Frequently Asked Questions (TrueFiling in Ottawa County)

Transcription

1 1 P a g e Frequently Asked Questions (TrueFiling in Ottawa County) SYSTEM OVERVIEW: 1. What is TrueFiling is a 7x24 web-based electronic filing and service solution for court, law firm and pro per filers. It expedites justice by reducing paper handling and travel time and improves the court s internal processes through electronic workflow. The solution supports a variety of case types including Circuit, District and Probate courts and integrates with the court s Case Management System (CMS) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system to create a true Paper-on-Demand court environment. 2. Do I need special software to use No. TrueFiling is a web-based application and can be accessed using any leading web browsers from any computer connected to the Internet. 3. What is the difference between contacts/attorneys and login users? Contacts and Attorneys are people who can be added as contacts to a court case for electronic servicing. Login Users are people who have access to your firm's TrueFiling web site. Every Login User has their own username ( address) and password that grants them access to TrueFiling. 4. What is the difference between contacts and service recipients? Contacts are added to a court case for electronic servicing. A contact can become a service recipient when a new filing is created. Also, ad-hoc service recipients can be added to a filing. Ad-hoc recipients are generally not contacts. 5. Will everyone within my firm have access to my favorites? Yes, all users within your firm will have access to the same favorites. 6. How does TrueFiling communicate with the Court? TrueFiling leverages non-proprietary, web-based protocols to communicate with the court. TrueFiling uses industry standards such as HTTPS and X.509 certificates for ensuring all communications between TrueFiling and the courts are secure. TrueFiling architecture enables filers to work even when the court systems are offline. Filings and transactions will be queued and processed once court systems are restored and back online. 7. Will I be able to see all firm activity on the Welcome page? No. The Welcome page is personalized for you and will only display recent activity on filings associated with you.

2 2 P a g e REGISTRATION PROCESS: 1. How do I register for TrueFiling in Ottawa County? To register for the TrueFiling system, you will need to: 1) Complete, sign and return the TrueFiling Registration Form and User Agreement to the Ottawa County Clerk s Office. This form may be faxed to , mailed to Ottawa County Clerk, 414 Washington Avenue, Room 320, Grand Haven Michigan, or you may drop this form off at any of the Ottawa County Court locations and request they forward to the Ottawa County Clerk s Office for filing. This form cannot be submitted electronically, must be signed by each attorney/party wishing to electronically file documents. 2) Register with the TrueFiling website ( 2. What is the difference between the TrueFiling Registration Form/User Agreement and the Stipulation by Parties for Service? The TrueFiling Registration Form and User Agreement must be signed either by the attorney of record or a party of record, if unrepresented by an attorney. This document is signed and submitted to the Ottawa County Clerk s Office once and outlines the various procedural requirements for electronic filing in the Ottawa Courts. This document cannot be signed by a paralegal or a secretary in a law firm but rather must be signed by either the attorney or party of record. The Stipulation by Parties for Service must be filed with the Court on each case in which the parties consent to receive electronic service of documents from each other. Pursuant to MCR 2.107(C)(4), before parties may engage in electronic service of documents, they must enter into a stipulation and file that stipulation with the Court. This document does not need to be signed by the Judge but rather must contain the signatures of all parties (or their attorneys) who consent to electronic service and it must be filed with the Clerk. A party cannot be electronically served by another party unless this stipulation is signed and filed in the official court file. GENERAL PROCEDURE: 1. Is TrueFiling mandatory in Ottawa County? No. At this point, electronic filing in any of the Ottawa County Courts is voluntary. 2. Can the Judge mandate electronically filing on a particular case? Yes. The assigned Judge to a case has the authority to mandate electronic filing for all or certain documents on a particular case by way of a court order. 3. How do I sign documents submitted through Documents may be signed in one of three ways: 1) Using the following form: /s/ John L. Smith 2) Using an original signature that is scanned in 3) Using an electronic or digital signature that is affixed to the document

