GENERAL

INFO.

 

At the very end of the “Notice of Electronic Filing”, there is a list of those parties who did not receive an e-mail containing the “Notice of Electronic Filing”.   This example shows an attorney who is not a certified CM/ECF filer yet, so the court does not have her e-mail address in the system.

 

 

If you are legally required to serve this party or any other parties listed in the matrix (see BIG EXCEPTION below), you will have to send a paper copy of the pleading to the party(ies) and then electronically file a “Certificate of Service” with the court showing that the party(ies) was/were served in a traditional manner (usually through the US mail).

 

BIG EXCEPTION:  Make sure you read the separate explanation of “Searching for and Selecting Your Client” so that you understand the difference between creditors listed on the matrix and creditors who have filed a pleading in the case via attorney.  NO ONE who has only been listed on the matrix and who has not filed a pleading in the case will get this electronic notification.  Unfortunately, the list above will not mention that fact or the names and addresses of the parties on the matrix who did not receive the electronic notification.

 

The instructions below demonstrate electronically filing your “Certificate of Service”.

 

 

 

HELP SCREENS

 

Help is available for most screens by clicking on the  button.  The help box will display describing the fields and what entry is required for the window you are currently viewing.

 

 

Click on the  button at the upper right hand corner of the screen or the  button to close the help screen.

 

 

 

STEP 1

 

Log in to the CM/ECF System using your ECF Login and Password if you aren’t already logged in.

 

NOTE:  After logging in, if you click on Netscape Navigator’s  (resize) button accidentally instead of clicking the minimize  button, or if you drag the sides to resize the Netscape window, there is a Netscape Navigator bug which will throw you out of your CM/ECF session and you will lose all the information that you have entered up to that point.  So, resize the window before you login!

 

 

 

STEP 2

 

Click on “Bankruptcy” in the blue menu bar at the top of the screen.

                                   

 

 

 

 

STEP 3

 

Click on the  hyperlink in the categories list.

 

 

 

STEP 4

 

The “Miscellaneous” case number screen will display next.  It may contain the case number of the last case you have been using during the current login session.   Leave the number if it is the correct case, or enter the correct case number (yy-nnnnn), including the hyphen.

 

 

Change the case number if necessary.  For training, you want to be in your Chapter 7 case.

 

NOTE:  If you changed the case number, the system may display the following message regarding the case number format. 

 

 

Click the  button or the  button and try entering the case number again.

 

 

 

STEP 5

 

Click the  button.

 

 

 

STEP 6

 

The “Miscellaneous” selection box appears.  Click on “Certificate of Service” to highlight and select it.

 

 

 

 

STEP 7

 

Click the  button.

 

 

 

STEP 8

 

The opportunity to include information about whether the pleading is being filed jointly with another attorney will now appear.  If you are filing jointly, follow the steps set out in the separate instructions on the “Joint Filing Option”.

 

 

Since this is not a joint filing, simply click the  button.

 

 

 

WRONG CATEGORY

MESSAGE

 

The following warning message will now display.

 

 

This message lets you know that if you a filing a “Certificate of Service of the Chapter 13 Plan”, there is a separate code in a different category for that type of certificate of service.  In that situation, simply click “Bankruptcy” on the main menu bar and click the “Plan” category as directed in the message.

 

For Training, we are going file a certificate of service for someone who did not receive a copy of our motion, so this message does not apply to our situation.

 

 

 

STEP 9

 

Click the  button.

 

 

 

STEP 10

 

You then have an opportunity to browse for and select the .pdf image of the “Certificate of Service”. 

 

 

Follow the separate instructions for “Browsing For and Selecting the Correct .pdf Document” to find, open, review, and select the “Certificate of Service” .pdf image.

 

For the training case, the .pdf documents will be on the local “c:/” drive.

 

NOTE:  At your law firm, the .pdf documents may be stored on a network drive or on the “c:/” drive of a staff member’s computer.

 

 

 

.PDF WARNING MESSAGE

 

If you click on the  button to advance without attaching a .pdf document, a “Warning Message” will be displayed.

 

 

Click the  button to close the message.

 

You will then, once again, have the opportunity to browse to select the .pdf image of the document.

