CHAPTER VI
FILING DOCUMENTS IN ECF
A. TWELVE BASIC STEPS
There are twelve steps to file documents electronically:
1. Select the Case Type
Select Civil from the blue menu bar at the top of the ECF screen. The Civil Event
window opens displaying all of the events from which you may choose for your filing.
2. Select the Type of Document to File
Click on [Motions] under [Motions and Related Filings].
Figure 6
The Motions screen appears and displays a motion selection field with a scroll bar next
to it. (See Figure 7.) Scroll through the menu until you find the type of motion or
application you wish to file. (If the type of motion you are filing is not listed, use
Motion for Miscellaneous Relief.) For demonstration purposes, highlight Preliminary
Injunction and click on [Next].
Figure 7
NOTE: To select more than one motion, press and hold down the CTRL key, and
click on each of the desired multiple forms of relief. (Note: Not available
in criminal.) Also, when navigating the Civil and Criminal Menu
screens, you can highlight any event then type the first letter of the event
you are looking for. This will move you to those events in the menu
beginning with the same letter.
A Filing User who wishes to file a document other than a civil motion or
application should make the appropriate selection from the Civil or
Criminal Events menu. The process for other filings is very similar to
what has been described in this manual for filing a motion.
3. Enter the Case Number in which the Document is to be Filed
A new Motions screen opens with a Case Number field. Enter the number of the case for
which you are filing a motion, then click the [Next] button. If the number is entered
incorrectly, click the [Clear] button to re-enter the case number, then click the [Next]
button. (See Figure 8.)
Figure 8
NOTE: ECF defaults to the last case in which you worked. Ensure the proper
case number is entered in this field to avoid filing your document in
the wrong case.
The case number can be entered in two different formats:
a) If the entire case number is known, it may be entered in the format:
<office>:<case year>-<case type>-<case number> (i.e., 3:03-CV-33).
Office: 1 = Chattanooga
2 = Greeneville
3 = Knoxville
4 = Winchester
Case Type: cv = civil cases
mc = miscellaneous cases
cr = criminal cases
mj = magistrate cases
po = petty offense cases
b) You also can simply enter the case year-case number (i.e., 03-33). The system
may identify more than one case with that number. Select the appropriate case by
clicking on the box next to the case number.
If you submit a case number that is formatted incorrectly, ECF will prompt an
error message advising you of the correct format for entering the case number.
Click [OK] to acknowledge and close the error message. Click the [Clear]
button on the screen and re-enter the case number in the correct format. Click on
the [Next] button.
4. Select the Defendant (criminal cases only)
Very Important. If there is more than one defendant in a criminal case, the system will
display a Select Defendant screen. Select the defendant for whom the motion applies.
5. Select the party for whom the document is being filed by pointing and clicking on the
name of the party. If you represent more than one defendant or plaintiff, hold down the
CTRL KEY while pointing and clicking on each party you represent. Then click on the
[Next] button. (See Figure 9.)
Figure 9
NOTE: In rare cases you many need to add a party to the ECF system. If the party you
represent is not listed in the "Select a Party" screen, click on [Add/Create New
Party]. The screen depicted below will appear.
Figure 9A
You must perform a search to see if your party is already entered on the ECF
system. Type the first few letters of the party's last name for an individual, or the
first few letters of the company name. Click [Search].
If a match is found, ECF will display a list of party names. If the name of the
party you represent appears in the list, click on it and then click [Select name
from list]. Review the party information and select the party's role in this filing.
Click [Submit].
If a match is not found or your party does not appear in the list, click [Create
New Party].
Figure 9B
For a company, enter the entire company name in the Last Name field. Choose
the appropriate Role from the drop-down list. Click [Submit].
For an individual, fill out the Last Name, First Name, Middle Name,
Generation and Title fields as appropriate. Choose the appropriate Role from
the drop-down list. Click [Submit].
Leave all other fields blank.
