Electronic filing has fundamentally changed how attorneys practice law. \u00a0Court papers can be filed and served with the click of a mouse at any time of the day. It is no longer necessary to rush to the courthouse to file documents before the doors close at 5:00pm. And there is no need to assemble paper copies of voluminous motions and mail or courier it to the opposing side.<\/p>\n
However, for all of the benefits, e-filing has also created new challenges, which as the Fifth Circuit recently addressed in Kevin Rollins v. Home Depot, Incorporated<\/em>, can result in a dismissal of a case.<\/p>\n Rollins v. Home Depot<\/em> involved claims against Home Depot for injuries sustained by Rollins, an employee of Home Depot. The case was removed to federal court, which uses the Pacer e-filing system.\u00a0 All the e-file notices generated in the case went to Rollins\u2019s attorney\u2019s main email box; however, an e-notice of Home Depot\u2019s motion for summary judgment ended up in the email system\u2019s \u201cother\u201d folder.\u00a0 As a result, the attorney did not see the notice, and did not file an opposition to the summary judgment motion, which the district court granted without opposition.\u00a0 The attorney filed a motion to alter the judgment, which the district court denied.<\/p>\n The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court\u2019s decision, and in the first sentence of the opinion (which is linked below) warned that, \u201cThis is a cautionary tale for every attorney who litigates in the era of e-filing.\u201d\u00a0 The court concluded that an email glitch which was in the attorney\u2019s control is not a valid reason why it should vacate the lower court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n This case is a stark reminder that attorneys must be hyper vigilant when it comes to electronic notices and their internal office email systems. To avoid a worst-case-scenario, such as a dismissal, attorneys should implement internal protocols to ensure that e-filings notices are never overlooked. It may be prudent to open a separate email account on a different system or server (such as Gmail or Yahoo) to receive duplicate e-notices, so that a notice does not get missed. Or, there is calendaring and docketing software that will receive e-notices and calendar the due date for attorneys.<\/p>\n