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Guide to New Features in CM/ECF Version 4.1/4.2 for Attorneys & Law Firm Staff NYSB CM/ECF Release 4.1/4.2 Page 1 Important Upgrade Information Judicial Conference Privacy Policy of Social Security Numbers The Judicial Conference Policy was recently changed to restrict access to all documents filed in any case that was 1) opened prior to December 1, 2003 and 2) closed for at least one year. In order to comply with this policy, which prohibits the disclosure of an individual’s full social security number, restrictions are now automatically placed on all documents, including claims. Although the docket report can still be viewed, document access is limited and anyone who is not a case participant or using the public terminal at the Courthouse will receive the message: “The document is not available.” For information on obtaining copies of closed cases prior to the enactment of this policy, please click here. Internet Browser Following the Court’s upgrade to CM/ECF Release 4.1/4.2, Mozilla Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 6 are no longer supported. Release 4.1/4.2 works correctly with Firefox 3.5 and Internet Explorer 7 or higher. Mozilla Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 6 are no longer supported.
Transcript of to New Features in CM/ECF Version for Important Upgrade of ......Guide to New Features in CM/ECF...
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ImportantUpgradeInformation
JudicialConferencePrivacyPolicyofSocialSecurityNumbers
TheJudicialConferencePolicywasrecentlychangedtorestrictaccesstoalldocumentsfiledinanycasethatwas1)openedpriortoDecember1,2003and2)closedforatleastoneyear.Inordertocomplywiththispolicy,whichprohibitsthedisclosureofanindividual’sfullsocialsecuritynumber,restrictionsarenowautomaticallyplacedonalldocuments,includingclaims.
Althoughthedocketreportcanstillbeviewed,documentaccessislimitedandanyonewhoisnotacaseparticipantorusingthepublicterminalattheCourthousewillreceivethemessage:“Thedocumentisnotavailable.”
Forinformationonobtainingcopiesofclosedcasespriortotheenactmentofthispolicy,pleaseclickhere.
InternetBrowser
FollowingtheCourt’supgradetoCM/ECFRelease4.1/4.2,MozillaFirefox2andInternetExplorer6arenolongersupported.
Release4.1/4.2workscorrectlywithFirefox3.5andInternetExplorer7orhigher. MozillaFirefox2andInternetExplorer6arenolongersupported.
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TheBankruptcyNoticingCenter(BNC)
TheEliminationofMailedBNCNoticeofMeetingofCreditorstoDebtor’sAttorneys&EmailEnhancements
Currently,debtors’attorneysreceivethesection341(a)noticeofmeetingofcreditorsbynoticeofelectronicfiling(NEF)withthedebtor’sredactedSocialSecuritynumber(SSN)andbyU.S.MailthroughtheBNCwiththedebtor’sfullSSN.
WiththeCourt’supgradetoECFVersion4.2,thedebtor’sattorneywillnolongerreceivethepapercopyofthesection341(a)notice.Instead,theBNCwillsendthedebtor’sattorneyanemailcontainingasecurehyperlinktotheunredactedsection341(a)noticeinplaceofapapernotice.
TheBNCwillsendonesummaryemailperdaycontaininghyperlinkstooneormorenotices(forexample,anattorneyfiling3voluntarypetitionsonthesamedayshouldexpecttoreceiveonlyone(1)emailcontaininghyperlinkstothenoticesinall3cases).Eachhyperlinkwillprovideonefreelooktothefullsection341(a)notice.
TheBNCCertificateofNoticenowincludesallentitiesselectedasformrecipientsandallrecipientswhoreceiveda"NoticeofElectronicFiling"throughCM/ECF,alongwiththedateofelectronicnotificationandtheentity'snameandemailaddress.
TheBNCfilewillnowcontainanemailaddressofthedebtor’sattorney,sotheBNCmay
emailthebypasslist. ThetitleoftheBNCPDFcertificatehasbeenchangedfrom“ImagedCertificateofService”to
“ImagedCertificateofNotice." Summaryemailnoticeswillbesentevenwhentwo(2)usershaveenteredthesameemail
address. Previously,terminatedpartiesinacasewouldnotreceiveanoticeoftheevent.Nowthe
terminatedpartyisincludedinthenoticinglist.
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PasswordSecurity
Passwordsecurityhasbeenimproved.AllCM/ECFusersarerequiredtochangetheirpasswordstocomplywiththesenewrequirements.
