Local Rule 5.1: General Format of Documents Presented for Filing

5.1 General Format of Documents Presented for Filing

(a) Form. All pleadings, motions, briefs, and other papers presented to the Clerk for filing shall be on 8 ½" x 11" wide paper of good quality, flat and unfolded, without backing or binding, plainly typewritten, printed, or prepared by a clearly legible duplication process, and double-spaced, except for block-quoted material. Each page shall be numbered consecutively and shall have appropriate side margins and a top margin of not less than one inch. All documents filed electronically shall be formatted so that, if printed, they will be double-spaced, except for block-quoted material, shall have each page numbered consecutively, and shall have one-inch margins on all sides.

This Rule does not apply to: (1) exhibits submitted for filing, provided that all exhibits shall be neatly bound and whenever possible reduced or folded to 8 ½" x 11" size, and (2) forms approved by this Court or approved for use in federal courts generally. Exhibits to be scanned and uploaded to the ECF system shall not be bound.

Exhibits not attached to pleadings and other papers shall be identified by a cover page or other appropriate label using the caption of the case, the case number, and other identification as provided in subsection (b).

(b) Identification. Except for the original complaint, all pleadings, other papers, and exhibits shall be identified by a title that contains the name and party designation of the person filing it and the nature of the pleading or paper; for example: "Defendant John Smith's Answer to the Amended Complaint," "Plaintiff Richard Roe's Answer to Defendant Sam Brown's Motion to Dismiss," "Affidavit of Joan Doe in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment," or "Exhibits in Support of Plaintiff John Smith's Motion for Summary Judgment." The names of the District Judge and Magistrate Judge to whom the case has been assigned shall be placed below the case number in the caption. The case number format shall be as set forth in the ECF Manual.

(c) Electronic Filing. Except as provided herein or unless otherwise authorized by a Judge, all documents shall be filed electronically as a searchable text PDF using the ECF system except that documents filed by pro se litigants may be filed on paper. Paper documents shall be scanned into a searchable text PDF and uploaded by the Clerk. Documents filed electronically shall conform to the requirements of these Rules and to the format for the ECF system set out in the most current edition of the ECF Manual.

(d) Consequences of Electronic Filing. Electronic transmission of a document to the ECF system, together with transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing from the Court, constitutes filing of the document for all purposes under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of this Court and constitutes entry of the document on the docket kept by the Clerk under Fed. R. Civ. P. 58 and 79. When a document is 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 unless relief is granted under subsection (f) of this Rule.

(e) Filing Date and Time. Except in the case of documents first filed in paper form and subsequently submitted electronically, a document filed electronically is deemed filed at the date and time stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing from the Court. Filing a document electronically does not alter the filing deadline for that document. Filing must be completed before midnight Eastern Time Zone in order to be considered timely filed that day.

(f) Technical Failures and Inadvertent Filings. A document mistakenly filed under the wrong case number will be restricted or deleted by the Clerk, who will electronically notify the filer. The document may then be immediately filed in the correct case record without seeking the consent of opposing counsel or the Court. An untimely filing as the result of a technical failure or other incorrect filing caused by some other error in using the ECF system may be corrected upon motion submitted pursuant to S.D. Ohio Civ. R. 7.3(b). In exigent circumstances, such as where a privileged document is mistakenly filed, relief may be sought by ex parte contact with a Judge. Counsel and parties should not assume that such relief is available when deadlines are involved (such as statutes of limitation or deadlines for appeal).