Free feeappinstructions.PDF - New York

Instructions for Filing Fee Applications on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) System 1. Who Files: Applications for compensation are normally submitted by the following individuals: a. Trustees or attorneys on behalf of other professionals (accountants, auctioneers, etc.); b. Trustees on their own behalf; and c. Attorneys ­ on behalf of their law firms ­ for the fees and expenses that are due to their firms. NOTE: Before beginning this filing process, the user (that is, the filer) must obtain a hearing date and time from chambers, since the information pertaining to the hearing date and time must be entered into the system to complete this application process. 2. Login: To enter the CM/ECF system, users should use their ECF login and password. 3. Options Screen: On the Options Screen, click on "Bankruptcy" and a list of Bankruptcy Events will appear on the screen. From the list of Bankruptcy Events, select the event by clicking on "Motions/Applications ." The next screen will be "File a Motion." 4. File a Motion: Enter the case number and click on "Next." 5. Select the Party: Appearing in the "Select Party" box should be the intended recipient of the compensation. [Two examples: 1) If an attorney/trustee is filing an application on behalf of an auctioneer, the auctioneer's name should appear in this box. 2) If an attorney is filing an application on behalf of his or her law firm, the name of the law firm should appear in this box.] If the name of the intended recipient of the compensation already appears in this box, the user should select that name (by highlighting the name) and continue filing the application by clicking on "Next" (if multiple parties are seeking compensation, each party's name should be highlighted before clicking on "Next"). 6. Create a New Party: However, if the name of the intended recipient of the compensation does not appear, then the user should click on "Add/Create New Party." The intended recipient's business name (for example, firm name) or last name should now be entered by keyboarding the applicable name into the appropriate field. The user should then click on "Search." Once the screen indicates that no parties were found with that name, the user should click on the box, "Create New Party."

[NOTE: If there are multiple parties (that is, several intended recipients) on a single application, each of the parties must be added at this time if their names do not initially appear in the "Select Party" box.] 7. Complete "Party Information": The user should now complete all of the fields. On the bottom right of the screen, where the word "Role" appears, the user must use the scroll-down to select the applicable role of the party to be compensated (for example, if the party is an auctioneer, then "auctioneer" should be selected from the scroll-down menu). After entering all of the pertinent information, the user should click on "Submit." 8. File a Motion: The user should make sure that the name of the newly selected party (that is, the intended recipient of the compensation) appears highlighted at the top of the "Select Party" box (if multiple parties are seeking compensation, each party's name should be highlighted); assuming that the user is filing the motion on behalf of that party, the user should click on "Next." If an attorney/party association does not yet exist between the user and the newly selected party, the user has the option of placing a checkmark by clicking on the small box in front of the party's name. To proceed, the user should then click on "Next." 9. Select the Application: Using the scroll-down menu that appears on the screen, the user should select the application that is being filed (for example, "Application, Interim Professional Compensation") and then click on "Next." 10. Select the PDF Document: At this screen, the user will select the PDF file of the document. If there are no attachments to the document being filed, leave the checkmark that appears in front of "No." However, if attachments are to be filed, the user should check "Yes." To proceed, the user should click on "Browse" to find and attach the PDF file. On the "File Upload" screen, the user should change the file type to "All Files" from the scroll-down menu. 11. Check to Make Sure the Correct PDF File Is Being Used: Once the applicable PDF file is selected, the file should be opened and viewed to make sure that the correct file is being attached. This can be accomplished by one right click on the highlighted file name, followed by using the scroll-down menu to click on "Open." After the document is opened in Adobe Acrobat and viewed for verification, the document and Adobe Acrobat can be closed (click on "File" and then click on "Close"). 12. File the PDF Document: After closing the PDF document that was opened in Adobe Acrobat, the user should click on "Open" and the document name should now appear in the box below "Filename." Since the user has already furnished a response as to whether any attachments exist (see 10 above), the user can now click on "Next."

13. Fee Processing Screen: The user must now enter all of the required information on the fee processing screen: a. At the top of the screen ­ where it is asked if the filing refers to an existing document ­ do not check the box unless a supplemental application is being filed at this time. b. Moving downward, the next area of the screen pertains to the filer only. If the user is filing on behalf of another professional (such as an auctioneer), the only information that should be provided is the filer's "Type" (for example, if the filer is the debtor's attorney, the user should select "Debtor's Attorney" from the scroll-down menu). c. Moving downward again, the next area of the screen pertains to the applicant or applicants that will receive the compensation being sought in this application. [NOTE: If compensation is being sought on behalf of multiple applicants, each of the applicants should have its own separate space on the screen where information can be provided with respect to that particular applicant.] d. For each applicant, enter the date range for services performed if appropriate. Next, enter the dollar amounts in both the "Fee request" and "Expense request" fields (do not use dollar signs or commas). e. On the right of the screen, the user should use the scroll-down menu for "Type" to select the appropriate role of the applicant (e.g., auctioneer) and then place a check in front of "Party." f. The next area on the screen pertains to hearing information. Prior to completing this portion, the user must obtain a hearing date and time from chambers. All of the information pertaining to the hearing date and time must be entered, as well as the location of the hearing (e.g., judge's courtroom). g. "Presentment Information" can be left blank, and a "Response Due Date" is optional. h. With all of the information now entered on the Fee Processing Screen, the user can click on "Next." 14. Docket Text: The user can make modifications, as appropriate, by using the scroll-down menu and the blank portion of the docket text. Once any modifications are made and the docket text is reviewed, the user can click on "Next."

15. Final Text: This is one last opportunity to review the docket text. To make any needed corrections, the user can return to the previous screen by hitting the back button. Once the docket text is given one final check, the user can complete the application process by clicking on "Next." The user has now submitted the application to the Court.