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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.