Transcript E-FILING - Brevard County

SIMPLE E-FILE WITH FEES
A Guide for Attorneys
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Introduction
The Brevard Clerk of Courts is accepting eFiled
documents from registered attorneys for both
new and existing cases. E-filed documents are
accepted via the State of Florida’s Statewide EFiling Court Records Portal – also known as
ePortal per Supreme Court Order (AOSC 09-30).
Prior to utilizing the State of Florida ePortal, the
filer must create an account by accessing the
ePortal’s log-in page at:
www.myflcourtaccess.com
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Log In/Create Account
To Create a new account for e-Filing:
• Click Register Now!
• Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your account.
If you are a registered User:
•Type your assigned User Name and Password.
•Click
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Filing Options
Click the
menu. Brevard County is accepting new
cases and existing pleadings by using
.
You may utilize the icons on the upper right for other options:
• My Trial Court Filings – View a list of your e-filings on the
ePortal. This is the default display after a successful log on.
• Email Log – View a list of status emails received from the
ePortal in date order.
• My Appellate Court Files – File subsequent pleading on
Appellant cases.
• Simple E-File With Fees – File pleadings for a new case and
subsequent pleadings on an existing case.
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Simple E-File With Fees
Enter the New Case Information:
• Select Type of Court, County and Division from the drop down
menus.
• Check the box for New Case
• Case Type – Same as Division
**Note: The grey area is for existing cases only
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Sub Type – Select from the drop down menu based on the
division selected.
**Note** Do not use the Sub Type beginning with a
number on new case filings; these Sub Types were used for
cases filed prior to 2010.
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Depending on the case type for filing – additional fee Options
will display.
• Total # Defendants: Enter the number of Defendants listed
on the Complaint/Petition. The fee of $2.50 will calculate for
each defendant over five.
• # of Units: Enter the number of Timeshare units.
• Lis Pendens (# of Pages): Enter the total number of pages of
the document.
• Names Considered for Indexing: Enter the total number of
Plaintiffs and Defendants, including DBA, AKA, Unknown
Tenant #1, etc. Do not include additional Tenants, unknown
spouses, unknown beneficiaries, or other unknowns.
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Adding Documents
Click
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Document Group:
• Select the applicable Document Group from the options
available.
Document Type:
• Select a Document Type from the options available for selected
group.
• Initial case filings will typically begin with a Civil Cover Sheet and a
Complaint or Petition. Additional documents from other document
groups may also be filed with the initiating documents.
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• # Pages: Enter number of pages of the document.
• Select Document: Click
to select the document
from your computer. (Use only MS Word 97 or higher, Word
Perfect, or Adobe PDF format. Also, attach only one file per
pleading. For example, if filing a Complaint, Civil Cover
Sheet, and summons, attach three separate files.)
• Click
• Repeat the process above for as many documents as
necessary.
Click
Click
Click
to view the document prior to submission.
to edit document information.
to remove the entire entry.
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eFiling a Summons
• A summons may be eFiled using the ePortal.
a. The summons is filed as:
Document Group: Writ
Document Type: EPORTAL SUMMONS.
• Each summons must be filed as a separate document.
a. There is a filing fee of $10.00 for each Document Type:
EPORTAL SUMMONS.
• The clerk will e-mail an issued summons to the Attorney’s
primary e-mail address.
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Pay the new case filing fees:
• Select the desired method of payment – Enter new credit
card/bank account information.
• Credit card and/or account routing information may be saved
for future use by checking the
..
• There is a 3% statutory convenience fee for payments made
via credit card. The statutory convenience fee for payments
made via electronic check (direct debit from a bank account) is
$3.00.
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Request fee Waiver
• The appropriate affidavit must be attached for the clerk’s
review and approval if selecting this option.
Emergency Filing
• Only click the
that are true emergencies.
for use to identify filings
For example: Matters of extreme urgency, matters of life
and death, and/or instances of irreparable harm. If
applicable, check the box. A red exclamation will appear in
the clerk of court’s queues.
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• Verify the application of fees based on the document filings.
• Click the
once the verification is complete and the
information is accurate.