6. Associate attorney and party. If this is your first filing in a case on ECF, you will need to
make an attorney/party association. To do so, click once on the attorney/party
association with the party you represent.
7. Select the PDF Document to be Filed. NOTE: If you fail to select a document, the
system will give you a warning: "You have not selected a document."
ECF displays a field for locating and entering the PDF file of the document you are
filing. (See Figure 10.)
Figure 10
NOTE: It is imperative that you attach an electronic copy of the actual motion
when prompted by the system. All documents that you intend to file in
ECF MUST be in PDF format. Otherwise, ECF will not accept the
document and Filing Users will be unable to retrieve and read your
document from within ECF.
Click on the [Browse] button. ECF opens a window to access the files on your
computer or network. If necessary, change the Files of type to All Files (*) (The
screen depicted below is an example. Your window will be different.) Navigate
to the appropriate directory and file name to select the PDF document you wish to
file. Highlight the file to upload to ECF. (See Figure 11.)
Figure 11
In order to verify that you have selected the correct document, right mouse click on the
highlighted file name to open a quick menu and left mouse click on [Open]. Adobe
Acrobat or Acrobat Reader will launch and open the PDF document that you selected.
You should view it to verify that it is the correct document. (See Figure 12.)
Figure 12
Once you have verified the document is correct, close Adobe Acrobat and click on the
[Open] button from the screen depicted in Figure 12. ECF closes the File Upload screen
and inserts the PDF file name and location in the Motions screen depicted in Figure 13.
Figure 13
Click on [Next]. In the event you selected and highlighted a file that is not in PDF format, ECF
will display the following error message: "ERROR: Document is not a well formed PDF
document." Click on the [Back] button and ECF will return to the Motions screen. Select and
highlight the PDF file of your pleading and proceed as before.
If there are no attachments to the motion, click on [Next] and proceed to Section 9,
"Modify the docket text as necessary" to proceed with your filing.
If you have attachments to your motion, you will select [Yes] on the screen depicted
above. Click on [Next] and proceed to the first step in Section 8, "Add attachments, if
any, to the documents being filed."
8. Adding Attachments to Filings and Exhibits
A Filing User must submit in electronic form all documents referenced as exhibits or
attachments in accordance with the Court's ECF Rules and Procedures unless otherwise
ordered by the Court. A Filing User shall submit as exhibits or attachments only those
excerpts of the referenced documents that are directly germane to the matter under
consideration by the Court. ECF Rules and Procedures, 4.6. Excerpted material must
be clearly and prominently identified as such. Filing Users who file excerpts of
documents as exhibits or attachments under this rule do so without prejudice to their right
to timely file additional excerpts or the complete document. Responding parties may
timely file additional excerpts or the complete document that they believe are directly
germane.
Each referenced attachment or exhibit must be labeled with a proper attachment/exhibit
marking and be filed as a separate attachment. (See discussion at page 6:10-6:12 of this
Manual.)
Filing Users must not attach as an exhibit or attachment any pleading or other paper
already on file with the Court, but shall merely refer to that document.
Filed documents, including attachments and exhibits, cannot be greater than 5.0 MB in
size. Documents greater than 5.0 MB in size must be divided into separate documents
less than 5.0 MB in size. ECF Rules and Procedures, at 4.2. If you attempt to file a
document greater than 5.0 mb the system will reject it and you will receive this message:
"Your documents exceeds 5.0 megabytes - please break it into smaller files."
NOTE: To check your file size, the document must be closed. Using Windows
Explorer, locate the document on your network, right click on it and select
Properties. That will show you the size. (1MB=1000KB).
a) Attachments and Exhibits
These documents must be filed according to the following guidelines.
IF THE ATTACHMENT OR EXHIBIT IS
THEN IT SHOULD BE
Any document exceeding 5.0 MB in size
Divided into multiple files less than 5.0 MB in
size and filed in ECF.
Exhibits which cannot be scanned (e.g.,
videotapes, demonstratives, photographs, color
documents, etc.)
