The Reduced Paper Module (RPM) is a modification to CM/ECF that has been developed as a solution to eliminate redundant paper documents sent by the Court through the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC). Currently, when a notice (or order) is entered on the docket by the Court, electronic filers receive an email message with a link to the notice (or order) and the ability to view the complete document one time for free. E-filers also receive the same document in paper format several days later from the BNC via U.S. Mail. RPM eliminates this second, duplicate paper document.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of North Carolina will start using the RPM effective January 1, 2008. After the implementation date e-filers will have the ability to opt-out of the RPM and continue to receive both a paper copy by mail and an electronic copy by email.
To take advantage of the benefits of RPM, users need not take any action. RPM will be turned on by default for all users when it is implemented beginning in 2008. If you do not want to take advantage of the benefits of RPM and stop receiving duplicate notices, you can opt-out of the RPM service on a per-user basis.
When RPM is implemented, all BNC-produced documents from the court will be sent to you via email. Traditional, paper notices will no longer be processed by the BNC and sent to you by U.S. mail. The exception to this is the 341 Meeting of Creditors Notice. In addition to the notice sent by email, this notice will also be sent via BNC and will include the full social security number of the debtor(s). Using RPM will not change your ability to utilize the "one free look" option provided by PACER. To learn more about PACER and your free copy of newly filed documents, visit the PACER FAQ Page [1].
We are seeing an increased number of returned email messages or “bounce-backs”. Bounce-backs occur when the court’s CM/ECF system attempts to send an email message to an attorney or other user, and that email message is subsequently returned to the court as undeliverable. The court does not re-send these bounce-backs as it is often difficult to determine whom the message was originally intended for. Due to this fact, you may be missing important email notifications from the court.
Please take a few minutes to examine your ECF account to ensure that the correct email information is shown. Remember, your ECF account may contain more than one email address; please verify the validity of all email addresses specified in your account. By taking the time to check your account information, you will not only ensure that you are receiving the most up-to-date notifications from the court, but will also help in maintaining the integrity of the court’s ECF system.
Below are a few common reasons that an email may be undeliverable, along with suggested solutions:
PROBLEM: You have changed your email address, but have not updated your ECF account to reflect the new email address.
SOLUTION: Update your ECF account to reflect your new email address, or contact the court for help with changing your information.
PROBLEM: Your email inbox is full. Many Internet service providers (ISP) place a limit on the number of messages that can exist in a subscriber’s email inbox. Once this limit is reached, the ISP’s email server will reject future incoming messages.
SOLUTION: Clean out your inbox by deleting older email messages, and email messages that are no longer needed. Alternatively, you may be able to purchase additional email space from your ISP (contact your ISP for availability and more information).
PROBLEM: An employee has left your firm, but their email address is still listed in the ECF system to receive email notifications.
SOLUTION: When an employee leaves, ensure that your ECF account was not set up to send email notifications to the employee who is leaving. Update your account to remove or replace the former employee’s email address, or contact the court for help with changing your information.
How to update your email address and information in CM/ECF:
If you experience problems updating your information, please contact the help desk [3].
If you are receiving too many emails from the court, there are a couple of steps you can take to reduce the number of email notifications that are sent to your address.
OPTION 1 – Elect to receive one email per day via a “Daily Summary Report” of ECF activity as opposed to a separate email for each docket entry.
OPTION 2 – File a “Notice of Disinterest” in cases for which you no longer wish to receive email notifications.
The Notice of Disinterest is a text-only entry. You do not have to prepare or attach a PDF document to this filing. After filing this notice, you will be removed from the email notification list for that particular case.
OPTION 3 – Check your account to see if there are cases listed in the "additional cases" box (cases in which you are not a party). If you no longer wish to receive email notifications in these additional cases, you can remove them from your account.
If you think you may not be receiving all of your email notifications, you should verify that your email address is correct in our system. Follow the steps in the section called Update Your Email Address [4] located elsewhere on this page.
If you have missed an email notification and would like to check your activity in the CM/ECF system, you can run a Docket Activity Report to list all activity for your user account. The Docket Activity Report is a versatile report that can be run for any given date range. The Docket Activity Report can also be narrowed by case number, case type, office, and/or category.(Note: Standard PACER charges apply) To access the reports, follow these instructions:
For more information you may visit the online resources at the links below:
You may also contact the CM/ECF Help Desk.
Links
[1] http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/cmecf/ecffaq.html#GE55
[2] http://ecf.ncmb.uscourts.gov/
[3] https://www.ncmb.uscourts.gov/help-desk
[4] https://www.ncmb.uscourts.gov/content/updating-your-email-address
[5] http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/cmecf/ecffaq.html
[6] http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/faq.html
[7] http://www.ncmb.uscourts.gov/info/cmecf/
[8] https://www.ncmb.uscourts.gov/content/online-attorneys-manual