Confirmations
A filer receives a total of three Confirmations during
the filing process:
•
Upon submission, the filer will receive a
confirmation message in the portal noting the new
case has been received by our office. The notice
provides the filing reference number This is the
number to use prior to a case number being
assigned by the Clerk.
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•
The filer receives an e-mail regarding the filing in
their e-mail account registered to their ePortal
profile. The e-mail is also listed in the Email
Log/Notifications on the ePortal.
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• Once the Clerk completes the review, the filer will
receive an e-mail confirming acceptance by the
Clerk or notification of return of the eFile to the
filer. An accepted eFile is assigned a case number.
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eFiling for Existing Cases
Click the
menu. Brevard County is accepting new
cases and existing pleadings by using
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To eFile a subsequent document for an existing case:
 Select Type of Court, County and Division from the drop down menus.
 Enter the 12 digit case number as indicated:
 The Case Type, Case Title, Case Status, and additional fee options display.
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Additional Fee Options:
 Total # Defendants – Enter the number of Defendants listed on the
Complaint/Petition. The fee of $2.50 will calculate for each defendant
over five.
 # of Units - Enter the number of Timeshare units.
 Lis Pendens (# of Pages) – Enter the total number of pages of the
document.
 Names Considered for Indexing – Enter the total number of Plaintiffs
Defendants, including DBA, AKA, Unknown Tenant #1, etc. Do not
include additional Tenants, unknown spouses, unknown beneficiaries, or
other unknowns.
Attach a Document:
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 Document Group: Select document group from the drop
down box (Ex:
Select Notice for a Notice Cancel Hearing
 Document Type: Select document type from the drop
down box (Ex:
Select Notice Cancel Hearing
 # Pages: Enter the # of pages for the document.
 Select Document: click the
icon to upload your file.
(Documents should be MS Word 97 or higher, Word Perfect or adobe PDF
format. Also, attach only one file per pleading. For example, if filing
Notice Cancel hearing, and a Eportal Summons; attach two separate files.)
 Click on
 Repeat for each document being Efiled.
Example of screen after documents have been uploaded
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Payment Screen:
The payment screen displays the total filing fees.
To pay filing fees:
 Select the desired method of payment (Saved Credit Card, Saved Account
or enter new credit card or bank information).
 Fee Waiver: When selecting the request for Fee waiver box, the
appropriate Affidavit must be attached for clerk review and approval if
selecting this option.
 Emergency Filing: Only for use to identify filings that are true
emergencies.

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Filing Confirmation:
Upon submission, you will receive a message in
the portal noting that the filing has been received by our office.
Confirmation email: You will receive a confirmation email to the e-mail
address you provided in your registration. This can be used for inquiries to
our office and also provides you with the filing date and time.
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Final E-mail confirmation:
You will receive a final email that verifies your filing has been accepted.
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Resubmissions
When information has been submitted electronically through
the Florida Courts E-Portal, the Clerk will review the filed
document. During the review process , if a determination is
made that the document filed is not acceptable, the clerk will
place that entire transaction of the filing # received into a
pending queue. A filing may be placed in a pending queue for
any reason that prevents the filing from being accepted into the
clerk’s case maintenance system, e.g. a corrupt file; incorrect
case number; a poor image, wrong county etc.
When a filing is moved to the pending queue, the filer will
receive an e-mail that notes the case number, name, and reason
for the return. The filing will remain in the pending queue up to
five business days, after which time the filing will be moved to
the Judicial Review Queue. The filer will receive an additional email stating “no further ePortal actions may be taken on this
filing except viewing and/or printing from the filings menu to
accommodate your local Judicial Review process”.
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• Log into the statewide portal.
• Select “My Filings” from the drop down menu under
Filing Options.
• Change the date range to capture the filings made that
have been returned to your pending queue. Click refresh,
and a report will display.
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• In the status column, “Pending Queue” is highlighted in purple.
Click on the link in the Filing # column. The Filing # link will take
you to the Case Information. On the document tab, you can
remove an incorrect document or add a new document. Once
completed, click save/submit.
a. If you
a document and replace it with another, the
new document will receive a new electronically filed
timestamp.
b. If you add a new document to the filing, the new document
will receive a new electronically filed timestamp.
c. If you replace a document by using
, the document
will keep the same electronically filed timestamp.