ThefirsttimeyouloginaftertheCourthasupgradeditsCM/ECFsoftwaretoRelease4.1/4.2,youwillseethefollowingmessage:
AllCM/ECFpasswordsmustbeaminimumofeightcharacters,containbothupperandlowercasealphabeticlettersandatleastonedigitorspecialcharacter[e.g.,0‐9,@,#,$,%,&,*,+,:].
Afterfive(5)invalidloginattempts,youraccountislockedoutforfive(5)minutes.Afterthelockoutperiod,youmayattempttologinagain.However,eachsubsequentinvalidentrywillresultinadditionallockouttimeof1minuteperlockout.
Important!IfyouuseanyautomatedsoftwaretologintoCM/ECF,remembertoupdatethepasswordinformationusedbythesoftwarewhenyouchangeyourCM/ECFpassword.Remembertosaveandsecureyourpassword.
Note:Ifyouchoosetochangeyourpasswordatalatertime,youcannolongerchangeitviathe“MaintainYourECFAccount”optionfromtheUtilitiesmenuoffofthebluemenubar.A“ChangeYourPassword”linkhasbeenaddedundertheUtilitiesmenuforthispurpose.
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MaintainingYourECFUserAccount
1. OptingoutofEmailNotificationsinAdversaryProceedings2. UpdatingyourEmailAddress3. ChangingYourCM/ECFPassword
OptingoutofEmailNotificationsAnattorneyrepresentingaclientinanadversaryproceedingmaynotwishtoreceiveemailnotificationformatterspertainingtothebankruptcycasetowhichtheadversaryproceedingrelates.Inthissituation,theattorneynowhastheoptionofreceivingemailnotificationonlyintheadversaryproceedingandnotinthebankruptcycase(exceptforthosenoticesrequiredbytheClerkofCourt).
UpdatingyourEmailAddressAttorneysarenowpromptedtoreentertheirprimaryandsecondaryemailaddresses.Ifthefieldsdonotmatch,anerrormessageisdisplayed,andtheemailaddressisnotsaveduntilthefieldsmatch.
[Goto:Utilities>MaintainYourECFAccount>EmailInformationbutton]
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ChangeYourPassword
AnoptionisnowavailableintheUtilitiesMenutochangeyourECFpassword.Youwillneedtochooseapasswordthatmeetsthesecuritycriteria[minimumofeightcharacters,containbothupperandlowercasealphabeticlettersandatleastonedigitorspecialcharacter[e.g.,0‐9,@,#,$,%,&,*,+,:],thenre‐enterthepasswordtoverify.
[Goto:Utilities>ChangeyourPassword]
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ChangestoBankruptcyandAdversaryCaseOpening
BankruptcyCaseOpening‐DisplayandSelectionofCountyCodesThecountycodefieldhasbeenchangedtoincludethetwo‐letterstateabbreviation(forexample,Orange‐NY)andallU.S.countiesforallstatesarenowavailableforselection.Therefore,whenenteringthedebtor’sstateofresidence,thecountylistwillautomaticallydisplayallcountiesinthestate.
Ifthedebtor’scountyisoutsidethestatewherethecourtislocated,enterthecorrectstateinthe“State”fieldandthiswillupdatethecountyselectionlisttodisplayallcountiesforthatparticularstate.
Note:The“OutsideHomeState”optionisnolongeravailable.
IfthepartyisoutsidetheUnitedStates,thereisnowcountycodeoption‐OutsideU.S.(99999).
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AdversaryCaseOpening
Attorneyswillnolongerbepromptedtoaddthemselvesasthefilerwhenfilingacomplaintbecausethefilerisnowautomaticallylinkedastheplaintiff’sattorney.
Attorneysfilingadversaryproceedingswillnolongerbeabletoaddthedefendant’s
attorney.
Theattorneybuttonhasbeenreplacedwithan“Addadditionalattorney”buttontoenterco‐counsel,ifany.
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ProofofClaimFiling
TheProofofClaimentryscreentextandformattinghavebeenmodifiedtomatchtheOfficialB10ClaimForm.
