§ 6-610.Risk assumed by sender.

Section 6-610 is the fax-filing rule with the most moving parts, and it starts with a blunt allocation of risk: the sender bears all risk in a fax transmission. Sending a fax does not, by itself, mean the document is filed. Electronic transmission by fax machine does not constitute filing; filing is complete only once the receiving clerk accepts it for filing in compliance with applicable statutes and these rules.

That gives the clerk real gatekeeping authority. If a clerk finds an error in the transmission — an incomplete cover sheet, or a break in the sequence of pages, for instance — the clerk faxes the sender notice specifying the error as soon as practical. A transmission with an error that blocks filing can be disregarded by the clerk, but it is not thrown away right off: the clerk retains it for 10 days, and disposes of it after that unless the sender requests judicial review of the rejection within those 10 days. If a rejection happens in a pending proceeding, the rejection itself gets noted on the court’s docket.

The section closes with two limits on what a clerk owes the sender. A clerk is not required to acknowledge that a fax transmission was received or accepted for filing, and a clerk who receives a transmission has no duty to serve a copy of it on any other party. Anyone relying on fax filing should keep both of those in mind — silence from the clerk is not confirmation, and the fax filer, not the clerk, is responsible for getting the filing to the other side.