E-filing has been mandatory in all Commercial Division cases, and in all other kinds of cases (other than Art. 78, election law, Mental Hygiene Law, and matrimonial matters), commenced on and after February 19, 2013 in Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County. Mandatory electronic filing of some new Commercial Division cases began in May 2010.
All new Division cases must be initiated by filing the commencement documents electronically with the County Clerk through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System ("NYSCEF"). With very narrow exceptions, commencement documents presented to the County Clerk in hard copy form will not be accepted. See Uniform Rules 202.5-bb and 202.5 (d) (1). After a case has been commenced electronically, personal jurisdiction shall be obtained by service of commencement papers in hard copy in the normal manner, together with a Notice of Commencement of Mandatory E-Filed Case (accessible in the "Forms" section of the NYSCEF website). Thereafter, all documents, with very limited exceptions, must be e-filed with NYSCEF.
Court fees are paid to the County Clerk by credit or bank card (Mastercard, Visa, or American Express) through NYSCEF. There are, however, no separate charges to use NYSCEF, file documents with it, serve documents through it, or print out hard copies from it.
Requirements governing mandatory e-filing are set out in Rule 202.5-bb. The Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County has promulgated a Protocol on Courthouse Procedures in Electronically Filed Cases, which explains how the e-filing program is implemented. The Protocol is available on the "E-Filing" page at the New York County Supreme Court, Civil Branch website.
The NYSCEF website contains a User's Manual and FAQ's. The application includes a training utility, which allows attorneys to gain knowledge and experience by using the NYSCEF program in simulated cases.
Live training is also available for those who may feel the need for it. The Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County presents a training course twice weekly at 60 Centre Street. The course is two hours long, with two CLE credits awarded to attending attorneys at no charge. Attorneys may register for the course by going to the "Training" link on the NYSCEF website.
To obtain an ID and Password or for additional information, attorneys should contact the E-Filing Resource Center at 646-386-3033 or [email protected].
December 8, 2013