Section 214 - [Effective Until 9/1/2027] Chief administrator to prescribe forms; electronic filing in family court(a) The chief administrator of the courts shall promulgate a uniform, statewide petition for adoption and may prescribe such other forms as may be proper for the efficient and just administration of this act, including forms for petitions, summons, warrants, subpoenas, undertakings, and orders authorized by this act.(b)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the chief administrator, with the approval of the administrative board of the courts, may promulgate rules authorizing a program in the use of electronic means ("e-filing") in the family court for: (1) the origination of proceedings in such court, and (2) the filing and service of papers in pending proceedings.(ii)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, participation in this program shall be strictly voluntary and will take place only upon consent of all parties in the proceeding; except that failure of a party or other person who is entitled to notice of the proceedings to consent to participation shall not bar any other party from filing and serving papers by electronic means upon the court or any other party or person entitled to receive notice of such proceeding who has consented to participation. Filing a petition with the court by electronic means for the purpose of originating a proceeding shall not require the consent of any other party; provided, however, that upon such filing, a party to such proceeding and any attorney for such person shall be permitted to immediately review and obtain copies of such documents and papers if such person or attorney would have been authorized by law to review or obtain copies of such documents and papers if they had been filed with the court in paper form. No party shall be compelled, directly or indirectly, to participate in e-filing. All parties shall be notified clearly, in plain language, about their options to participate in e-filing. Where a party is not represented by counsel, the clerk shall explain such party's options for electronic filing in plain language, including the option for expedited processing, and shall inquire whether he or she wishes to participate, provided however the unrepresented litigant may participate in the program only upon his or her request, which shall be documented in the case file, after said party has been presented with sufficient information in plain language concerning the program.
(2) In the rules promulgated pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subdivision, the chief administrator may eliminate the requirement of consent to participation in this program in family courts of not more than six counties for:(A) the filing with the court of a petition originating a juvenile delinquency proceeding under article three of this act by a presentment agency as defined in section 301.2 of such act;(B) the filing with the court of a petition originating in a proceeding to determine abuse or neglect pursuant to article ten of this act by a child protective agency, as defined in section one thousand twelve of such act; and(C) the filing and service of papers in proceedings specified in clauses (A) and (B) of this subparagraph where, pursuant to such clauses, such proceedings were originated in the court by electronic filing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the chief administrator shall not eliminate the requirement of consent to participation without the consent of each authorized presentment agency, child protective agency of an affected county, the family court bar providing representation to parents, and the family court bar providing representation to children (as represented by the head of each legal services organization representing parents and/or children, the head of each public defender organization, and president of the local bar association as applicable) in any county in which such elimination shall apply.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the chief administrator may not eliminate the requirement of consent to participation in a county hereunder until he or she shall have provided all persons or organizations, or their representative or representatives, who regularly appear in proceedings in the family court of such county, in which proceedings the requirement of consent is to be eliminated, with reasonable notice and an opportunity to submit comments with respect thereto and shall have given due consideration to all such comments, nor until he or she shall have consulted with the members of the advisory committee continued pursuant to subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (u) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law.
(c) Where the chief administrator eliminates the requirement of consent as provided in subparagraph two of paragraph (ii) of subdivision (b) of this section, he or she shall afford counsel the opportunity to opt out of the program, via presentation of a prescribed form to be filed with the clerk of the court where the proceeding is pending. Said form shall permit an attorney to opt out of participation in the program under any of the following circumstances, in which event, he or she will not be compelled to participate:(i) Where the attorney certifies in good faith that he or she lacks the computer hardware and/or connection to the internet and/or scanner or other device by which documents may be converted to an electronic format; or(ii) Where the attorney certifies in good faith that he or she lacks the requisite knowledge in the operation of such computers and/or scanners necessary to participate. For the purposes of this paragraph, the knowledge of any employee of an attorney, or any employee of the attorney's law firm, office or business who is subject to such attorney's direction, shall be imputed to the attorney. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this paragraph: (A) where a party or a person entitled to notice of the proceedings is not represented by counsel, the court shall explain such party's options for electronic filing in plain language, including the option for expedited processing, and shall inquire whether he or she wishes to participate, provided however, the unrepresented litigant may participate in the program only upon his or her request, which shall be documented in the case file, after said party has been presented with sufficient information in plain language concerning the program; (B) a party who is not represented by counsel who has chosen to participate in the program shall be afforded the opportunity to opt out of the program for any reason via presentation of a prescribed form to be filed with the clerk of the court where the proceeding is pending; and (C) a court may exempt any attorney from being required to participate in the program upon application for such exemption, showing good cause therefor.(d) For purposes of this section, "electronic means" shall be as defined in subdivision (f) of rule twenty-one hundred three of the civil practice law and rules.(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, no paper or document that is filed by electronic means in a proceeding in family court shall be available for public inspection on-line. Subject to the provisions of existing laws governing the sealing and confidentiality of court records, nothing herein shall prevent the unified court system from sharing statistical information that does not include any papers or documents filed with the action.(f) Nothing in this section shall affect or change any existing laws governing the sealing and confidentiality of court records in family court proceedings or access to court records by the parties to such proceedings, nor shall this section be construed to compel a party to file a sealed document by electronic means.(g) Nothing in this section shall affect or change existing laws governing service of process, nor shall this section be construed to abrogate existing personal service requirements as set forth in this act and the civil practice law and rules.N.Y. Family Court Law § 214
Amended by New York Laws 2022, ch. 554,Sec. 1, eff. 8/31/2022.Amended by New York Laws 2021, ch. 118,Sec. 1, eff. 6/11/2021.Amended by New York Laws 2020, ch. 58,Sec. XXX-B-SS-1, eff. 4/3/2020.Amended by New York Laws 2019, ch. 212,Sec. 1, eff. 8/29/2019.Amended by New York Laws 2017, ch. 55,Sec. BB-6, eff. 7/19/2017.Amended by New York Laws 2015, ch. 237,Sec. 6, eff. 8/31/2015, exp. 9/1/2027.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.