Attorney Bulletin: Automated civil case initiation to expand next week to nine new counties

14 November 2024

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Beginning next week, the Missouri judiciary will continue rolling out a new feature designed to give attorneys and the public faster access to new civil cases. This new “Auto Create Case” feature is scheduled to be implemented Friday, November 22 in the following nine circuit courts:

Boone County
Chariton County
Greene County
Jasper County
Phelps County
Pike County
St. Charles County
St. Clair County
St. Francois County

The Auto Create Case feature will automate the process of electronically accepting new petitions filed in certain civil case types, making the new case available automatically for the attorneys to continue filing documents or beginning other time-sensitive work. It also will make these new cases available automatically for the public to view. The feature has been in planning and development for more than a year. Its pilot in St. Louis County began October 18 and concluded at the end of last week.

The Auto Create Case feature is available for approximately 25 circuit civil cases plus a few associate circuit civil cases. As the pilot progresses, plans are to continue making Auto Create Case available for other circuit courts. Please refer to this implementation schedule for details.

The biggest impact of the Auto Create Case will be the elimination of the eFiling System’s processing queue.

Attorneys could file cases at nearly any time, night or day. Until now, those cases would stay in a queue until local court staff could manually create new cases and accept the filings during regular business hours. With Auto Create Case, the system will automatically create a new case, accept the petition, assign a case number and allow the attorney to continue filing additional documents in the case.

Feedback from the St. Louis County pilot is that attorneys should carefully review their filings before submitting them. While attorneys have appreciated the speed at which their new cases have appeared, some have misfiled cases in the wrong division or forgotten to attach their petition, resulting in increased dismissals.

Of particular note for attorneys:

Nothing new will be required. Continue using the eFiling System to file new cases.
Once you click to “submit” the new filing, it will be accepted as filed automatically.
Please note: this means you cannot recall your filing and cannot ask local court clerk staff to “hold” a filing. Do not “submit” without being sure you are filing what you need to file in the correct division.
Auto Create Case will apply only to initial filings in certain civil case types. It will not apply to subsequent filings.

Contact: Beth S. Riggert

Communications Counsel

Supreme Court of Missouri

(573) 751-3676

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