Dockets, Court Documents, Transcripts, and Recordings

If you have a citation to a case, access the case on Bloomberg and then check the sidebar for a Related Docket(s) link to view any available dockets and court documents.

For example, to access the docket for Vivid Entm't, LLC v. Fielding, 774 F.3d 566 (9th Cir. 2014), type 774 F.3d 566 in the main Bloomberg search bar and select the GO TO Citation link in the dropdown to access the case. Then, click the Related Docket(s) link in the sidebar to access the docket for the case.

If you do not have a citation to a case, you can search dockets and court documents directly using Dockets Search:

The Dockets Search form allows you to search by keyword, court, party, judge, docket number, and date. Under More Options, you can also search by attorney/firm, case number, and case status. Keep in mind:

• When filtering by court, click the i symbol next to a court's name to see the dates of coverage for the court. Often, if you can't find a docket, it's because Bloomberg has only limited coverage for that court.
• When searching an individual party, judge, or attorney's name, place /3 between their first and last name to retrieve cases that use their middle name. You may also want to place quotes around law firm or company names to search for only that exact name.

The form ends with options customized to specific courts. For example:

• The U.S. District & Appellate Options section allows you to search by Cause of Action (i.e. Nature of Suit code)
• The U.S. Bankruptcy Courts Options section allows you to search by type of bankruptcy (e.g. Chapter 9, Chapter 11)

Once you have accessed a docket on Bloomberg through Related Docket(s) or Dockets Search, you can view or request some or all of the court documents listed on the docket.

Click "Request" next to any document to ask Bloomberg to retrieve it.  

• If the document is available on the federal PACER system, Bloomberg will automatically retrieve it, usually within minutes.
• If the document is available on a state e-filing system, Bloomberg help desk staff will sometimes retrieve it manually, usually within an hour. However, state e-filing systems are generally more expensive than PACER, so help desk staff may reject your request if it will cost Bloomberg too much money or if you have made too many previous requests.
• If you are using a law firm account, Bloomberg will pass the retrieval fees on to you! In contrast, if you are using a law school account, Bloomberg will never pass the fees on to you- its staff will either pay the fees or reject your request. 

Click "View" next to any document to view it instantly. Bloomberg allows you to instantly view any document that any user has previously requested, whether they requested it through PACER, a state e-filing system, or by paying Bloomberg's couriers to visit the court in person and retrieve it manually. You can also freely view any links labeled "Manually Collected Complaints." These complaints are scanned as part of Bloomberg's program of sending couriers to certain major state courts (including LA Superior Court) to scan all complaints as they are filed.

• Each docket has a "Docket Currency" sidebar, where Bloomberg indicates the date the docket was last updated on Bloomberg.
• To update the docket, click "Update Docket" in the Docket Currency sidebar or at the top of the screen.
• If you are using a law school account, Bloomberg will pay to update the docket but, if you are using a law firm account, Bloomberg will pass the fees for updating the docket on to you. To help reduce costs, the "Docket Currency" sidebar also lists "New Entries Since Last Update", so you can decide whether it's worth paying to update the docket. 

• To receive an email notification every time a docket is updated, click "Track Docket" at the top of the docket. 
• To receive an email notification every time a new docket is filed by an attorney or party or on a topic, create a custom Dockets Search and then click the  Create Search Alert option at the bottom of the search form.