Fax Service in Illinois: You Don't Have to Agree to It

Except for appellate briefs, service by fax is allowed in Illinois unless a lawyer has specifically said no. Here's how to say no--

Any party may rescind consent of service by facsimile transmission in a case by filing with the court and serving a notice on all parties or their attorneys who have filed appearances that facsimile service will not be accepted.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 11(b)(4)(i). Keep in mind, however, that if you say no to receiving service by fax in a case, you aren't allowed to serve others by fax in the same case.

Is Rule 11 outdated? It was last amended in 1992. Meanwhile, service by email is becoming the norm in federal courts. While email has some problems of its own, it's certainly better than fax in document-intensive cases like mass torts, where parties might routinely file hundred of pages a week.

Comments

[Jeff Krumpe]

Don't you specifically have to say "yes" to fax service (assuming you have not served attorneys in the case by fax) in order for it to be an option? That's how I read Rule 11(b)(4).

[Evan]

Jeff: You're probably right, in which case the first paragraph of this post is wrong. On the other hand, the rule doesn't say specifically how to consent except in a sub-paragraph where it says that faxing things yourself is deemed to be consent. And in practice (at least in my experience), no one waits for consent before using fax for service. They just fax until you tell them not to.