Local Rule 5005.1: FILING BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

LBR 5005.1 FILING BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

(a) Background and Authority. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 83, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 5005(a)(3), and District of Kansas Rule 83.8.12, authorize this court to establish practices and procedures for the filing, signing, and verification of pleadings and documents by electronic means.

(b) Adoption of Procedures. The court adopts the Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Pleadings and Documents by Electronic Means (a copy of which is attached as Appendix 1-01 to this Rule) as a means of attorney registration and distribution of passwords to permit electronic filing and notice of pleadings and other documents.

(c) Designation of Electronic Filing. All cases are assigned to the Electronic Filing System unless the court orders otherwise. All petitions, motions, memoranda of law, or other pleadings and documents filed with the court in a case assigned to the Electronic Filing System must be filed electronically unless otherwise permitted in these rules, the administrative procedures guide, or court authorization. Electronic filing must be consistent with this Rule and Appendix 1-01, Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Pleadings and Documents by Electronic Means.

Appendix 1-01 to LBR 5005.1 Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Pleadings and Documents by Electronic Means (Rev. 12/1/24)

I. Scope of Electronic Filing A. Electronic Filing Required. Effective September 1, 2004, all petitions, motions, memoranda of law, or other pleadings and documents required to be filed with the court by an attorney in any case assigned to the Electronic Filing System pursuant to subsection B below shall be electronically filed, except as expressly provided and in exceptional circumstances preventing a Filing User from filing electronically. B. Assignment of Cases. All cases pending or filed on September 1, 2004, will be assigned to the Electronic Filing System. C. Exception. Notwithstanding the foregoing, persons (other than attorneys) who are not Filing Users in the electronic filing system are not required to electronically file pleadings and other documents in a case assigned to the System. The court may, from time to time, and only in exceptional circumstances, relieve attorneys from the electronic filing requirement. Trial exhibits are not to be filed electronically unless otherwise directed by the court. D. Filing Fees. For filings that require a fee to be paid, the attorney must promptly pay the fee through Pay.gov. The court will not maintain electronic billing or debit accounts for lawyers or law firms.

II. Eligibility, Registration, Passwords A. Attorney Eligibility. Attorneys admitted to the bar of this court (including those admitted pro hac vice and attorneys authorized to represent the United States), United States trustees and their assistants, bankruptcy administrators and their assistants, private trustees, and others as the court deems appropriate, may register as Filing Users of the court's Electronic Filing System. Registration is in a form prescribed by the clerk and requires the Filing User's name, address, telephone number, Internet e-mail address and, in the case of an attorney, a declaration that the attorney is admitted to the bar of this court. B. Eligibility of Other Parties. If the court permits, a party to a pending action who is not represented by an attorney may register as a Filing User in the Electronic Filing System solely for purposes of the action. Registration is in a form prescribed by the clerk and requires identification of the action as well as the name, address, telephone number and Internet e-mail address of the party. If, during the course of the action, the party retains an attorney who appears on the party's behalf, the attorney must advise the clerk to terminate the party's registration as a Filing User upon the attorney's appearance. C. Limited Use Eligibility. Limited Users without counsel may register as Filing Users of the court's electronic filing system for the sole purpose of filing claims, transfers of claims, reaffirmation agreements, requests to receive notices, withdrawal of claims, changes of address, applications for unclaimed funds, and certificates of completion of an instructional course concerning personal financial management pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1007(b)(7). The clerk may provide alternative means for Limited Users without counsel to file those documents without registering as Filing Users. D. Registration. Registration as a Filing User constitutes: (1) waiver of the right to receive notice by first class mail and written consent to receive notice electronically; and (2) waiver of the right to service by personal service or first class mail and written consent to electronic service, except with regard to service of a summons and complaint under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004. Waiver of service and notice by first class mail applies to notice of the entry of an order or judgment under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9022. E. Passwords. Once registration and training, as prescribed by the court, are completed, the Filing User will be granted access to the Electronic Filing System. Filing Users agree to protect the security of their passwords and immediately notify the clerk if they learn that their password has been compromised. F. Revocation of Registration. The court reserves the right to revoke an Electronic Filer's access to the Electronic Filing System and, therefore, his or her authority and ability to electronically file documents, for failure to comply with the provisions of these Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Pleadings and Documents by Electronic Means, failure to pay fees required for documents electronically filed, or other misuse of the Electronic Filing System.

III. Consequences of Electronic Filing A. Filing. Electronic transmission of a document to the Electronic Filing 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 Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003. B. Legibility. The Filing User is responsible for assuring the legibility of all documents, scanned or otherwise, filed with the court. C. Official Record. 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. Except in the case of documents first filed in paper form and subsequently converted to electronic form, a document filed electronically is deemed filed at the date and time stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing from the court. D. Deadlines. Filing a document electronically does not alter the filing deadline for that document. Filing must be completed before midnight local time where the court is located in order to be considered timely filed that day.

