P. No. 205.4(g)(1)(ii) and service shall be effectuated as provided in Pa.R.C.P.

No. 205.4(g)(2)(ii).

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 required maintenance. However, legal papers can only be reviewed during normal court

hours. Therefore, parties are cautioned to file required legal papers in advance of any filing deadline to enable

timely correction and re-submission in the event a legal paper is not accepted or is refused for filing. The

Office of Judicial Records may refuse for filing any legal paper submitted without the required filing fees as

provided by 42 Pa.C.S. §1725(c)(2)(xix), or, at the Office of Judicial Records discretion, may authorize the

filer to submit the required filing fees within a stated time period after which the Office of Judicial Records

may refuse the legal paper for filing if payment is not received.

(5) If a legal paper is refused for filing, the Office of Judicial Records shall specify the

reason. Subject to the provisions of subsection Rule 205.4 (e)(1)(i), a legal paper refused

for filing shall be deemed as not having been filed.