As for why the Judge faxed the plaintiff a copy of the order...I'll hazard a guess that it was because the order terminates plaintiff's case — and starts the clock on the appeal.
I’m sure there are stricter rules on fascimile correspondence regarding judicial matters but this is the FTC’s law.
The Act and the rules of the Federal Trade Commission require that any message sent to a fax machine must clearly mark on the first page or on each page of the message:
bullet the date and time the transmission is sent;
bullet the identity of the sender; and
bullet the telephone number of the sender or of the sending fax machine.
All fax machines manufactured on or after December 20, 1992 and all facsimile modem boards manufactured on or after December 13, 1995 must have the capability to clearly mark such identifying information on the first page or on each page of the transmission.