 

 

 

ATTACH- MENTS

 

The legal mind thinks of an attachment as any supporting document(s) stapled or attached to the back of the main pleading.  These types of legal attachments will be referred to in this documentation as “supporting documentation”.

 

In the USBC EDKY, the “attachment” feature is used in only two situations:   (1) when the main pleading, plus any supporting documentation is more than 50 pages in length, and (2) for attaching proposed orders.

 

The “Certificate of Service” in this training case is less than 50 pages, so leave the attachment setting at “No”.

 

 

 

 

STEP 11

 

The following screen will display and will require you to choose the type of document that you served on the previously unserved party.

 

 

Scroll down and click on the appropriate type of pleading that you served. 

 

For training, you will click on “Motion” to highlight it.

 

NOTE:  You can choose more than one category if you aren’t sure what category the pleading is in, but you must choose at least one category.  If you attempt to bypass this screen without choosing a category, the following message will display.

 

 

NOTE:  To choose more than one category, hold down the “ctrl” (control) key while clicking on each category.  It is NOT recommended that you choose multiple categories in a big case or the CM/ECF system will be very slow in responding.

 

 

 

STEP 12

 

Scroll down and click the  button.

 

 

 

STEP 13

 

The pending motions screen displays next.  This screen is where you will link your certificate of service to the appropriate pending motion/application. 

 

NOTE:  In the example shown below, there are a couple of motions, but in a large Ch. 11 case, this list could be much longer.  It might be necessary, in that situation, to scroll down through a list to find the appropriate motion/application.

 

 

Click on the small square box next to the “Motion to Avoid the Lien of National City Bank regarding the 2000 Camry” to put a check mark in it.

 

NOTE:  If there was only one pleading in the category you chose, the check mark would be inserted for you automatically.

 

NOTE:  If you know a pleading was filed, but cannot find it, please call the “Filing Help Desk” at (859) 233-2608 Ext. 274.

 

 

 

STEP 14

 

Scroll to the bottom of the screen, if necessary, and click the  button.

 

 

 

STEP 15

 

Since the installation of Version 2.2, occasional “non” screens have cropped up such as the example below.

 

 

When such a screen appears, simply click the  button. 

 

 

 

FINAL DOCKET TEXT SCREEN

 

The “Docket Text: Final Text” window displays.

 

 

NOTE:  The “Attention!!” message shown above is to alert you to the fact that this is the point of no return!  This is the last opportunity to make any changes before the document is officially filed.  

 

 

 

NOTES RE: ERRORS MADE WHILE FILING

 

If the docket text is incorrect, click on the browser’s  button as many times as necessary to find the error and correct it.

 

NOTE:  You will not be able to use the  button to correct your errors if you are using Internet Explorer 5.5 because you will be thrown out of the system the 2nd time you click it.  You will need to click on the “Bankruptcy “ hyperlink in the main menu bar. 

 

 


 

Then, you will have to start the “Certificate of Service” all over again and you will have lost most of the information that you have entered.

 

NOTE:  If using Netscape Version 4.7, you can usually go backwards and forwards through the various screens using the browser’s “Back” and “Forward” buttons without losing any data as long as you make no changes.  But, if you make a change, the information on the screens from the point of the error forward will have to be re-entered after you have corrected the error because the information from the error forward will have been lost.  Also, if you back up to a screen earlier than the screen where you search for the .pdf document, you will lose the .pdf document and you will have to search for the .pdf document and select it all over again.

 

 

 

STEP 16

 

Click the  button to complete filing the “Certificate of Service”.

 

 

 

SUMMARY

OF CHARGES SCREEN

 

There are no filing fees for filing a “Certificate of Service”.  However, if you owe filing fees for previous documents filed, the “Summary of Current Charges” screen will display next. 

 

Click the  button and follow the separate instructions for “Payment of Fees Via the Internet”, if you wish to go ahead and pay the filing fee immediately.

 

Click the  button, if you wish to pay all the filing fees for a particular day all at once near the end of the day.  Later, when you desire to pay all your accumulated filing fees for the day, follow the separate instructions for “Payment of Fees Via the Internet”.

 

 

 

NOTICE OF

ELEC-

TRONIC FILING

 

The “Notice of Electronic Filing” will now display.  See the separate instructions regarding “Notices of Electronic Filing”.