Local Rule 5001-3: CLERK – PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS

RULE 5001-3. CLERK – PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS.

(a) Hours of Electronic Filing and Public Access to Court Electronic Records. The Clerk accepts electronically filed documents and provides access to these documents on the Court's website via Public Access to Court Electronic Records ("PACER"), 24 hours per day, seven days per week. At any time, PACER subscribers may read, download, store, and print the full content of all filed documents remotely, except for documents to which the Court has restricted access pursuant to a Court order (sometimes referred to as "documents under seal"). See Local Rule 9018-1. Court records regarding closed and pending cases are also available through CM/ECF. Federal law prohibits use of the information posted on CM/ECF or otherwise made available by the Clerk's Office in any way that violates any person's privacy.

(b) Personally Identifiable Information.

(1) Requirement to Redact. In compliance with the policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the E-Government Act of 2002, parties must refrain from including, or must partially redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal identifiers from all evidence presented at hearings and from all documents filed with the Clerk, including exhibits, whether filed electronically or non-electronically, unless otherwise ordered by the Court:

(A) Names of Minor Children. If the existence of a minor child is required to be disclosed in a court filing or at a court hearing, the child must be identified only by their initials.

(B) Dates of Birth. If an individual's date of birth is required to be disclosed in a court filing, only the year of birth should be disclosed.

(C) Social Security Numbers. If an individual's social security number is required to be included in a court filing, only the last four digits of that number should be used. The only exception is Official Form 121, which the debtor must submit rather than file. See Local Rule 5001-3(b).

(D) Taxpayer Identification Numbers. The taxpayer identification number of any non-debtor identified in a debtor's filings must be redacted to reflect only the last four digits.

(E) Financial Account Numbers. If financial account numbers are required to be disclosed in a court filing or at a court hearing, only the last four digits of each account number should be disclosed, unless the Court orders otherwise.

(2) Filer Responsible for Redacting. In all instances, the responsibility for redacting personally identifiable information rests with the party who files the document or introduces the testimony that includes that information.

(A) The Clerk will not review each document filed to verify redaction of personally identifiable information. However, to the extent the Clerk observes that a filed document contains personally identifiable information, the Clerk will restrict access to that document.

(B) When the Clerk restricts access to a document due to the inclusion of personally identifiable information, the Court will issue an order directing the party who filed the document to

(i) file a motion to redact, accompanied by a $25 fee, and a copy of the document in redacted form by a date certain, and

(ii) appear at a hearing to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed for the party's inclusion of personally identifiable information in the document (the "Redaction Order"). Potential sanctions include monetary penalties and the striking of the document from the Court record.

(C) If an individual or entity asserts harm based upon the publication of personally identifiable information in a bankruptcy case or proceeding, or by a party's failure to redact a document in response to a Clerk's notice, the complaining party may bring a motion for sanctions in the case or proceeding.

(D) If the document with personal identifier information may be filed by one of multiple parties (e.g., a proof of claim may be filed by the creditor, debtor, or trustee), any one of those parties may file a motion for redaction in response to the Redaction Order. If the movant is not the party who filed the document, the movant may ask the Court to waive the fee as authorized by the Miscellaneous Fee Schedule. See generally 28 U.S.C. 1930.

(3) Request for Redacted Information. If a party determines they need redacted information, the party may contact the debtor's attorney (or pro se debtor) to request it. If the debtor or debtor's attorney does not grant the request, the party may then file a motion requesting the Court compel the debtor to provide the requested information to the party. The motion must set forth why the party needs the redacted information, whether it is available to them from other sources, and what efforts they made to obtain it from the debtor and when.