Tuesday, September 25, 2012

O.C. SUPERIOR COURT TO REQUIRE E-FILING ON ALL CIVIL CASES IN 2013

Orange County Superior Court is announcing a pilot program wherein all civil cases must be electronically filed, effective 2013.  This will include small claims actions also.  Up until now, the only cases required to be e-filed in O.C. were cases designated as "complex" or actions for breach of contract.  Personal injury cases must be e-filed as of 10/1/12.  This is a pilot program which if borne out as effective, is likely to be followed by every county in the state.  Most actions in Federal court, including bankruptcy actions, are already required to be e-filed.  E-filing is supposed to be more economical for the courts to handle, especially in light of the current budget crisis affecting the entire state.  This move is likely to result in some lay-offs in the clerk's office.  E-filing is actually more expensive for litigants, in that you have to pay a fee of approximately $10.00 to an e-filing company or attorney service in order to scan the document for filing.  E-filing may benefit some litigants facing a statute of limitations deadline, as the e-filing can be accomplished up to midnight of any given court day as opposed to filing being cut off when the clerk's office normally closes at 4:30 P.M.  O. C. Superior Court gets up to one million filings a year, of which about 40% of the civil filings are already being e-filed on an optional basis.

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