Filed in the Clerk's Office and a document filed
in ECF stating the exhibit was filed with the
Clerk's Office.
Trial exhibits.
Filed in paper form during the hearing with the
Clerk.
If a relevant portion of a deposition transcript is filed in support of a motion, the
transcript shall be filed using ECF or on either a 3.5" disk or CD-ROM in PDF, unless
otherwise permitted by the Court.
b) Non-scanned Exhibits
All attachments and exhibits that are referenced in a document and are filed
with the Clerk's Office (i.e., videotapes, demonstratives, pre-trial hearing
exhibits, large documents, etc.) must have notice of their filing recorded in
ECF. The Filing User must create a "Notice of Manual Filing" that contains the
name and a description of the attachment/exhibit. (See Appendix E.) During
the filing of the referencing document, answer "yes" to the attachment question
and upload the "Notice of Manual Filing."
If you have multiple non-scanned exhibits you may include them all in a single descriptor
PDF format.
If you acknowledged the need to attach documents to your motion during the previous step, a
new Motions screen appears as depicted in Figure 13.
Figure 14
NOTE: Whenever it is practical, the Clerk's Office will scan manual filings and enter
them into ECF. Once a document is scanned, the electronic version becomes
the official record of the court and permits the Clerk of Court to retain, return or
discard the original.
Click on [Browse] to search for the document file name of the attachment. Next to the field for
Attachment Type, click on the arrow and ECF opens a drop-down screen. Highlight the type of
attachment from the displayed selection.
To describe the attachment more fully, click in the Description box and type a clear and
concise description of the attachment, as shown below.
Click on [Add to List]. (See Figure 14A.)
Figure 14A
ECF adds the selected document as an attachment to the motion. A new Motions screen opens
to display the file name of the newly attached document.
Repeat the sequence for each additional attachment.
After adding all of the desired PDF documents as attachments, click on [Next]. The
previous screen closes and ECF opens a new window.
NOTE: With some events, ECF creates and displays a response deadline. The deadline
cannot be changed by Filing Users. If the response deadline is different from the
deadline required by order of the Court, federal procedure rules, local rules,
statute or regulation, the law governs.
9. Modify Docket Text as Necessary
ECF selections determine the filing text that appears on the docket sheet.
Click on the button in Figure 14 (p. 6:11) to open a modifier drop-down list. You may
select one of the words in the drop-down list or leave the field blank.
Click on the field by the party's name, and type a description of the document that will
appear in the docket report. Refer to Figure 15 on next page.
Figure 15
10. Submit Document for Filing
After entering docket text, click on the final approval screen, click on the [Next]
button depicted in Figure 15. A new Motions window appears (Figure 16), with the
complete text for the docket entry.
Figure 16
Review the docket text and correct any errors. If you need to modify data on a previous
screen, click the [Back] button on the browser toolbar to find the screen you wish to
modify.
If the text is correct, click on the [Next] button to file the document.
11. Retain Notification of Electronic Filing (NEF)
ECF opens a new window displaying the ECF filing receipt, known as the Notice of
Electronic Filing CM/ECF. (See Figure 17.)
Figure 17
The screen depicted in Figure 17 provides confirmation that ECF has registered your
transaction and the document is now an official court record. It also displays the date and
time of your transaction and the number that was assigned to your document.
To ensure the documents transmitted arrived in their entirety, it is important to read the
documents after they are received by the Court.
The Filing User and other individuals the Filing User has designated to receive e-mail
notification of electronic filings, using the Utilities Feature (See discussion of this
Feature at pages 9:1-9:4 of this Manual), are permitted one "free look" at the document
by clicking on the associated hyperlinked document number embedded in the NEF. The
hyperlink to access the document will expire after the earlier of these two events: the first
use or 15 days. Any time that same hyperlink is accessed after it has expired, the user
will be asked for a PACER login and will be charged to view the document. Viewing
attachments and subsequent retrieval of the case docket sheet or document from ECF
must be made through your PACER account and is subject to regular PACER fees.