3 3 P a g e 4. Will I receive an containing status updates on the documents I submitted for filing via You will only receive notification if you select to receive that service on a case in the TrueFiling system itself. Under the My Settings tab in TrueFiling you can choose whether and under what circumstances you wish to receive status updates via from TrueFiling. You will not receive any notifications from the Clerk/Court that your submissions were accepted, rejected or filed but rather, any notice will come from your selections under the My Settings tab. However, you will be able to verify the status of a document within TrueFiling by looking at the document and transaction history in the TrueFiling system even if you opt out of receiving notifications. 5. How do I check the status of a filing? You can check the status of a filing under the Filings tab or by viewing the Transaction History within TrueFiling. 6. Can I cancel a filing that was submitted in error? No. You cannot cancel a filing that has already been submitted to the Court. 7. Can my legal assistant submit documents through TrueFiling on my behalf? Yes. A legal assistant/staff member of your firm may submit documents on your behalf through TrueFiling through their own login and password. However, only the attorney of record can sign the documents to be submitted for filing, except a document that a staff member is legally allowed to sign such as a proof of service. 8. Once I electronically file a document, do I have to electronically file all documents on all of my cases? No. It is presumed that once you electronically file a document on one case that you will continue to electronically file all documents on that case. 9. Can I access or view all documents filed with the Court on a case through No. Currently you can only view the documents you have submitted for filing and the Register of Actions on a case through TrueFiling. 10. Can I access or view the Court s Register of Actions through Yes. You can view the Register of Actions on a case through TrueFiling. However, there is a $2.50 fee charged to access the Register of Actions. 11. Can I associate myself with more than one law firm in Once your address is associated with a law firm, you cannot use the same address to associate with a different law firm. Thus, if you need to associate with two or more law firms in TrueFiling, then you will need to either first disassociate with one law firm and be invited into the other or you will need to maintain more than one address and use different addresses for the different law firms set up in TrueFiling.

4 4 P a g e FILING REQUIREMENTS: 1. Are there any restrictions on what case types I can electronically file documents on in Ottawa County? Yes. Per Ottawa County Court s Administrative Order No , you may only electronically file documents on the following case codes: Court Civil Case Types Domestic Relations Case Types 20th Circuit Court ND, NF, NH, NI, NM, NO, NP, NS, NZ, CB, CC, CD, CE, CF, CH, CK, CL, CP, DC, DM, DO, DP, DS, DZ, UD, UE, UF, UI, UM, UN, UT, UW CR, CZ, PC, PD, PR, PS, PZ Ottawa County Probate Court CZ 58th District Court GC 2. Can I electronically file documents on a case that is pending before the Court through Yes. You may electronically file documents on any case type authorized that was initiated with the Court on or after January 1, Are there any restrictions on the documents that can be filed through TrueFiling even if all other criteria are met? Yes. You cannot submit documents that are to be filed under seal nor can you submit documents for case evaluation proceedings through TrueFiling. Also, we currently do not have the capability of accepting case initiating documents, e.g. Summons, Complaint, Verified Statement etc., through TrueFiling. 4. Can I initiate a new case with the Court via No. We currently do not have the capability of accepting case initiating documents, e.g. Summons, Complaint, Verified Statement etc., through TrueFiling. Currently, TrueFiling requires the filer to have an existing case number that is pulled directly from the Court s case management system that the filer must associate their filings with before electronic submission. 5. Can I electronically file sworn or verified documents through Yes. The original of a sworn or verified document that is electronically filed (e.g., a verified pleading, an affidavit, notarization or bill of costs) must be maintained by the filing attorney and made available upon reasonable request of the Court/parties. 6. Is there a page or size limit on documents I can submit through Yes. Documents cannot exceed 10 MB. 7. What types of documents will TrueFiling accept? TrueFiling will accept filings in Microsoft Word (DOC and DOCX), Adobe PDF and TIFF formats. TrueFiling will convert all documents to a TIFF format upon submission to the Court's local record system.

5 5 P a g e 8. If I submit a document for filing after 5:00 pm, when will it be filed? Electronic filings may be submitted to the Court/Clerk at any time, but shall only be reviewed and accepted for filing during normal days and normal business hours. Filings submitted through TrueFiling after normal business hours shall be deemed filed on the business day the electronic filing is accepted (usually the next business day). The clerk will process electronic submissions on a first-in, first-out basis. 9. Can I file multiple documents within one transaction? Yes. Multiple filings can be submitted to the Court in one transaction through a feature TrueFiling calls "Bundling." However, each filing in a bundle is still a separate filing as far as the Court is concerned and will be individually accepted, rejected and billed. 10. Can I submit my motion and accompanying brief as one single document through No. All briefs must be submitted as separate documents and not attached to any accompanying motions when submitted for filing through TrueFiling or the documents may be rejected. You may, however, Bundle the motion and brief you wish to file through TrueFiling since each filing in a bundle is still a separate filing as far as the Court is concerned. 11. If I submit color photographs as exhibits through TrueFiling, will the Judge see them in color or black and white? Black and white. Once the document is imported to the Court s document management system, all pages in the document are converted to black and white. If you want the Judge or the Clerk to have color documents, then you will need to submit your documents in a traditional filing method and not through TrueFiling. 12. How do I satisfy the Judge s Copy under the court rules? Pursuant to Administrative Order , the electronic submission of a motion and brief through TrueFiling satisfies the requirements of filing a judge s copy under MCR 2.119(A)(2). However, the Judge may require a paper copy be filed with the Court. Upon such request, the filing party shall promptly provide a traditional judge s copy to chambers. 13. Per Administrative Order , full names and dates of birth of minor children shall not be included in documents filed electronically with the Court. What if this information is necessary to include in the documents I am submitting through If the disclosure of the full names and date of births of minor children is mandated by court rule, statute or local administrative order, then you will need to include that information in the documents submitted through TrueFiling. However, if this information is not required by court rule or statute, then you will need to follow the guidelines regarding these issues as set forth in Administrative Order

