Local Rule LBR 5005-4: Electronic Filing

LBR 5005-4. Electronic Filing

(a) Scope of Electronic Filing. Documents may be filed, signed, verified and served by electronic means, in accordance with procedures promulgated by the court. Except as prescribed by local rule, order, or other procedure, the court has assigned all cases and proceedings to the CM/ECF system. Unless otherwise expressly provided in these rules or in exceptional circumstances preventing a filer from filing electronically, all documents required to be filed with the court in connection with a case or proceeding must be electronically filed. Documents and audio files may be accessed online in the federal judiciary's PACER system.

(b) CM/ECF Eligibility, Registration, Passwords.

(1) Eligibility. An individual entitled to file documents with the court electronically is referred to as an ECF User. All attorneys permitted to practice before the federal courts in the District of Hawaii are eligible to be ECF Users. The clerk may authorize other individuals to be ECF Users with full or limited participation in the CM/ECF system, including an unrepresented individual.

(2) Registration. An individual eligible to be an ECF User must request electronic filing privileges through the individual's PACER account. The request will constitute consent to receive service and notice by electronic means to the full extent permitted under the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and a waiver of the right to receive service and notice on paper. An ECF User may withdraw from participation in the CM/ECF system in accordance with procedures prescribed by the clerk.

(3) Login and Passwords. Use of the ECF User's PACER login and password constitutes the signature of that individual, as provided further in this rule.

(4) Filing Agents. An individual authorized by an ECF User to electronically file documents in the name of the ECF User is referred to as a Filing Agent. The clerk may require that an individual who files on behalf of an ECF User be formally designated as a Filing Agent. Use of the Filing Agent's PACER login and password has the same effect as use of the ECF User's login and password. The ECF User can remove a Filing Agent from the main account. If the agency relationship is terminated, the ECF User as soon as practicable must remove the Filing Agent from the main account or notify the clerk to deactivate the Filing Agent's login and password to prevent any unauthorized filing.

(5) Pro Se Filers. An individual in an existing bankruptcy case or proceeding who is not represented by an attorney may request limited electronic filing privileges in accordance with procedures prescribed by the clerk. Authorization will be limited to a specific existing case and access will be terminated when the case or proceeding is closed. By submitting the request, the individual is consenting to service of documents via the notices of electronic filing sent through the court's CM/ECF system.

(c) Consequences of Electronic Filing.

(1) Entry on the Docket. Electronic transmission of a document to the CM/ECF system consistent with these rules, together with the transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing from the court, constitutes filing of the document for all purposes of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the local rules of this court, and constitutes entry of the document on the docket kept by the clerk under Bankruptcy Rule 5003.

(2) Official Record.

(A) Document electronically filed. When a document has been filed electronically, the official record is the electronic recording of the document as stored by the court, and the filing party is bound by the document as filed. A document filed electronically is deemed filed at the date and time stated in the Notice of Electronic Filing from the court.

(B) Document submitted in paper form. When a document submitted in paper form has had its image electronically recorded, the official record is the electronic recording of the document as stored by the court, and the filing party is bound by the document as so filed. A document submitted in paper form is deemed filed at the earlier of (i) the date and time stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing from the court or (ii) the date and time stamp affixed by the clerk. The clerk is not required to retain any paper document after making an electronic recording thereof consistent with the technical standards, if any, established by the Judicial Conference of the United States and the requirements, if any, prescribed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

(3) Deadlines. Filing a document electronically does not alter the filing deadline for that document. Filing must be completed by 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time as recorded by the court's CM/ECF server in order to be considered timely filed that day.

(4) Virtual Documents. The court may create certain text-only entries on the docket for selection by an ECF User that consist entirely of the text contained in the docket entry and for which there is no separate electronically recorded image. Such virtual documents are fully effective despite the absence of a document image linked to the entry.

(d) Entry of Court-Issued Documents.

(1) In General. All orders, decrees, judgments, and proceedings of the court will be filed in accordance with these rules, which will constitute entry on the docket kept by the clerk under Bankruptcy Rules 5003 and 9021. Any order or other court-issued document filed electronically without the original signature of a judge or clerk, including a document that is a virtual document or a text-only docket entry, has the same force and effect as if the judge or clerk had signed a paper copy of the order and it had been entered on the docket in a nonelectronic manner.

