The Administrative Board of the Courts has extended by 60 days the public comment period on a rule that would require the redaction of confidential personal information prior to the filing of papers in most civil matters. Under a proposal advanced by the Chief Administrative Judge’s Advisory Committee on Civil Practice, attorneys would need to redact personal information from civil papers to protect against identity theft, fraud and other invasions of privacy.
The proposed rule is similar to, but broader than, Rule 5.2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 5.2 addresses four categories of information, while the proposed state rule addresses nine: Social Security numbers; exact dates of birth; mother’s maiden name; driver’s license and non-driver photo ID numbers; employee identification numbers; credit card numbers; financial or insurance account numbers; computer passwords; and electronic signature or unique biometric data. It would not apply to matrimonial actions or Surrogate’s Court proceedings.
