IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Re: E-Filing

Effective on May 19, 2014, the State Court of DeKalb County will require that certain limited case types be filed electronically.

1. Any personal injury product liability action
2. Any premise liability action
3. Any action seeking certification of a class
4. Any civil action with four (4) or more plaintiffs
5. Any civil action with four (4) or more defendants
6. Any civil action where all parties consent in writing to e-file future pleadings
7. Any civil action where the Court orders future pleadings to be e-filed
8. Any civil action involving wrongful death
9. Any negligence action arising out of the practice of a profession listed in O.C.G.A. §9-11-9.1 (d) both simple and professional negligence.

On June 29, 2016, this court entered an order expanding the E file mandate to include the following:

10. Any civil action involving personal injury.

An e-Filing transaction can involve multiple pleadings in the same case, but such filing cannot exceed 25 megabytes. An average document sized is 1.5 megabytes. Payments for filing and other fees must be made by credit card at the time of filing. Any pleading filed electronically shall be considered as filed with the DeKalb County Clerk’s Office when it is submitted to E-File and transmission is completed. Any document filed after 11:59 p.m. EST on a day the court is open for business shall be deemed to have been filed on the next court day. Parties initiating a case by the issuance of a summons and complaint are encouraged to use the attached summons. The e-file summons clearly indicates to the defendant that the case has been e-filed. That document also allows the plaintiff the opportunity to indicate whether they are willing to be served electronically pursuant to O.C.G.A § 9-11-5(f). Please see the PDF version of the e-file summons.

Please Note. A public access terminal is available in the State Court Clerk’s Office at the DeKalb County Courthouse, 556 N. McDonough Street, Second Floor Administrative Tower, Decatur, Georgia 30030, and no fees will be charged for persons who choose to come to the Clerk’s Office to E-File.

To register as a user and e-file in the State Court of DeKalb County, users will need to access the following website: www.odysseyefilega.com. Training, written materials, and support is available at that site. The full text of the order and its attachments can be viewed by clicking the following links:

• E-filing Order
• Notice to Filers
• E-Filing Rules (Revised)
• Expanded Efile order June 2016
• Standing Order authorizing rejection of mislabeled pleadings

SERVICE OF  AN ELECTRONICALLY FILED COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs who have chosen to have the  Summons and Complaint served by the State Court of DeKalb County Marshal’s Office and have paid the appropriate service fee should mail all documents to be served, with a completed Marshal’s entry of service form, to the Clerk’s Office at 556 North McDonough Street. The Clerk’s Office and the Marshal Office track service electronically. The pleadings to be served have a bar code applied to them by the Clerk’s Office thereafter, the pleadings will be sent to the Marshal for service. The bar code allows the respective offices access to real time information about the status of service.

Sebrina Giles-Franklin
Interim Clerk, State Court of DeKalb County