Eastpointe court first in the state to provide e-filing of lawsuits
By Robin D’Angelo
C & G Staff Writer
Tired of standing in endless lines this holiday season? Thanks to the 38th District Court in Eastpointe, people filing lawsuits can avoid the queue blues and file online instead.
The court became the first district court in Michigan to accept electronically filed general civil lawsuits seeking damages less than $25,000 on Nov. 30.
Court Administrator Lori Shemka said the e-filing service may be used by individuals or attorneys who represent them.
“Those using the e-file system will have to first register by putting in their name, address and e-mail address because everything is logged according to username identification,” Shemka said.
Parties can also e-file answers, jury demands and motions through a Web site maintained by the Michigan Supreme Court. Although Shemka said the current infrastructure only allows for the e-filing of general civil cases and not landlord-tenant or small claims, that might not always be the case.
“The state has conveyed to us that the squeaky wheel will get the grease,” she said.
“If we get a greater demand for e-filing, I welcome frequent feedback from the public on that so I can convey it to the state and demonstrate the need for it, and then they’ll do it.”
The time it takes to e-file a lawsuit does depend. For those filing a lawsuit, a one-page summons and complaint form must be filled out, as well as any other attachments, which must be in PDF format. The filer may then pay the filing fee with a credit card and submit it to the court clerk.
The clerk will fill out any additional information needed and assign a case number, and the filer will receive e-mail notification when it has been accepted. An electronic version of the lawsuit may then be accessed.
“It should be much more convenient for those filing, because they’ll no longer have to wait at the counter or pay to have a runner or process server, or pay postage and wait for it to get mailed back,” Shemka said.
“The court will do the same thing it’s always done; the difference is now just receiving online, rather than over the counter.”
Shemka said this new development has cost the 38th District Court nothing at all, as the technology for e-filing had been in development by the Michigan Supreme court for the past two years.
“(The Michigan Supreme Court) has been working in close partnership with IBM for developing this infrastructure, and they’re the ones who are paying for it,” she said.
“It’s not costing Eastpointe taxpayers anything more, as it was developed and financed through the state.”
The state also provided the court with 21 new Dell computers free of charge and paid for half the installation cost after the court became a district court on Jan. 1, 2004.
Chief Judge Norene Redmond said she is excited that her court is serving as the pilot court for the state in offering e-filing services.
“It has cost residents nothing to do this, but it will be a great service to the community to file civil proceedings without having to leave the house,” Redmond said.
“It’s great for attorneys who have very busy schedules or who are coming from a long ways away, and who either have to take time and bill clients to file or send a runner and charge it to their client. We worked very hard with the state and judiciary to make this happen.”
Visit www.38thdistrictcourt.com to e-file or for more information.