6 6 P a g e FINANCIAL/ACCOUNTING: 1. How much does TrueFiling cost? There is a $2.00 fee charged per transaction as a convenience fee. This convenience fee is charged regardless if the document being submitted has a required filing fee associated with it or not. Any credit card user fees assessed by the credit card companies will be charged directly back to the filer by the vendor (typically around 3%). For $2.50, filers may engage in electronic service of documents by using the TrueFiling portal. There is a $2.50 fee to access the official Register of Actions. All fees are charged each time you submit a filing. Fees cannot be pre-paid in advance nor can they be invoiced at a later date. 2. Can the Court/Clerk change the amount I authorize on a transaction I submitted through No. The Clerk/Court staff do not have access to any credit card information maintained or stored in TrueFiling nor can the Clerk/Court staff modify the payment you authorized during the check out and submission process through TrueFiling. Rather, the only option Clerk/Court staff has is to accept or reject your filing(s). 3. Does Court/Clerk staff have access to my credit card information stored in No. This information is not viewable or accessible by any staff of the Court or Clerk s Office. 4. How do I obtain a refund if I am overcharged? The TrueFiling system will void all necessary transactions the same business day when possible. If you notice an accounting error or have a question regarding your billing statements, please contact the vendor by either calling or ing support@truefiling.com. 5. How do I obtain an accounting statement from TrueFiling for filing fees paid so that I can appropriately bill my clients? You can log your firm s financial activity by setting up notifications of submitted filings to go to designated staff who handles your firm s billings. ELECTRONIC SERVICE: 1. Are there any requirements before I electronically serve another party? Yes. Pursuant to MCR 2.107(C)(4), a Stipulation by Parties for Service must be filed with the Court on each case in which the parties consent to receive electronic service of documents from each other. This court rule dictates that before parties may engage in electronic service of documents, they must enter into a stipulation and file that stipulation with the Court. This document does not need to be signed by the Judge but rather must contain the signatures of all parties who consent to electronic service and must be filed with the Clerk. A party cannot be electronically served by another party unless this stipulation is signed and filed in the official court file.

7 7 P a g e 2. How do I serve other parties with my electronically filed documents? You can select electronic service when you are going through the checkout process when submitting a document to the Court for filing. This is Step 5 of the checkout process through TrueFiling and it allows for you to select the recipient s addresses by checking the box next to their address. 3. If I pay for electronic service through TrueFiling, when is the proof of service generated and sent to the Court for filing? When you select electronic service through TrueFiling, service is immediately sent out, a proof of service is automatically generated by the system and sent to the Clerk for filing when you submit your document to the Court for filing. However, you should be aware that the Court may not accept the underlying document that you paid to serve. In this instance, the proof of service will be rejected to you along with the other rejected filings even though the documents have already been served. 4. Can I electronically serve documents through TrueFiling without submitting a document to the Court through Yes. You can perform electronic service on unfiled documents by choosing the "Serve Only" option after creating a filing. 5. How will I know if a service recipient has been served? The Service History of TrueFiling tracks when the recipient has been served, when the served party logs in, and if they opened a document. You will know if a service recipient has been served by reviewing the Service Recipients area of the filing. If the document has been served, Yes will appear in the Served column. If the document has been viewed by the service recipient, Yes will display in the Viewed column. 6. How do I retrieve documents that were electronically served on me via A link to the document served on you electronically will be contained in the body of the you receive. You must then click on that link contained in the to access the document. You will need to print and/or save the document from the notification itself if you wish to retain the document that was electronically served on you. 7. Can I list my client as a contact on a case in TrueFiling so that they receive automatic service of documents? Yes. If you add your client as a contact on a case in the TrueFiling system, you can then opt to have your client receive electronic service of the documents you submitted to the Court for filing electronically on their behalf. However, your client s address will be noted on the electronic proof of service that is filed with the Court and thus will become public record.