Local Rule RULE 5001-2: OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Bankr. D. Mass. — General rule
RULE 5001-2. OFFICE OF THE CLERK
(a) The offices of the Clerk of the Court at Boston, Worcester, and Springfield shall be open Monday through Friday with the Clerk or Deputy Clerk in attendance in accordance with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5001(c)..
(b) Where filing documents, including petitions, motions, and complaints, are permitted to be filed by paper or facsimile (see Appendix 8, Rule 1),, such documents shall be received for filing in the Office of the Clerk between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM. Filings before 8:30 AM or after 4:30 PM on Court business days or on weekends or holidays can be made, for cause, by prior arrangements or in emergency circumstances, as determined by the Clerk or his or her designee, by contacting the Clerk at the telephone numbers set forth in MLBR Appendix 5.
(c) In addition to the provisions of subsection (b), the Clerk is permitted to accept the filing of documents, including petitions, motions, and complaints, by pro se parties by electronic means as proscribed by the Administrative Procedures for Electronic Filing for Pro Se Parties. The Administrative Procedures for Electronic Filing for Pro Se Parties will be available to the public in the Clerk's Office and on the Court's website.
(d) Any documents filed by a pro se party pursuant to subsection (b) shall be filed with a handwritten signature. Any documents filed by a pro se party pursuant to subsection (c) shall comply with the Administrative Procedures for Electronic Filing for Pro Se Parties. Regardless of whether there is a handwritten signature, the filing of any such document by a pro se party, if not stricken, shall subject the party to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011 and shall constitute a signature for all purposes.
(e) All paper documents containing a handwritten signature executed under the penalties of perjury and filed electronically with the Court are the property of the bankruptcy estate and shall be maintained by the filer for a period of 5 years after the closing of the case.