•
Once you click submit, the previous filing is removed from the
Pending Queue and is ready for normal processing. The status
on the “My Filings” page will also update.
•
If the filings are not resubmitted within the five days, on the
sixth day, the filings are moved to the “Filed for Judicial
Review” status. An e-mail will be sent to the filer notifying the
action that was taken.
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If a payment was made for a new case or pleadings that
requires a fee and the filing is returned to you in the pending
queue, another payment must be resubmitted.
a) Regardless of electronic check or credit card, the actual
payment does not occur until the clerk processes the filing
locally. A notification will be sent to the filer.
b) Credit Card: the moment the Submit button is clicked on
the portal, a hold is placed on the account for the amount
noted. Once the pleading is resubmitted via the pending
queue, the filer will need to enter their payment
information again and a second hold will be placed on the
account , etc. Holds will stay in place until the clerk
process the resubmission locally. When the filing is
accepted and completed, the final hold will become the
payment and the other holds will be removed. The time it
takes to remove the additional holds will depend on the
filers bank.
c) Electronic check: There is no hold for electronic checks.
Once the Clerk accepts and completes the filing, the
payment is processed through ACH (Automated Clearing
House).
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why would the clerk move my filing to the Pending Queue?
A: If it is filed in the wrong county, if the image is not readable,
or if the case type is incorrect.
Q: If I do not correct my pleading that was moved to the
Pending Queue and there was a fee associated with it, will
the fee still be charged?
A: No, when the pleading is moved to Judicial Review after the
five days, the fee will not be charged.
Q: What happens when the clerk does not approve the fee
waiver request?
A: The clerk will assess the fee due and mail a Notice of Payment
Due.
Q: What format should be used on the ePortal for the case
number?
A: In order to search and find a case on the ePortal, the case
number must be in the following format:
• 4 digit year (2013, 2012, etc…)
• 6 digit case sequence (001999)
• 2 digit case type (DR, CA, CC, CP)
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Q: Is there a charge to use the ePortal?
A: Payment for statutory filing fees or costs paid though the
Florida ePortal includes an additional credit card or bank
transaction fee. These are convenience fees established to
offset the use of electronic funds transfers, whether using a
credit, charge or debit card, or an ACH transaction. The ePortal
accepts MasterCard, Discover, and American Express cards at a
rate of 3 percent. VISA is not accepted. The fee for an ACH
transaction is a $3.00 flat fee.
Q: How do I sign an electronic document?
A: A submission by a registered user is not required to bear the
electronic image of the handwritten signature or an encrypted
signature of the filer. Instead, the requirement of a signature on
an electronically filed document may be met as follows:
s/ John Doe
John Doe (e-mail address)
Bar Number 12345
Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) XYZ Company
ABC Law Firm
123 South Street
Orlando, FL 32800
Telephone: (407) 123-4567
See Florida Supreme Court AOSC09-30 for more information
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Q: How will the ePortal provide access to filings once the Clerk
accepts them?
A: The ePortal provides access to filings “in progress” only. Once
the filing is accepted and filed in the local Case Maintenance
System, this becomes the official court record just like the
current paper process. Original filings are retained at the portal
for a brief period and then removed. Permanent access to
these documents is provided through the Clerk’s Office.
Q: Who do I contact if I need assistance with my ePortal
account?
A: For technical support, including password resets, contact the
Florida Association of Court Clerks' Services Group at 1-850577-4609 or email [email protected]. For
assistance with a filing, such as an inquiry regarding a filing or a
case, please contact our office.
Q: How will the ePortal store the filing stamp?
A: A document shall be deemed to be filed on the date and time
when the electronic filing is received at the ePortal.
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Resources:
www.myflcourtaccess.com
FCCC e-Portal Support e-mail address:
[email protected]
1-850-577-4609
www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2012/sc11-399
www.flcourts.org/gen_public/technology/bin/UpdatedEAccessStandardsJan2013v8.pdf
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