Free [NEW] RULE 1005-1(b) - Massachusetts

APPENDIX 8

THE MASSACHUSETTS ELECTRONIC FILING RULES

1. SCOPE OF ELECTRONIC FILING All cases open as of the effective date of this rule or filed thereafter will be administered through the Electronic Case Filing System (the "ECF System"). Except as expressly provided or in exceptional circumstances, each Registered User (as defined in Rule 2(a) below) shall, on and after ninety (90) days from the effective date of his or her registraton, file with the Court electronically all petitions, motions, applications, memoranda of law or other pleadings and documents (collectively hereinafter referred to as "documents"). 2. ELIGIBILITY, REGISTRATION, PASSWORDS (a) Registered User The term "Registered User" as employed in these rules shall be deemed to mean an individual who has registered to use this Court's ECF System, pursuant to subsection (b) hereof. (b) Eligibility Attorneys admitted to the bar of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (including those admitted pro hac vice, pursuant to Local Rule 9010-1(b)), attorneys representing the United States of America or any state, the United States trustee and his/her assistants, Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 trustees, and others as the Court may allow in its discretion on prior motion and order, may register as Registered Users of the ECF System after completion of such electronic filing training as the Clerk of this Court may establish and require from time to time.

(c) Registration Application for registration as a Registered User shall be made on a form prescribed by the Clerk as amended from time to time and posted on the Court's website, www.mab.uscourts.gov. All registration application forms shall be mailed or delivered to the Office of the Clerk, United States Bankruptcy Court, 10 Causeway Street, 11th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02222, ATTN: FINANCE, PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL.

Each approved registrant will receive a notice from the Clerk to retrieve from the Clerk's Office (in Boston or Worcester, as designated by the registrant) a sealed envelope containing a log-in name and assigned password. Only the applicant or an authorized representative may retrieve the envelope; except that, at the written request of an approved registrant, the Clerk may email the log-in name and password to the registrant. The Clerk is authorized to employ such further precautions which in the Clerk's judgment will ensure security in the distribution of passwords. Each Registered User shall be entitled to only one password, except that additional passwords may be issued to a single user for good cause shown and in the discretion of the Clerk. (d) Withdrawal or Amendment of Registration A Registered User who wishes to withdraw or amend a registration shall email a request for such change to the Clerk on a form prescribed by the Clerk as amended from time to time and posted on the Court's website, www.mab.uscourts.gov . (e) Security Registration constitutes a Registered User's agreement to protect the security of his or her assigned password and immediately notify the Clerk if the Registered User learns that the security of the password has been compromised. No Registered User shall knowingly permit the password to be utilized by anyone other than an authorized agent of the Registered User. Upon notice to the Clerk that a password has been compromised, the Clerk shall promptly provide a substitute password to the Registered User. (f) Waivers Registration constitutes the Registered User's: (1) agreement to receive documents electronically and waiver of the right to receive notice by any other means; and (2) consent to service of all documents electronically and waiver of the right to service by any other means, excepting only service of process in an adversary proceeding or with respect to an involuntary petition. The aforesaid waiver of service and notice by non-electronic means shall include waiver of notice by first class mail of the entry of an order or judgment under Fed.R.Bank.P. 9022. (g) Involuntary Termination of Registration; Sanctions On notice from the Clerk that a Registered User and/or his or her agents has/have repeatedly and/or egregiously failed to comply with the procedures established by the Court for use of the ECF System or failed to comply with reasonable password security precautions, the Court may, after notice and hearing, sanction a Registered User for such failure, including, without limitation, by suspending the Registered User from use of the ECF System.

3. CONSEQUENCES OF ELECTRONIC FILING (a) Filing and Entry

Transmission of a document to the ECF System consistent with these rules, together with the transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing from the Court, constitutes the 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 pursuant to Fed. R. Bank. P. 5003. (b) 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. A document filed electronically is deemed filed on the date and the time stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing from the Court. (c) Filing Deadline

A document may be filed at any time, except that: 1) 2) where the Court orders that filing must be completed by a specific date and time, filing a document electronically does not alter the filing deadline for that document; and where the Court orders that filing must be completed by a specific date but does not specify the time, entry of the document into the ECF System must be completed before 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard (or Daylight, if applicable) Time in order to be deemed timely filed.

4. ENTRY OF COURT ORDERS (a) The Clerk shall enter all orders, judgments, and proceeding memos on the docket kept by the clerk under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003 and 9021 in electronic format. Any order filed electronically without the original signature of a judge shall have the same force and effect as if the judge had affixed his or her signature to a paper copy of the order. (b) A Registered User submitting a document electronically that requires a judge's signature including, without limitation, a proposed order or stipulation, must submit the document in PDF format to the Clerk of the Court.

5. ATTACHMENTS AND EXHIBITS (a) If the exhibit(s) to any document constitute(s) more than 50 pages in the aggregate, the exhibit(s) must be filed separately from the underlying document. In such event, the Registered User must file with the underlying document (a) a list of all of the exhibits, identifying clearly the subject matter of each exhibit, and (b) a summary of the content of each exhibit of 50 or more pages in length. If any recipient is unable to open an exhibit for any reason, it is the responsibility of the recipient to notify the transmitting Registered User of the recipient's inability to open the exhibit and to request paper copies. The Registered User shall respond promptly to any such request. Exhibits may, but need not, be attached to Proofs of Claim when filed electronically. The claimant shall promptly provide any party in interest all exhibits upon request.

