Auto Create Case Civil FAQs
1. What is Auto Create Case (ACC) for Civil Cases?
Auto Create Case Civil is a feature that automates the process of electronically accepting new petitions filed in certain civil case types, making the new case available automatically for 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.
After the new cases are created, court staff will have the opportunity to review the cases in the Case Review Queue and update the cases as appropriate.
2. Which case types are included in ACC Civil?
Please refer to the list of case types that will be included.
After the new cases are created, court staff will have the opportunity to review the cases in the Case Review Queue and update the cases as appropriate.
2. Which case types are included in ACC Civil?
Please refer to the list of case types that will be included.
3. Will ACC Civil affect all filings, or only the initial filings?
The new feature is designed to create a new case. This means it will apply only to the initial filing in certain civil case types. At this point, it will not apply to any subsequent filings. Subsequent filings will go into the Case Import queue for processing as it does today.
4. Does our court have to participate in ACC Civil?
Yes. Once a location has been implemented, new cases filed will be automatically created. There is no option to opt-out of this feature.
5. What is the implementation schedule of ACC Civil?
Please refer to this implementation schedule for details about timing and case types.
The new feature is designed to create a new case. This means it will apply only to the initial filing in certain civil case types. At this point, it will not apply to any subsequent filings. Subsequent filings will go into the Case Import queue for processing as it does today.
4. Does our court have to participate in ACC Civil?
Yes. Once a location has been implemented, new cases filed will be automatically created. There is no option to opt-out of this feature.
5. What is the implementation schedule of ACC Civil?
Please refer to this implementation schedule for details about timing and case types.
6. Is there any information being shared to the attorneys so they are aware of this change? Does the attorney have to do anything different for those cases that will be auto-created versus those cases that are not included in this new feature?
Yes, communication has been sent to attorneys statewide and to the Missouri Bar.
Auto Create Case will require nothing new for attorneys when filing a case. They will continue to go through their normal process to file a new civil case as they had before.
7. Will an attorney be able to recall their filing if they filed something in error?
No. Once the attorney has filed the case it will be sent to the court and automatically created. The attorney will not be able to recall it or ask the court clerk staff to place a filing on "hold."
8. Can the correct filing fee default for the attorneys so they submit the correct amount?
There is a planned expansion of the Auto Create Create feature, which is expected to automatically populate the correct filing fee in the eFiling system for the case type the attorney is filing. The feature should become available to attorneys sometime during the first part of 2025.
Administration Tab - Create Records Set Up
9. Where do we go to create records set up for these case types to follow when they are auto-created?
Authorized court personnel will be able to set up preferences in the Admin tab for creating cases by court location and case type/predecessor code (a grouping or category or case types) including Judge Assignment and party match options.
10. Does our court have to create records set up under the Admin Tab for the cases to be auto-created?
No. Cases will still be automatically created if no record set up exists for the case type. The court would then need to add the initiating and responding parties and a judge to those cases in the Case Review Queue.
11. What is the Existing Party Match option for the Party Match in the records set up for ACC Civil?
This option allows the court to select if they want the system to automatically add the initiating and responding parties to the case. When this option is selected, the system will use the name and demographic information provided in the filing to see if there is a match to an existing party already in system by assigning a match weight score. If the match weight score is 20 or above for a person and 13 or above for an organization, SMC will add the existing party record from the system to the case. If the weight does not meet the minimum match weight score, the system will create a new party record and add to the case.
12. If I need to edit a record set up, how do I do that?
Once a record set up has been created, the only option to edit the record is to end the effective date of the record set up for the case type. If a change needs to be made to an existing record set up, authorized users will need to end the record and create a new record set up for that case type.
Yes, communication has been sent to attorneys statewide and to the Missouri Bar.
Auto Create Case will require nothing new for attorneys when filing a case. They will continue to go through their normal process to file a new civil case as they had before.
7. Will an attorney be able to recall their filing if they filed something in error?
No. Once the attorney has filed the case it will be sent to the court and automatically created. The attorney will not be able to recall it or ask the court clerk staff to place a filing on "hold."
8. Can the correct filing fee default for the attorneys so they submit the correct amount?
There is a planned expansion of the Auto Create Create feature, which is expected to automatically populate the correct filing fee in the eFiling system for the case type the attorney is filing. The feature should become available to attorneys sometime during the first part of 2025.