Theclaimdataentryfieldsare:“AmountClaimed”,“Secured”,and“Priority”. Theclaimamounttotalshouldbeenteredin“AmountClaimed”asthetotalamountof
theclaimisnolongercalculated.Thistotalshouldincludeanysecured,priority,unsecuredandunknownamountsasindicatedonthescreen.Ifanypartoftheclaimenteredissecuredorpriority,theseamountsshouldstillbeenteredintherespectivefields.
The“Fileanotherclaim”hyperlinkhasbeenmovedtothetopoftheNoticeofElectronicClaimsFilingreceiptscreenforeasieraccess.
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FilingFees
TrackingInstallmentFees
AnewFilingFeehyperlinkisavailableundertheQuerymenuthatdisplaysascreenlistingthefilingfeeamount,detailsonanypaymentsthathavebeenmade,andtheoutstandingbalancedue.
Toviewtheoutstandingbalancesforaparticularcase,clickonQueryonthebluemainmenubar,entertheCaseNumber,clicktheRunQuerybutton,thenclickthe“FilingFee”link.
Thequeryscreenbelowshowsthedebtormadeoneinstallmentpaymentandthesystemcalculatedthebalance.
PayingOutstandingFilingFeesPreviously,allthefeesthatwereincurredhadtobepaidallatonce.Now,attorneysmaychoosetopaysomeoralloftheirfilingfeesinagiventransaction.UndertheUtilitiesmenu,clickCreditCardPayments(Outstanding)togettotheInternetPaymentsDuescreen.
Utilities>ClickCreditCardPayments(Outstanding)>InternetPaymentsDue
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Alloutstandingfeesaredisplayedalongwithacheckboxbesideeachfeeamount,ontheInternetPaymentsDuescreen,asshownbelow.Checktheboxnexttothefee(s)beingpaidorclicktheSelectallbutton,thenclicktheNextbutton.
Thefollowingscreendisplaysasummaryoftheselectedfees,alongwithaPayNowbutton.ClickingthePayNowbuttonopensapaneltoallowpayment.
NOTE:Filingfeesaredueatthetimeoffiling.Failuretopaythefilingfeeonthesamedaycouldresultindismissalofacaseorotheradverseactionbythecourt.
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Query
QueryingaName
Whensearchingforanameunderthe“Query”option,additionalinformationisnowshownontheresultspagetoassisttheuserinselectingthecorrectcase.Foreachnameresult,arowofinformationisdisplayedforeachcaseinwhichthatpersonisinvolved.
OneCharacterQuery
PriortothisCM/ECFupgrade,atleasttwo(2)charactersofthelastnamewererequiredforanamesearchontheQueryscreen.Now,ifasinglecharacterisenteredintothelastnamefield,CM/ECFwillsearchforexactnamematchesonly.Amessageappearsonthescreeninformingtheuserthatonlyexactmatcheswithsingle‐characterlastnameswillbefound,asshownbelow:
Note:Performingaquerywithonecharacterandawildcard(e.g.,T*)isnotallowedandamessagewillappearonthescreeninformingtheuserthat“Aminimumoftwoconsecutivecharactersofthelastnameisrequiredfornamesearch.”
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ViewDocumentA“ViewDocument”linkhasbeenaddedtotheQuerymenuthatallowsyoutoenteradocumentnumberinthecaseandviewthePDFdocumentwithouthavingtorunadocketsheet.However,youmustknowtheECFdocumentnumbertoaccessthePDFdocument.
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Displaying“OtherFilingsbySameDebtor(s)”
Anewsectiontitled“OtherFilingsbySameDebtor(s)”hasbeenaddedtotheQuerysearchscreenandcanbefoundbyclickingonthe“AssociatedCases”link.Thiswilldisplayallcasesthatshareadebtororjointdebtorwiththecasecurrentlybeingviewed.
BillingCapWarning
AwarningmessagehasbeenaddedtotheQuerysearchscreentoremindPACERusersthatthereisno30‐PAGEPACERbillingcapontheinformationreturnedfromthesearch.
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Reports
CasesReportThereisnowanoptiontofilterthecasesreportbyattorneyname,BarIDandprosecases.Whenanameisentered(e.g.,attorneylastname)alistofmatchingattorneynamesisdisplayedinaSearchResultsbox,ofwhichyoumayselectoneormore.
Aftermakingyourselection,youcanfilterevenfurtherwithcheckboxesthatallowyoutosearchforattorneysbypartyrole:debtors,plaintiffs,defendants,creditors,orall.Youcanalsochoosetoviewonlycaseswithprosefilers.