IV. Entry of Court-Issued Documents A. Entry of Orders. 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 Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003 and 9021. All signed orders will be filed electronically by the court or court personnel. Any order filed electronically without the original signature of a judge has the same force and effect as if the judge had affixed the judge's signature to a paper copy of the order and it had been entered on the docket in a conventional manner. B. Orders may also be issued as "text-only" entries on the docket, without an attached document. Such orders are official and binding. C. The court may sign, seal, and issue a summons electronically, although a summons may not be served electronically. D. Submission of Orders. A Filing User submitting a document electronically that requires a judge's signature must promptly deliver the document in such form as the court requires.

V. Attachments and Exhibits Filing Users must submit in electronic form all documents referenced as exhibits or attachments, unless otherwise directed by the court. A Filing User must submit as exhibits or attachments only those excerpts of the referenced documents that are directly germane to the matter under consideration by the court. Excerpted material must be clearly and prominently identified as such (also see D. Kan. Rule 5.1(e) and D. Kan. LBR 9072.1(a) dealing with bulky/voluminous exhibits). Filing Users who file excerpts of documents as exhibits or attachments under this rule do so without prejudice to their right to timely file additional excerpts or the complete document. Responding parties may timely file additional excerpts or the complete document that they believe are directly germane. The court may require parties to file additional excerpts or the complete document.

VI. Sealed Documents Unless the court orders otherwise, motions for leave to file under seal and documents that the court ordered to be filed under seal must be filed electronically in accordance with the instructions for electronically filing sealed documents published on the Court's website. If the exception contained in subsection I.C of this Appendix applies (dealing with pro se parties or attorneys whom the Court excused from electronically filing), a motion for leave to file under seal or a document that the court has ordered to be filed under seal must be filed in paper form.

VII. [Reserved]

VIII. Signatures A. [Reserved] B. Password Security. No Filing User or other person may knowingly permit or cause to permit a Filing User's password to be used by anyone other than an authorized agent of the Filing User. C. [Reserved] D. Documents requiring signatures of more than one party must be electronically filed either by: (1) submitting a scanned document containing all necessary signatures; (2) submitting an electronic document upon which the consent of the other parties is represented; or (3) in any other manner approved by the court.

IX. Service of Documents by Electronic Means A. Notice of Electronic Filing. The "Notice of Electronic Filing" that is automatically generated by the court's Electronic Filing System constitutes service or notice of the filed document on Filing Users. Parties who are not Filing Users must be provided notice or service of any pleading or other document electronically filed in accordance with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the local rules. B. Certificate of Service. A certificate of service must be included with all documents filed electronically, indicating that service was accomplished through the Notice of Electronic Filing for parties and counsel who are Filing Users and indicating how service was accomplished on any party or counsel who is not a Filing User. Certificates of Service shall be in substantial compliance with D. Kan. LBR 9013.3. C. Nothing contained in this procedure relieves counsel of the burden of obtaining personal service under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004 or Fed. R. Civ. P. 4, where appropriate.

X. Notice of Court Orders and Judgments Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment in an action assigned to the Electronic Filing System, the clerk will transmit to Filing Users in the case, in electronic form, a Notice of Electronic Filing. Electronic transmission of the Notice of Electronic Filing constitutes the notice required by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9022. The clerk, or other party as the court may direct, must give notice to a person who has not consented to electronic service in paper form in accordance with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

XI. Technical Failures A Filing User whose filing is made untimely as the result of a technical failure may seek appropriate relief from the court.

XII. Public Access A. PACER Access. Any person or organization, other than one registered as a Filing User under these rules, may access the Electronic Filing System at https://ecf.ksb.uscourts.gov by obtaining a PACER log-in and password. Those who have PACER access but who are not Filing Users may retrieve docket sheets and documents, but they may not file documents. B. Clerk's Office Access. Access to all public documents is available, without obtaining a password, in the clerk's office during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Conventional and certified copies of electronically filed documents may be purchased at the clerk's office during regular business hours Monday through Friday. The fee for copying and certifying shall be in accordance with the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule promulgated by the Judicial Conference of the United States pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1930(b). C. Misuse. Information posted on the System must not be downloaded for uses inconsistent with the privacy concerns of any person. * * * As amended 12/1/24, 3/17/22, 3/17/21, 3/17/20, 3/17/19 (formerly S.O. 18-3), 3/17/18, 3/17/17, 3/17/16, 3/17/14, 3/17/08.