Spring 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
d&G Lawyer News
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E-Filing Status Update
By: Michael R. Bray
The April 1 deadline for attorneys and clerks to make the move to
Florida's e-filing portal (www.myflcourtaccess.com)
for civil filings is fast approaching. The portal will provide parties
with a single entry point for filing and viewing court documents that
are electronically filed in every court in Florida. See In re: Amendments to the Florida Rules
of Civil Procedure, etc., Fla. Supreme Court Case No. SC11-399 (October 18, 2012).
The vast majority of Florida's 67 counties are already accepting electronic filings
through the portal. Most are accepting pleadings in all new and existing civil cases. Of the rest,
at the time of this writing, Seminole and Okaloosa Counties are accepting filings in existing cases only.
Miami-Dade is accepting filings in all existing cases, and in new family law cases. Hillsborough is
accepting filings in existing civil cases, including family and probate, and in new probate cases. Hernando
has established its capability to accept electronic filings in all new and existing cases, but is not yet
accepting them via the portal. Taylor County is already accepting all filings for county civil and probate
cases, and is targeting February 25 as the date it will begin accepting filings in circuit civil and family
law cases. Orange, Osceola, and Sumter Counties are all planning to be ready to accept all civil filings by
March 1. Pasco County expects to accept all civil filings by April 1. Pinellas County can receive probate
filings in both new and existing cases, but has set a target date of April 29 to begin accepting other civil
filings, which will require an extension from the Supreme Court's April 1 deadline. See Florida
Courts E-Filing Authority, Civil Readiness Report (February 7, 2013). Criminal filings in all circuit
courts must be made electronically via the portal by October 1, 2013.
While the trial courts' move to the portal is making a bigger splash, the appellate courts will be
making the transition, as well. The Florida Supreme Court will begin accepting electronic filings via
the portal on a voluntary basis on February 27. Filings via the portal will become mandatory in the
Florida Supreme Court on April 1. See In re: Electronic Filing in the Supreme Court of Florida via
the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, Administrative Order SC13-7 (February 18, 2013). The District
Courts of Appeal will follow later this year, with deadlines of July 22 for the Second DCA, September
27 for the Third DCA, and October 31 for the Fourth DCA. The First and Fifth DCAs, which are currently
using the eDCA system for electronic filing, are required to transition to the portal by November 27
for the Fifth DCA, and December 27 for the First DCA
According to the February 15, 2013, Florida Bar News, there are already over 20,100 registered
users of the portal, and an average of almost 43,000 documents per month are being filed electronically
in the trial courts. Of course, a significant portion of the Florida Bar's nearly 94,000 members are
civil filers, so the portal will see a dramatic increase in the number of users, as well as a sharp
uptick in filings, as April 1 nears.
For more information and to access training materials for the portal, visit the Florida State
Courts website at http://www.flcourts.org/gen_public/technology/e-filinginfostatus.shtml, and
the Florida Courts E-Filing Authority at http://www.flclerks.com/eFiling_authority.html.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Bray at (813) 229-2775.
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