IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
IN RE: :
:
PROCEDURES FOR REFUNDING : STANDING ORDER
ERRONEOUS ELECTRONIC :
PAYMENTS :
Pursuant to the Guide to Judiciary Policy, Volume 4, Chapter 6 § 650, the Court hereby
delegates to the Clerk of Court, or her designee, the limited authority to approve refunds of fees
that are erroneously paid through the Court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing
(“CM/ECF”) system, using the Department of Treasury Financial Management Services Pay.gov
electronic payment system. Refunds for duplicate or erroneous payments through CM/ECF, as
defined below, are the only refunds authorized by this Order:
“Duplicate payments” means payments where the payor has inadvertently paid the fee
more than once for the same filing in the same case, resulting in two or more identical
credit card or Automated Clearing House System (“ACH”) charges;
“Erroneous payments” means payments where the payor has inadvertently paid a fee
in the wrong case, or when a fee is paid and no fee was due.
Refunds for duplicate or erroneous payments will be processed pursuant to the following
procedures:
1. The Clerk of Court, or her designee, may void a duplicate or erroneous credit card or
ACH payment, if that action is performed on the same date as the original transaction
and prior to settlement of the charges.
2. In all other instances, a payor seeking a refund must file an application requesting the
refund. Upon verification of the error, the Clerk, or her designee, will process the
application and approve or deny the refund.
3. If the refund is denied, the payor may, within seven (7) days of the denial, file an
application to review the denial. The application will be referred to the Clerk or Chief
Deputy.
4. Refunds for credit card payments will be processed through Pay.gov and the electronic
credit card system corresponding to the credit card that was originally charged. Refund
checks will not be issued for credit card refunds. The Clerk will issue a U.S. Treasury
Check only if the payor’s credit card is no longer valid.
5. ACH payments cannot be refunded electronically; therefore, ACH refunds will be
made by issuing a U.S. Treasury Check.
If an attorney or law firm makes repeated mistakes when submitting fees electronically and
requesting refunds, the Court may consider remedial action, such as issuing an order to show cause
why further requests for refunds should be considered.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ Juan R. Sánchez .
Juan R. Sánchez
Chief Judge
Date: June 2, 2020
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