Inaddition,thereportisnowlimitedtoarangeofthirty‐onedays.Iftheusertriestoconductasearchgreaterthanthirty‐onedaysamessageappearsstating"Thedaterangeyouhaveenteredexceedsthe31‐daylimit."
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DocketReportThecaptionofthedocketreportwasimprovedtoincludethefollowing:
Thereisanewdocumentoption:“IncludeheaderswhendisplayingPDFdocuments”;thecheckboxforthisoptionnowdefaultstochecked.
Currently,theShowAssociatedCaseshyperlinkappearsevenwhenthereisnoothercaseassociated.WithVersion4.1/4.2,the“ShowAssociatedCases”hyperlinkappearsonlywhenthecaseyouareviewinghasanactiveassociation.
Thecountyofresidenceisdisplayedalongwiththeaddressinformationforthedebtor(s). Thealiastypeandaliasnamearenowlistedonthesamelineratherthantwoseparatelines. Theattorney’sinformationnowcontainsanactivehyperlinktotheattorney’semail.
DocketActivityReport
The“OnlycasestowhichIamlinked”checkboxisnowdisplayed. Thisreportislimitedtoarangeofthirty‐onedays.
Note:Thispreventsusersfromrequestingawidedaterange,whichwouldresultinalargerPACERfee.
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RSSFeedTechnology
NewYorkSouthernBankruptcyofferstheoptionofallowingexternaluserstosubscribetoRSSfeeds(ReallySimpleSyndication).RSSfeedsallowtheusertohavelinkstothedocketsheetanddocuments.RSSfeedscanbereadusingsoftwarecalledanRSSreader.PleasenotethatastandardRSSreaderisnotprovidedwithCM/ECF,butCM/ECFdoessupportthereadersincludedwiththestandardsupportedbrowsers.
TosubscribetotheRSSfeed:
1. ClickonUtilitiesontheCM/ECFblueMainMenubar.2. ClickontheCourtInformationlink.TheCourtInformationscreenappears.3. ClicktheEntriesmadeinthelast12hours–PublicUserslink.
AnentryismadetotheRSSfeedeverytimeadocketentryismade.
ThereisnofeefortheinitialRSSfeedreport.However,ifyouclickonthecasenumberhyperlinktoviewthedocketsheetordocumentnumbertoviewthedocument,youwillbepromptedtologintoPACERandwillincurthestandardPACERfees.
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PDF/AFormat
TheBankruptcyCourtfortheSouthernDistrictofNewYorkhasnotmadePDF/Amandatoryatthistime.FormoreinformationaboutPDF/Apleaseclickhere.
Note:TheCourtInformationutilitynowincludesa“PDF/AComplianceRequired”indicator,whichiscurrentlysetto“n”.ThiswillbeusedinafuturereleasetoindicatewhetherthecourtrequiresdocumentstomeetthetechnicalstandardforPDF/A.
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Miscellaneous
TimeSelectionIcon.Onscreensallowingatimeclockselection,thetimefieldnowincludesanicontopopulatethetime.Whenclicked,theicondisplaysagraphicclock.Thecursorcanbemovedaroundtheclockfacetoselectatimeandthetimeselectionisdisplayedinthebox.Thelightershadingoftheclockisfor“AM”andthedarkershadingisfor“PM”.Youcanalsoenterthetimeintheboxmanuallywithoutclickingontheclockicon,ifpreferred.
Wherethefulldocumentpathandtitlewerepreviouslydisplayed(e.g.,ontheNoticeof
ElectronicFiling),nowonlythedocumenttitleisdisplayedwhenusingMozillaFirefox3.5;usingInternetExplorer8,thefullpathisdisplayedforthemaindocument,andthedocumenttitleonlyisdisplayedforattachments.
Previously,documentnumberhyperlinkschangedwhenthecursorpassedoverthemforthefirsttime.Thehyperlinksarenowaccuratewhenthepageisinitiallyloaded.
Thekeyboardcannowbeusedinsteadofthemouse.PressingtheEnterkeynowgivesthesameresultasclickingtheSubmitbutton.Pressingthespacebaralsoworksifthefocusisonthebuttonthatsubmitsthescreen.
Amessageisnowdisplayedwhenloggingouttoreminduserstoexitthebrowser.