(b)

6. SEALED OR IMPOUNDED DOCUMENTS Any motion to seal or impound a document, pursuant to MLBR 9018-1, and the subject document, shall not be filed electronically, unless specifically authorized by the Court. In the event that the motion to seal or impound is granted, the Court shall determine the extent to which the motion and/or the document(s) shall be electronically filed. 7. RETENTION REQUIREMENTS (a) Unless the Court orders otherwise, all electronically filed documents, (including, without limitation, affidavits or a debtor's petition, schedules, statement of affairs, or amendments thereof) requiring signatures under the penalties of perjury shall be maintained in paper form by the Registered User until five (5) years after the closing of the case. The declarant shall affix his or her signature in each place where indicated in the paper form and shall also execute in paper form a Declaration Re: Electronic Filing in the form of Official Form 7, all to be retained by the Registered User as set forth herein. Said documents shall thereafter be deemed property of the Court and not property of the declarant. The Registered User must produce all such original documents for review or filing at the request of a party in interest or order of the Court.

(b)

Notwithstanding subsection (a) above, any page of a document containing a signature under the penalties of perjury shall be filed with the Court as an imaged, and not electronically created, document, together with or in addition to the document electronically filed with the Court.

8. SIGNATURES (a) The user log-in and password required to submit documents to the ECF System serve as the Registered User's signature on all electronic documents filed with the Court. They also serve as a signature for purposes of Fed.R.Bankr.P. 9011, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the local rules of this Court, and any other purpose for which a signature is required. Electronically filed documents must set forth the name, address, telephone number, email address of a Registered User and, if an attorney, his or her BBO or PHV number (see MBLR 9010-3(b)). In addition, the document must include a signature block where the name of the Registered User is typed, but preceded by an "/s/," or is set forth as an imaged or electronically created signature. Where an electronically filed document sets forth the consent of more than one party, the additional consents may be supplied by: (1) a scanned document containing all of the necessary signatures; or (2) a representation that the Registered User has authority to consent on behalf of the other parties who are purported signatories to the document; or (3) a notice of endorsement filed by the other signatories no later than three business days after filing of the document; or (4) any other manner approved by the Court. All electronically documents filed after the commencement of the case must contain the case caption and number.

(b)

(c)

9. SERVICE OF DOCUMENT BY ELECTRONIC MEANS (a) Transmission by the Court of the "Notice of Electronic Filing" constitutes service or notice of the filed document, except that persons not deemed to have consented to electronic notice or service are entitled to conventional notice or service of any electronically filed document according to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the local rules. Service by electronic transmission shall be deemed equivalent to service by mail for the purposes of Fed. R.Bankr.P. 9006(f).

(b)

10. NOTICE OF COURT ORDERS AND JUDGMENTS Upon the entry of an order or judgment in a case or an adversary proceeding, the Clerk will transmit notice to Registered Users in the case or adversary proceeding in electronic form. Transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing constitutes the notice required by Fed.R.Bankr.P. 9022. The Clerk shall give conventional notice to a person who has not consented to electronic service in accordance with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

11. TECHNICAL FAILURES A Registered User whose filing is made untimely as a result of a technical failure may seek appropriate relief from the Court. Rule 12. PUBLIC ACCESS A person may view electronically filed documents that have not been impounded by the Court at the Clerk's Office. A person may also access the ECF System at the Court's Internet site, www.mab.uscourts.gov, by obtaining a PACER login and password. A person who has PACER access may retrieve dockets and documents. Only a Registered User may file documents electronically.

OFFICIAL FORM 7
United States Bankruptcy Court District of Massachusetts In re Chapter Bankruptcy No. Debtor(s) DECLARATION RE: ELECTRONIC FILING PART I- DECLARATION OF PETITIONER I [We] ________________________________ and ________________________________________, hereby declare(s) under penalty of perjury that all of the information contained in my __________________________ (singly or jointly the "Document"), filed electronically, is true and correct. I understand that this DECLARATION is to be filed with the Clerk of Court electronically concurrently with the electronic filing of the Document. I understand that failure to file this DECLARATION may cause the Document to be struck and any request contained or relying thereon to be denied, without further notice. I further understand that pursuant to the Massachusetts Electronic Filing Local Rule (MEFLR)-7(a) all paper documents containing original signatures 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 authorized CM/ECF Registered User for a period of five (5) years after the closing of this case. Dated: Signed:______________________________________________ (Affiant) (Joint Affiant)

PART II - DECLARATION OF ATTORNEY (IF AFFIANT IS REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL) I certify that the affiant(s) signed this form before I submitted the Document, I gave the affiant(s) a copy of the Document and this DECLARATION, and I have followed all other electronic filing requirements currently established by local rule and standing order. This DECLARATION is based on all information of which I have knowledge and my signature below constitutes my certification of the foregoing under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011. I have reviewed and will comply with the provisions of MEFR 7. Dated: Signed:________________________________________________ Attorney for Affiant