Western District of Washington Electronic Filing Rules

Applies to

All documents

Attorneys and trustees must file all documents electronically through ECF.

Attorneys and trustees must file all documents with the court using the court’s Case Management and Electronic Case Filing system (“ECF”) and are referred to as a “registered ECF filer.”

Applies to

Proofs of claim and claim-related documents

Entities filing many proofs of claim must file them electronically.

the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington in any 6-month period must electronically file all proofs of claim and claim-related documents.

Court does not accept fax filings.

The court will not accept documents transmitted by facsimile.

Applies to

Paper submissions

Paper documents over 50 pages must also be submitted in electronic PDF format on USB or CD, with segmentation if over 10MB and clear labeling.

Documents submitted on paper and exceeding 50 pages including exhibits shall also be provided to the clerk’s office in electronic PDF format on a USB flash drive or CD-Rom disk at the time of filing. USB flash drives and CD-Rom disks provided to the court will not be returned to the filer. If the PDF file is more than ten megabytes in size, it must be separated into ten-megabyte segments. Each PDF file shall be clearly labeled to identify the sequence of documents to be filed.

Applies to

Proposed order

Proposed orders under specified rules must be filed electronically as an attachment to the motion.

Proposed orders filed in accordance with Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-1(d)(1)(D) and 9013-1(i) shall be filed electronically as an attachment to the motion.

Applies to

Order

Original orders ready for judge's signature must be uploaded as 'Received Unsigned Order' in the electronic case filing system.

Original orders that are ready for the judge's signature, including orders filed pursuant to Local Bankruptcy Rules 9013-1(f)(2), 9013-1(g)(2), and 9013-1(i) shall be filed electronically by uploading the order through the court's electronic case filing system as a 'Received Unsigned Order'.

Applies to

Pro hac vice application

Pro hac vice application must be electronically filed by local counsel.

Local counsel must review, sign, and electronically file the applicant’s pro hac vice application.

Applies to

Proposed order

A Word version of all proposed orders must be emailed to linorders@wawd.uscourts.gov at filing, with a subject line including case number, name, and motion title.

Pursuant to this District’s Electronic Filing Procedures, the moving Party must also email a Microsoft Word version of any proposed order to linorders@wawd.uscourts.gov at the time of filing. The subject heading of the email should include the case number, the case name, and the title of the motion, and not simply “Proposed Order.”

Applies to

Jury instructions

Proposed jury instructions must be served on all parties, filed in the docket, and emailed as a Word or WordPerfect compatible file to the judge's e-mail orders address.

All proposed instructions must be served on all parties, filed in the docket, and attached as a Word or WordPerfect compatible file to an e-mail sent to the e-mail orders address of the assigned judge pursuant to the court's electronic filing procedures.

Counsel must e-file documents through the court's system; unrepresented parties may but are not required to e-file.

(a) Electronic Filing and Signing – Unless otherwise specifically ordered by the court or directed by the clerk, all counsel are required to electronically file documents through the court’s electronic filing system and to comply with the electronic filing procedures for the district. Unrepresented parties are authorized, but are not required to, electronically file documents. The court’s Electronic Filing Procedures for Civil and Criminal Cases can be found on the court’s website at www.wawd.uscourts.gov.

Applies to

Pro hac vice application

Pro hac vice applications must be filed electronically by local counsel.

This application, which can be downloaded from the court's website, must be filed electronically by local counsel.

Applies to

Trustee documents

Documents required to be provided to the trustee under 11 U.S.C. §§ 521(a)(1)(B)(iv) and (e)(2)(A)(i) and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4002(b)(2) and (3) must not be filed with the court.

These documents are not to be filed with the court but instead these documents shall be delivered to the trustee in the manner described in subsection (2) below.

Applies to

Exhibit

Non-trial exhibits must be filed electronically and linked to the related pleading.

Exhibits, other than trial exhibits, are to be filed electronically with each exhibit linked to the pleading to which it relates.

Required

Always

Applies to

Original order

Original orders must not be filed or e-filed before the hearing, except as permitted by LBR 9013-1(f)(2).

Original orders should not be filed in advance of the hearing nor electronically uploaded in the court’s electronic case filing system, except as permitted in Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-1(f)(2).

Electronic notice must comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-1 and the court's Electronic Filing Procedures.

Notice given electronically shall comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-1 and the court’s Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing and Verifying Pleadings and Papers by Electronic Means (“Electronic Filing Procedures”), as each is amended from time to time.

Applies to

Trial exhibit

Trial exhibits should be submitted on paper unless otherwise ordered.

Trial exhibits should be submitted on paper, in accordance with Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-2(a), unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Applies to

Cooperation materials

Cooperation materials may be filed electronically via CM/ECF to keep them off the public docket.

materials relating to a defendant’s cooperation, e.g. U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) memos, or Fed. R. Crim. P. 35(b), and supporting documents may be filed electronically via CM/ECF pursuant to General Order 12-23 of this court so they do not appear on the publicly available docket.