Administration Tab - Create Records Set Up
9. Where do we go to create records set up for these case types to follow when they are auto-created?
Authorized court personnel will be able to set up preferences in the Admin tab for creating cases by court location and case type/predecessor code (a grouping or category or case types) including Judge Assignment and party match options.
10. Does our court have to create records set up under the Admin Tab for the cases to be auto-created?
No. Cases will still be automatically created if no record set up exists for the case type. The court would then need to add the initiating and responding parties and a judge to those cases in the Case Review Queue.
11. What is the Existing Party Match option for the Party Match in the records set up for ACC Civil?
This option allows the court to select if they want the system to automatically add the initiating and responding parties to the case. When this option is selected, the system will use the name and demographic information provided in the filing to see if there is a match to an existing party already in system by assigning a match weight score. If the match weight score is 20 or above for a person and 13 or above for an organization, SMC will add the existing party record from the system to the case. If the weight does not meet the minimum match weight score, the system will create a new party record and add to the case.
12. If I need to edit a record set up, how do I do that?
Once a record set up has been created, the only option to edit the record is to end the effective date of the record set up for the case type. If a change needs to be made to an existing record set up, authorized users will need to end the record and create a new record set up for that case type.
Case Review Queue
13. What is the Case Review Queue?
The Case Review Queue will display civil cases that have been automatically created by the system. Court staff will have the opportunity to review the cases in the Case Review Queue and update certain information as appropriate.
14. The attorney filed the case under the wrong case type, can we return the filing or put the filing on hold?
No. Once the case is filed with the court, the case will be automatically created and will not be allowed to be returned or placed on hold. An attorney would need to take the appropriate corrective actions to fix any filing error.
15. What if the attorney selects the incorrect docket code for their document?
An attorney would need to take the appropriate corrective actions to fix any filing error.
16. The attorney underpaid the filing fee, how should this be handled?
If the amount submitted by the attorney does not cover the filing fee, it will be up to the court to notify the filing attorney of the remaining balance due.
17. The attorney overpaid the filing fee, will the overpayment remain in Open Items after applying the payment in the Case Review Queue?
Yes, the payment will be applied to the filing fees and the remainder will stay in Open Items. The overpayment will need to be processed as current procedures describe.
18: How will cashier sessions display that are created through the ACC process?
When debit payments are made on cases created through ACC the cashier ID DBSMC_ACC will appear in the approve deposit screen. This is the system moving funds from the attorney's debit account into an open items account on the case. At this time the automatic sessions will need to be manually closed and approved for deposit.
When applying a payment in the case review queue the "Open Items Out" receipt will be under the cashier ID of the clerk reviewing. Close and approve for deposit as usual.
19. For some of the cases that were auto-created and displaying in the Case Review Queue, there is only the attorney who filed the case who is a party on the case. For other cases, all the parties were added when they were auto-created. Why is this?
This is due to how the setup record was created for those case types. Courts can choose to have the system assign a judge and parties to the case when the case is auto-created or they can choose to manually add the judge and parties on the case in the Case Review Queue.
20. How do the cases in the Case Review Queue get removed?
Once a case has been reviewed by the court and processed as needed, the court should use the 'Remove from Case Review Queue' button to remove the case. The clerk will need to apply filing fee payment and accept all of the parties that are in Review Status before the case can be removed from the queue.
21. Can we see a list of all cases that have been auto-created for a particular day?
Yes, a list of cases can be found under Process List for each day cases are auto-created. The list of cases could continue to increase throughout the day as new cases are filed and auto-created. The name of the list is 'Auto Create Case Civil List -' followed by the date. For example, 'Auto Create Case Civil List - 20241021'
22. What happens if an attorney files a Motion to Seal Casefile for a filing that would be auto-created.
The system will auto-create the case but will assign a case security level of “5 – Sealed – Attorney of Record Access” so the case will not be viewable on public Case.net. The motion should be provided to a judge to rule on and determine if the case should remain sealed or if the case security should be lowered.
23. When an existing party match exists in the system but has a confidential address, how will this be handled?
When a potential match has a confidential address, a red exclamation mark will display next to the address in the Existing Party Match Table in the Case Review Queue. When the user hovers over the red exclamation mark, it will indicate that the party has a confidential address. The user will need to manually accept that party onto the case from the Party Tab.
This is still true even for cases where the case type has a setup record in the Admin Tab to use an Existing Party Match.