MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR USING CaseFileXpress

• Windows 2000 operating system or later
• Internet Explorer 6.0 (NOTE: Netscape web browsers are not supported)
• 56 Kbps Internet connection (standard dialup)
  
• 64 MB or memory (RAM)
  
• 400 MHZ Processor
  
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0

EFILING TRAINING
CaseFileXpress offers onsite training at the DC Superior Court’s training facilities typically one week a month.  If you are registered with us, you will receive our monthly training announcements.  In addition to onsite training, we offer web training for your firm or you can join our monthly web training the third Wednesday of each month at 11:00 EST.  To schedule training or signup up for our monthly web session, please email us at training@cfxpress.com

ESERVING OPPOSING COUNSEL
When eFiling your document, you will be asked to create an attorney service list.  You will have the ability to search and add registered attorneys to the service list when eFiling.  Be sure to include your Certificate of Service when eFiling your documents or your filing will be rejected by the Clerk.  If the opposing counsel is not registered, please contact opposing counsel and advise them that they cannot be served.  Send an email to efile@dcsc.gov and info@cfxpress.com with the case number, attorney’s name, law firm, phone number, and email address, if available, for the opposing counsel that is not registered.

RESPONDING TO AN ESERVICE
When responding to an eService from opposing counsel your time to respond starts from the time the document is efiled with the court. Be sure that the filing is accepted by the DC Superior Court Clerk before you submit your response.  If the filing is rejected by the clerk and you file a response, your response will also be rejected.

HOW DO I CREATE THE SERVICE LIST
To add attorneys and judge’s to the service list follow these instructions:

• Click on the link “To Add and Attorney or Judge Click Here”
• Search for a registered attorney or judge by entering their first name, last name, or bar number.  You do not need to enter all fields.   You may also search for judges by entering “dc judge” in the Organization Field.
• Click search
• Check the box next to the name of the attorney or judge and click add selected
• The name now appears in the service list – select the role for each

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Be sure to include a Certificate of Service which each filing.  Although we will eServe attorneys in the service list, you may have Pro Se parties.  Your certificate will indicate whether attorneys we eServed by CaseFileXpress and/or if traditional means were used to serve Pro Se parties.

PRO SE PARTIES
Pro Se parties are not required to eFile.

Pro Se parties may be “eServed” only if they register and agree to accept service electronically. Otherwise Pro Se parties must be served through traditional methods – such as mail, certified mail, fax, courier.

Pro Se parties may accept service electronically.  Pro Se parties can register with CaseFileXpress. All that is needed is a driver’s license and an email address.  There is no charge to register or to receive service electronically. 

IN FORMA PAUPERIS FILINGS
Since the issuance of Administrative Order 06-17 (which mandates eFiling in certain civil cases), the Court has been working to make sure that eFiling does not create undue financial burdens on low-income litigants and the organizations that represent them. This procedures that in forma pauperis (IFP) litigants and the organizations that represent them must follow are summarized below in order to eFile without court costs and eFiling costs. It also references Administrative Order 07-14, which permits certain organizations to paper file (thereby avoiding eFiling costs) when they are representing non-IFP litigants.

Please read the information below before beginning the registration process:

You must first register the organization, then register the individuals that will be eFiling on the CaseFileXpress website. Identify one person within your organization to register the organization and create a firm codes(s)*. Once the firm is registered, individuals within the organization may register or the contact person may register everyone.

Attorneys and legal staff should register. Attorneys may delegate legal staff to file on their behalf. If the organization and/or attorneys also files for those not proceeding IFP, they will need to establish a separate firm code and individual user-ID for non-IFP clients. This means they will have two (2) firm codes, two (2) user-ids, and two (2) eService Inboxes and may need to check both eService Inboxes since opposing counsel serving them may be not serve the correct account.

DC BAR NUMBERS

Please note that bar numbers for attorneys filing in Washington, DC Superior Court must be six digits. If you have a 5 digit number, please add a leading zero. If you are filing Pro Hac Vice, please use the bar number “999999” when registering with CaseFileXpress.  You must still eFile all appropriate documents with the court for a Pro Hac Vice request.

NEW BAR MEMBERS
If you are new to the DC Bar, please contact the DC Civil Clerk’s office at 202-879-1425 to be added to the court’s case management system before you attempt to eFile.

INTERNET ACCESS NOW AVAILABLE TO DC SUPERIOR COURT’S DOCKET INFORMATION
The Washington, DC Superior Court now has public access available to their docket information.  All open and closed Civil court cases (Civil I and II, Landlord Tenant, and Small Claims) dating back to 2000, with the exception of non-public records, are available on the courts website. Currently only docket information will be available on this site.  To retrieve actual documents on cases that you are not a party to, you must go to the courthouse.  If you are a party to the case, you can retrieve your file stamped documents, judge’s orders, and eService copies after logging in with your user-id and password.  Click here to access the court’s docket information: https://www.dccourts.gov/pa/

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ENTERING THE CORRECT DOCKET NUMBER
The correct docket number format is crucial for successfully eFiling. The format is as follows: YEAR- SPACE- CA-SPACE-SIX DIGIT DOCKET NUMBER-SPACE- EXTENDER. Thus, the first case filed in 2005 in Civil II would read: 2005 CA 000001 B. For the 450th 2000 case that was filed in Civil II, the docket number would be 2000 CA 000450 B. If the case was a medical malpractice case and certified to Civil I from Civil II, it would read: 2005 CA 00001 M; if it was a real property case (formally "RP"), it would read: 2005 CA 00001 R(RP).  On occasion, a case has been assigned a docket extender that is different than the case type for which the extender is used. You can check for the proper extender by looking at Initial Scheduling Orders issued after May 17th 2005 and from the court’s public access docket site https://www.dccourts.gov/pa/.

