All ECF Registered Users and Counsel:

Beginning Monday, December 3, 2012 there will be a new procedure for issuing a summons in a civil case in the Middle District of PA.

We will begin using an electronic summons, which means there will no longer be a "hard" court seal on the summons form. The summons form will now contain an electronic court seal. The summons issued event will be entered on the docket and counsel will receive it electronically if they are a registered ECF user. If they are not an ECF registered user, they will receive the summons by U.S. Mail.

ECF Registered Users: You will receive the summons electronically through ECF. When you receive the Notice of Electronic Filing in your e-mail, you MUST click on the document number (not the docket/case number), and print or save the Summons. If you choose to print it, you should select how many copies you need to serve. If you do not print or save the summons and need to get it at a future date, you will need to go into PACER and you will be charged for the 2 page document.

NOTE: YOU STILL ARE REQUIRED TO SERVE THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO RULE 4 OF THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.