WSR 17-14-084

RULES OF COURT

[June 28, 2017]

The Court Management Council, having recommended the adoption of the proposed amendment to GR 17—Facsimile Transmission, and the Court having considered the amendments and comments submitted thereto, and having determined that the proposed amendments will aid in the prompt and orderly administration of justice;

Now, therefore, it is hereby

(a) That the amendment as shown below is adopted.

(b) That the amendment will be published in the Washington Reports and will become effective September 1, 2017.

DATED at Olympia, Washington this 28th day of June, 2017.

(a) Facsimile Transmission Authorized; Exceptions.

(1) Except as set forth in subsection (a)(5), the clerks of the court may accept for filing documents sent directly to the clerk or to another by electronic facsimile (fax) transmission. A fax copy shall constitute an original for all court purposes. The attorney or party sending the document via fax to the clerk or to another shall retain the original signed document until 60 days after completion of the case. Documents to be transmitted by fax shall bear the notation: "SENT on _______________ (DATE) VIA FAX FOR FILING IN COURT.

(2) If a document is transmitted by facsimile to another for filing with a court, by local court rule the person responsible for the filing must may be required to attach an original affidavit as the last page of the document. The affidavit must bear the name of the court, case caption, case number, the name of the document to be filed, and a statement that the individual signing the affidavit has examined the document, determined that it consists of a stated number of pages, including the affidavit page, and that it is complete and legible. The affidavit shall bear the original signature, the printed name, address, phone number and facsimile number of the individual who received the document for filing.

(3) The clerk of the court may use fax transmission to send any document requiring personal service to one charged with personally serving the document. Notices and other documents may be transmitted by the clerk to counsel of record by fax.

(4) Clerks may charge reasonable fees to be established by the Office of the Administrator for the Courts in statute, for receiving, collating, and verifying fax transmissions.

(5) Without prior approval of the clerk of the receiving court, facsimile transmission is not authorized for judge's working copies (courtesy copies) or for those documents for which a filing fee is required. Original wills and negotiable instruments may not be filed by facsimile transmission.

(6) Facsimile Machine Not Required. Nothing in this rule shall require an attorney or a clerk of a court to have a facsimile machine.

(b) Conditions.

(1) Documents transmitted to the clerk by fax shall be letter size (8-1/2 by 11 inches). Unless otherwise provided by local court rule, Ddocuments over 10 20 pages in length may not be filed by fax without prior approval of the clerk.

(2) Any document transmitted to the clerk by fax must be accompanied by a fax transmittal sheet in a format prescribed by the court. The form must include the case number (if any), case caption, number of pages, the sender's name, the sender's voice and facsimile telephone numbers, and fax fee remittance certification. Transmittal sheets are not considered legal filings.

(3) A document transmitted directly to the clerk of the court shall be deemed received at the time the clerk's fax machine electronically registers the transmission of the first page, regardless of when final printing of the document occurs, except that a document received after the close of normal business hours shall be considered received the next judicial day. If a document is not completely transmitted, it will not be considered received. A document transmitted to another for filing with the clerk of the court will be deemed filed when presented to the clerk in the same manner as an original document.

(4) Court personnel will not verify receipt of a facsimile transmission by telephone or return transmission and persons transmitting by facsimile shall not call the clerk's office to verify receipt.

(5) (6) The clerk shall develop procedures for the collection of fax service fees for those documents transmitted directly to the clerk. Nonpayment of the fax service fee shall not affect the validity of the filing.

(6) (7) Agencies or individuals exempt from filing fees are not exempt from the fax service fees for documents transmitted directly to the clerk. [Adopted effective September 1, 1993.]