If prompted to put in a login or password, this means the system thinks you have had one
free look. To avoid this, do not forward an e-mail notification to another e-mail address,
and do not open the NEF and close it without using the link to view, download, or print
the document.
12. Mail Paper Copies of Pleading to Any Non-registered Party
The NEF also displays the names and addresses of individuals who will not be
electronically notified of the filing. It is the filer's responsibility to serve hard copies of
the pleading/document and the NEF to attorneys and pro se litigants who are not yet
registered for electronic notification. The attorney should print the electronically filed
PDF document and serve it on the non-filing users so that the format and pagination are
the same as the electronically filed, official court document.
B. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
A certificate of service in accordance with the Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d) is still required when a party
files a document electronically. The certificate must state the manner in which service was
accomplished on each party and should be included as the final page of the document. You may
use the "Mailing Info for a Case" feature in ECF under "Utilities," Mailings..." to obtain
information regarding which parties are registered users of ECF and which parties require
service by regular mail. (See p. 9:5 for discussion and Appendix F for a sample certificate of
service.)
C. FILING OTHER TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
The process for other filings is very similar to what has been described in this Manual for filing a
motion.
1. Documents Which Require Leave of Court
If the document you wish to file requires leave of court (e.g., amended complaint), the
proposed document shall be attached as an exhibit to the motion. If the motion is
granted, the order will direct you to electronically file your document with the Court.
2. Proposed Order
A document submitted in PDF format cannot be modified; therefore, for the convenience
of the Court, a proposed order must be in WordPerfect format. All proposed orders must
be e-mailed as a WordPerfect attachment to the e-mail addresses below:
| Judge Curtis L. Collier |
 |
| Judge Thomas W. Phillips |
 |
| Judge Thomas A. Varlan |
 |
| Judge J. Ronnie Greer |
 |
| Judge James H. Jarvis |
 |
| Judge Leon Jordan |
 |
| Judge R. Allan Edgar |
 |
| Judge Harry S. Mattice,
Jr. |
 |
| Magistrate Judge Dennis H. Inman |
 |
| Magistrate Judge William B. Carter |
 |
| Magistrate Judge Clifford C. Shirley |
 |
| Magistrate Judge H. Bruce Guyton |
 |
|
Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee |
 |
3. Agreed Orders
Agreed orders must be filed in ECF as an attachment to a motion.
4. Answers
ECF may calculate the date an answer is due based on 20 days or 60 days depending on the defendant’s status. If a statute, regulation, rule, or order of the Court requires a different answer date, the law governs.
5. Memoranda
Memoranda should be filed separately from the motion. Click on [Motions and Related Filings, then Filings in Support of Motions] and choose Memorandum in Support of Motion.
6. Objections to Presentence Reports
Pursuant to TN E.D.LR. 83.9, objections to presentence reports are to be provided to the Probation Officer and copies provided to all parties. The objections are not to be filed in ECF. A notice that the objections have been filied with the Probation Officer should be filed in ECF using the "Notice of Filing" event. Courtesy copies of objections may be provided to the district judge at the same time the objections are provided to the Probation Officer. Notices of no objections may be filed in in ECF.
D. LINKING DOCUMENTS (REFER TO EXISTING EVENT)
Some pleadings such as motions, responses and briefs should be "linked" to related documents
in the case. When filing these and certain other types of documents you will be presented with
the following screen. To link the document, check the box in front of the "Refer to existing
event(s)?" You also have the option of entering filed dates or document numbers if you would
like to further narrow your search and click [Next]. (See Figure18.)
Figure 18
You will be presented with a list of documents that match your search criteria. Click the
checkbox for the document you wish to link to and click [Next]. (See Figure 19.)
Figure 19
E. APPEALS
Notices of Appeal must be filed on paper with an electronic copy on disk or CD ROM
accompanied by the filing fee.
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APPENDIX A
