A: DWC Direct provides the EAMS batch ID number that confirms your lien document is submitted to EAMS and you are now a recognized lien claimant; however, the Official Address Record of an EDEX response may not list you as a lien claimant yet.

In EAMS, a lien claimant may be listed in THREE (3) separate places:

1. INT Case Participants – this is the mailing list for DWC mailers, and may include parties that are not associated with the ADJ case such as DEU participants, etc. New lien claimants are AUTOMATICALLY added to this list when a new lien is filed into an EAMS case. THIS LIST IS NOT REPORTED TO EDEX.

2. ADJ Home Page Party List – reports to the EDEX Official Address Record. Includes all LEGACY lien claimants who were already on file before EAMS go-live in August 2008. Currently, there is NO AUTOMATION that adds new lien claimants to this list when a new lien is filed into an EAMS case. A clerk must manually add lien claimants to this list. Lien claimants may request addition to this list ONLY AFTER the case is settled and the case may progress to lien issues. Additions or address changes of attorneys, carriers, and claims administrators trigger EDEX Party Updates – but additions or address changes of lien claimants DO NOT. A NEW SEARCH must be submitted to your EDEX account to verify that a clerk has added the lien claimants to this list as requested.

3. ADJ Lien List – shows all lien claimants, lien filing dates, and lien amounts. New lien claimants are AUTOMATICALLY added to this list when a new lien is filed into an EAMS case, but this list is not reported to EDEX.

Q: Why are other lien claimants listed on the EDEX Official Address Record but I am not, even though I have an EAMS batch ID number to confirm my lien was submitted to EAMS?

A: Frequently, this is an older “Legacy” case that existed before EAMS was implemented. All existing Legacy cases had to be converted into EAMS. All existing lien claimants were converted into EAMS as full case parties. A lien claimant who files a new lien into EAMS will not be listed on the EDEX Official Address Record until the case in chief is settled AND a clerk manually adds the new lien claimants to the ADJ home page party list.

Initially, this seems to be a disadvantage for efilers not to be listed immediately on the EDEX Official Address Record with the older legacy lien claimants. In reality, legacy lien claimants are at a disadvantage because legacy lien documents are not available for a Judge to view in EAMS electronically. A legacy lien claimant will not be able to get a DOR processed because the legacy lien documents are not scanned into EAMS – all those legacy liens must be re-filed into EAMS first so the DOR processes correctly.

Q: Is it possible for a case to be calendared for more than one hearing date at a time?

A: Yes. For example, a DOR is filed on a case in chief and includes several companion cases and receives a hearing date. A second DOR may be filed on just one companion case alone and receive a second hearing date.

Q: Once I start filing liens electronically through DWC Direct, will I have to file all my EAMS documents electronically?

A: No, you may continue to file any OCR documents without restrictions, even liens, if desired.

Q: My client is a lien claimant in the EAMS e-Forms Trial. As the lien rep, may I file an OCR DOR on my client’s behalf?

A: Yes. Any restrictions imposed on e-form trial participants do not extend to those who may be contracted to file documents on behalf of an e-form trial participant.

Q: Will EAMS allow a lien to be filed on a case where the Defense Attorney (or Carrier, or Claims Administrator, etc.) is not yet listed on the Official Address Record?

A: Technically speaking, it is possible to file a lien in EAMS with no parties listed at all except for a lien claimant. So yes, you may file liens on any case with an incomplete Official Address Record. DWC DIRECT restricts you from listing any parties on the LIEN FORM that are not already listed on the EDEX Official Address Record. This prevents your lien document from being rejected because of data entry errors or data that does not match.

However, keep in mind that you may add as many parties as you wish to be served with a copy of the lien - such as the defense attorney or carrier - when you are selecting the parties to include on your PARTY LIST (when you are serving the document yourself) or to receive a copy of your document from DWC Direct (when you pay DWC Direct to serve the document for you). So for these cases where the Official Address Record is different from the party list in your files, your Party List will be as complete and accurate as possible and you may still serve all the necessary parties with a copy of the lien.