Jude Samson Lawson Lundell LLP 1600 Cathedral Place 925 West Georgia St. Vancouver, BC V6C 3L (phone) (fax) Trials and Tribulations of e-Searching and e-Filing: Tales of a Pilot Project Participant

INTRODUCTION Previous meetings between CSO and Vancouver Law Librarians I work for Lawson Lundell I do not work for CSO

OUTLINE British Columbia Courts (CSO) what it currently provides (e-Searching, daily court lists, purchasing documents) what it will provide (e-Filing) public access to documents online Federal Court Court Index and Docket e-Filing Pilot Project

CSO: WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO OFFER? Court Services Online (CSO) is an electronic service introduced in support of the government strategy to provide alternative options and added convenience for access to government services. E-Search: civil court files ($6.00/file); purchase documents ($10.00 each); obtain file summary reports ($6.00 each). Provincial and Supreme Court Civil files from 1989 onwards (except Victoria, 2002 onwards) Does not include Provincial Divorce or Supreme Adoption files Court of Appeal Information Daily Court Lists: access daily court lists for Provincial Court Small Claims and Supreme Court Chambers

e-SEARCHING: How It’s Done Search by Party Name, Deceased Name, File Number, Date Range Search for Individuals, Organizations or Both Exact, Partial or Soundex Filter by location (up to 5), class (e.g., civil, bankruptcy, divorce), level and date Enter your file numbers Choose from list of results (pay $6.00) View Information Case Basics, Parties, Documents, Hearings and Results, Transfers Purchase Documents Obtain File Summary Report (additional $6.00)

e-SEARCHING: an example

e-SEARCHING: an example (See Handout, p. 1)

e-SEARCHING: an example (See Handout, pp. 2-6)

e-SEARCHING: a real example bcMetals Corporation Organization Name: bcMetals Exact: 0 matches Partial: 3 matches Soundex: 124 matches Red Chris Development Company Ltd. Organization Name: Red Chris Parial: 4 matches Soundex: 24 Not all documents listed I.C.B.C. / ICBC / Insurance Corporation of BC Inputting Errors Persistent and not readily corrected Alternatives?

e-Searching: Questions? Tutorial on Services – An Example Search Handout, pp Court Services Online E-Search Tips Handout, pp Purchase Documents Online Handout, pp

THE NEXT STEP: e-FILING Filing court documents electronically Governed by Rule 69 of the Rules of Court (pp ), Rule 22 Small Claims Rules (p. 30) Still in the Pilot Project Phase (Supreme Court Civil and Small Claims Kelowna/Vernon Chilliwack Victoria Prince Rupert Abbotsford (Small Claims Only) Vancouver (Supreme Court Only) Cost: $7.00/file

e-FILING: A ROCKY BEGINNING Pilot Project Kick-Off March 22 nd versus June 23 rd Activate BCeID and Register with CSO BCeID: single User ID and password for secure access to online government applications. Account Manager can create additional User Ids for people who want to access CSO CSO: register with Court Services Online Electronic Services Agreement Province not responsible for user failing to meet filing deadlines including due to inaccessibility or failure of the system Multiple versions Librarians may be ill-suited to this task

e-FILING: How It’s Done Prepare the form offline – convert to PDF No signatures required, except affidavits and orders Login to CSO and complete online form File number, style of cause, type of document, registry location Attach the document to the online form Confirm payment amount Submit the document for filing Retrieve status of submitted documents Submitted, filed, rejected, courtesy correction No notification of status View, download, print copies of filed documents

E-FILING: Do’s and Don’ts Documents that cannot be E-Filed: Affidavit of Service (Provincial Court) Chambers Record Trial Record Certificate of Pending Litigation Orders under Court Order Enforcement Act Others under Rule 69(5) Documents that can be E-Filed: Documents with original signatures Affidavits, if accompanied by Form 144, with the original documents being kept on file as prescribed by Rule 69(6) and (7)

e-FILING: an example (See Handout, p. 31)

e-FILING: an example (See Handout, p. 32)

e-FILING: an example (See Handout, pp )

e-FILING: an example (See Handout, p. 35)

e-FILING: an example (See Handout, p. 36)

e-FILING: an example (See Handout, p. 37)

e-FILING: an example review status of filing

e-Filing: an example review status of filing

e-FILING: an example success!

e-FILING: QUESTIONS? Thumbs Up Most documents filed within 1-2 hours Orders (incl. desk orders) entered more quickly Default Judgment obtained in 1-2 days Documents filed at the time they are submitted Thumbs Down Some ongoing technical problems No notice of status change 48-hour window Errors, lack of universal standards Honeymoon phase Not enough Registry staff Searching Court Files (caution)

FEDERAL COURT: e-Searching and e-Filing e-Search Search by last name, corporate name, name of ship, court file number, intellectual property name, related cases Obtain information concerning court file number, names of parties and counsel, related cases, filing date and city, summary of case history (“recorded entries”)

FEDERAL COURT: e-Searching and e-Filing e-Filing Pilot Project, limited to intellectual property cases only (areas to be added in early 2007) LexisNexis approved e-Filing service provider Access to documents that have been filed electronically in their own cases Paper copies need not be filed in certain circumstances Time of filing

e-SEARCHING: a Federal Court example

FEDERAL COURT: QUESTIONS? Notice to the Profession August 1, 2006 (pp. 38 – 39) Annex to Notice to Profession Amended July 31, 2006 (pp. 40 – 47)

Presentation by: Jude Samson Vancouver 1600 Cathedral Place 925 West Georgia Street Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6C 3L2 Telephone Facsimile Calgary 3700, 205-5th Avenue SW Bow Valley Square 2 Calgary, Alberta Canada T2P 2V7 Telephone Facsimile Yellowknife P.O. Box th Street Yellowknife, NWT Canada X1A 2N6 Telephone Toll Free Facsimile