(2) Summons. The clerk may sign, seal, and issue a summons electronically. A summons in an adversary proceeding and a summons to an alleged debtor in an involuntary case containing the name of the clerk, the image of the seal of the court, and the identification of the court may be made available for downloading from the court's website. Such a summons, once completed in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4, dated on or after the date of the filing of a complaint or an involuntary petition, and filed with the court by an ECF User, shall be deemed to be a valid summons signed, sealed, and issued by the clerk.

(e) Attachments and Exhibits - Excerpts. Attachments and exhibits should contain only those excerpts of the referenced material that are directly germane to the matter under consideration by the court. Excerpted material must be clearly and prominently identified as such. A party filing excerpts of a document under this rule does so without prejudice to the right to file timely additional excerpts or the complete document. A responding party may file timely additional excerpts or the complete document that the party believes to be directly germane to the subject matter.

(f) Signatures.

(1) ECF User. A filing made through a person's electronic filing account and authorized by that person, together with that person's name on a signature block constitutes the signature of the ECF User for all purposes, including those under Bankruptcy Rule 9011 and 28 U.S.C. § 1746, and has the same force and effect as if the ECF User had affixed his or her signature on a paper copy of the document being filed.

(2) Debtor. At the time a bankruptcy petition and accompanying schedules and statements, including amendments thereof, are filed electronically, the ECF User must be in possession of the completed paper copies signed by the debtor. The declarations or certifications required of a debtor in these documents must be made by (i) submitting a paper copy of a declaration substantially conforming to the local form (Declaration re: Electronic Filing) with the signature of each individual or joint debtor, or the signature of an authorized individual on behalf of a debtor that is an artificial entity; or (ii) filing a digital copy of the originally signed and dated declaration. The Declaration re: Electronic Filing must be filed within 7 days after the date of electronic filing of the subject document.

(3) Retention of Originally Signed Documents. The signed copies of a bankruptcy petition and accompanying papers, and any amendments thereof, required to be verified under Bankruptcy Rule 1008 and any declaration made by any party under penalty of perjury in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746 must be retained by the ECF User until one year after the date that the case or proceeding is closed. The court, on its own motion or on the request of a party in interest, may require the production of any originally signed and dated document or its digital image.

(4) Sanctions. Failure to comply with the provisions of this rule regarding signatures and retention of originally signed documents may result in dismissal of a case or proceeding and the striking of documents without further notice or hearing, and the imposition of monetary and other sanctions on the ECF User and Filing Agent.

(5) Authorized Signature Methods. For documents filed electronically, the following signature methods on the digital image are .

(A) An original "wet ink" signature,

(B) A digital signature generated by a court-approved software application that creates a secure electronic signature that uniquely identifies the signer and ensures the authenticity of the signature, and

(C) A signature using the "/s/" of the ECF User filing the document or the "/s/" and printed name of a third party who has consented to use of this signature method. Paper documents submitted for filing must contain an original "wet ink" signature. The court may adopt further requirements regarding signatures through issuance of administrative procedures.

(g) Service and Notice by Electronic Means. Electronic transmission through the CM/ECF system of a notice of electronic filing and, unless the document is virtual or a text-only docket entry, a link to the image of the document that has been filed constitutes service and notice of the entry of that document in accordance with Bankruptcy Rule 9022 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(E).

(h) Filing Prevented by Technical Failures.

(1) Definition. A technical failure means that the court's CM/ECF server, without notice, is unavailable to ECF Users for electronic filing. It does not include incidents where the court's server is not accessible due to a failure of the filer's software or hardware, or the filer's Internet connection.

(2) Relief from Technical Failure. An ECF User who is unable to effect a filing due to a technical failure should document the incident and report it to the clerk as soon as practicable. If a filing is made untimely as the result of a technical failure, an ECF User may seek appropriate relief from the court.

(i) Hyperlinks.

(1) Link Within Same Document. An electronically filed document may contain a hyperlink to another portion of the same document.

(2) Link to External Source. An electronically filed document may contain a hyperlink to a location on the Internet that contains a source document for a citation. However, hyperlinks are simply a convenient means for accessing reference material and may not replace standard citation format. Complete standard citations must be included in the document text. Neither a hyperlink, nor any site to which it refers, may be considered part of the record. The court accepts no responsibility for accessibility to or the functionality of any hyperlink or its content.