• Case number formatting for each case type will display only the first two letters of the case code between the year and the 6 digit docket number;
• The third letter will display as an extension i.e. Civil Action Branch cases (CAB) will display: 2005 CA 000123 B
• If you do not see your case type, please call CaseFileXpress at 877-433-4533.
• If your case is sealed in its entirety, please call CaseFileXpress at 877-433-4533

If a case originated as a Civil I case, (e.g. asbestos cases) use "A" after the docket number. If the case originated in Civil II and was later designated a Civil I case, use "B" after the docket number, unless the case is a malpractice case, in which event, use a letter "M" or a real property case, in which event, use an "R(RP)" after the docket number.

PLEASE NOTE JUDICIAL ASSIGNMENT CHANGES
The following lists the Civil I & II Calendar Assignments as of January 1, 2008:

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FILINGS APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE CASE

With the prior eFiling system, one could file one document and apply it to cases that were not officially consolidated but "traveled together" (such as with the asbestos and cell phone cases). That system, however, was not a part of the court's case management system. As a result a different procedure is to be used at this time. If cases are not officially consolidated by court order with other cases, any document applying in several cases, must be filed in each case.

If a case is consolidated with others by court order, then a document can be filed in the lead case. The comments field on the eFiling screen must be used to specify to what other cases the document applies. It will then be accepted (or rejected) by the clerk in the lead case and a docket entry will be made in each of the other cases with which it is consolidated that it was filed. The entry will also state the case number of the lead case where the document was filed and can be viewed on a public access system. 

WASHINGTON, DC EFILING RULES OF PROCEDURE

The DC Superior Court mandated eFiling in Civil I cases through CaseFileXpress in May 2005 and designated Civil II cases beginning February 5, 2007. A link to the Administrative Order is provided below. The DC Civil rules have been amended to address eFiling issues. Some major points include: All attorneys on Civil I and Civil II cases must be registered with eFiling for Courts (which is done through the CFX registration process

• Attorneys must electronically sign documents using a digital signature, a scanned signature or the “/s/” method. Rule 5(e)(2)(B)(ii) has been amended to permit "/s/" on the signature line of efiled documents without the name. The attorney who authorized or filed the document shall be deemed to have signed the document for Rule 11 purposes. The filing attorney's name must appear below the line, along with the attorney's address, telephone number, email address and Bar number. Rule 11(a) was also amended to incorporate this change by Rule Promulgation Order 07-03. For example:
  
  /s/ _____________                           
  John Smith, DC BAR Number: 999999
  Smith & Jones, LLC
  1200 Pennsylvania Ave
  Washington, DC 20006
  (202) 879-0000
  john.smith@example.com

• Be sure to include your email address in your signature block
• The time stamp of the filing is captured when the filer submits an electronic document through their EFSP (not accepted, but filed). The document is also deemed served upon submission.
• Attorneys must have a DC bar number to register. Those attorneys filing Pro Hac Vice, must register with the bar number “999999”
• Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, an original of all documents filed electronically, shall be maintained by the party filing
• Any filing, 25 pages or less, may be in eFiled in the first field which is titled “Lead Document File Name” on CFX screen. If you use the first field only for such documents, you must make all parts of the filing into one document.  For example, the motion, points and authorities, any exhibits, proposed order and certificate of service must be made into one document prior to uploading and not exceed 25 pages
• If the filing exceeds 25 pages, upload the lead document into the first field which is titled “Lead Document File Name” on the CFX screen– i.e. the Motion, Notice, Praecipe, Opposition, etc. Upload into the second field, which is titled “Attachment File Names” on the CFX screen, all other documents of the filing (such as the points and authorities, exhibits, affidavits, proposed order and certificate of service).  These can be separate documents or one pdf when uploaded.  If separate documents are uploaded then you must use the “merge” button on the CFX screen to merge all supporting documents into one pdf or the clerk will reject the filing.
• Please email an additional copy of your proposed order in native format (i.e. Microsoft Word or Word Perfect) to the judge on your case to their eservice email after eFiling your case to the clerk through CaseFileXpress. The judges’ email addresses follow the format of: judge[last name]eserve@dcsc.gov or magistratejudge[last name]eserve@dcsc.gov). Please note that hypens in last names are removed from the eserve email addresses. For example, Judge Duncan-Peters’ email address is judgeduncanpeterseserve@dcsc.gov. For a list of the judges’ eserve email addresses, please see the table above. The subject line of the email should contain only case number followed by the case name. (see specific judge email address in judicial assignment table above).
• If your filing exceeds 25 pages, please mail a paper copy of the filing to the judge’s chambers and include mailing labels to all unrepresented parties

MOST COMMON REASONS FOR FILING REJECTIONS
When a filing is rejected by the DC Clerk, the reason for the rejection will be listed in the “Alert” email sent by notifications@cfxpress.com and in your Filing Inbox.  You can access your Filing Inbox by logging into CaseFileXpress with your user-id and password and clicking on the “Review Filings / eService” tab. Then click on the trace number of the filing that received the “Alert”.

To View the DC Superior Court Administrative Order and Rules: http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/admin_orders/admin_orders.jsp

To view the Administrative Order on eFiling and FAQs: http://www.dccourts.gov/efiling

To download the PowerPoint presentation used for CaseFileXpress eFiling training click here: http://www.dccourts.gov/efiling

To download the Seven Steps to eFile for CaseFileXpress click here: http://www.dccourts.gov/efiling

To download the checklist for eFiling to the DC Superior Court click here

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