IMPORTANT INFO File & Serve Inbox - The Area of Official Service

File & Serve Inbox - The Area of Official Service

Some confusion exists about Official E-Service through File & Serve - your e-filing in the Colorado state court system.  Many File & Serve subscribers rely on Email Notifications to know that a document has been E-served upon them.  Be aware:  the Email Notification feature DOES NOT constitute service and is provided by LexisNexis® File & Serve solely as a convenience.  It is the responsibility of the subscriber to check your Online Inbox to view E-Filed and E-Served documents.  Failure to monitor dockets or receive Court e-mails can prove costly.  A judge may not be willing to excuse a missed deadline or appearance because your spam filter blocked an e-mail or you did not receive the courtesy Email Notification from LexisNexis.  Always check your Online Inbox for E-Filed and E-Served documents.  Read your LexisNexis® User Agreement and your File & Serve Newsletters so that you are aware of your terms and conditions as well as updates to the system.  The April 9, 2008, LexisNexis® File & Serve Newsletter discusses this issue in-depth and includes customer service and training specialist contact information.

From the LexisNexis® File & Serve Newsletter dated Wednesday, April 09, 2008

File & Serve Inbox - The Area of Official Service
The State Court Administrator's Office would like to review what constitutes electronic service ("E-service") by Rule 121 and on File & Serve.  Rule 121 states that E-Service is the transmission of documents to any party in a case via the E-System (File & Serve).  Official E-Service through File & Serve is located in the Inbox and is also defined in the LexisNexis User Agreement, as well. 

Do Not Rely Solely on Email Notifications.  Per File & Serve Terms & Conditions 3.6(g) "Email Notification" is a feature that allows an Advanced Subscriber to receive an email notification that a Document has been E0Served upon it and is available for viewing in the Advanced Subscriber's Online Inbox at the personal email address provided to LNFS by the Advanced Subscriber.  The Email Notification feature does not constitute service on the Advanced Subscriber and is provided by LNFS solely as a convenience.  It is the responsibility of the Advanced Subscriber that uses the Email Notification feature to check its Online Inbox to view E-Filed and E-Served Documents. 

To verify successful E-Service, the State wanted the ability to track the delivery of E-Service documents - which is why E-Service is done via the Inbox on File & Serve, not via e-mail.  While courtesy e-mail notifications may be requested, users should not rely solely on e-mail notification due to the fact that the courts and LexisNexis cannot verify successful delivery of e-mail or if a receipient has read the e-mail, nor can e-mail providers be monitored for how spam is controlled, how junk e-mail filters may be applied, or if an e-mail box may be too full to receive incoming messages.  The File & Serve Inbox tracks when a recipient has viewed a transaction, whether the user is sharing a view of their Inbox with others in their firm, and can also verify the exact date and time an E-Service transaction was delivered to the Inbox. 

Many judges utilize the ability to track the Inbox delivery of documents and often request the delivery details for transactions - meaning, the courts can verify from the delivery monitor details whether a user has opened E-Service documents.  Therefore, it is imperative that users check their Inbox for service documents.