The proposed language from the South Carolina Supreme Court is below.
The first paragraph of Rule 11(a), SCRCP, is amended to provide as follows:
(a) Signature. Every pleading, motion or other paper of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed in his individual name by at least one attorney of record who is admitted to practice law in South Carolina, and whose address and telephone number shall be stated. A party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign his pleading, motion or other paper and state his address. Except when otherwise specifically provided by rule or statute, pleadings need not be verified or accompanied by affidavit. The written or electronic signature of an attorney or party constitutes a certificate by him that he has read the pleading, motion or other paper; that to the best of his knowledge, information and belief there is good ground to support it; and that it is not interposed for delay.
Rule 77(d), SCRCP, is amended to provide as follows:
(d) Notice of Orders or Judgments. Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment the clerk shall serve a notice of the entry by first class mail upon every party affected thereby who is not in default for failure to appear, and shall make a note in the case file or docket sheet of the mailing. For parties proceeding in the SCE-File electronic filing system, the clerk shall serve a notice of the entry by electronically transmitting a Notice of Electronic Filing to all parties. Such mailing or electronic transmission shall not be necessary to parties who have already received notice. Such mailing or electronic transmission is sufficient notice for all purposes for which notice of the entry of an order or judgment is required by these rules; but any party may in addition serve a notice of entry on any other party in the manner provided in Rule 5 for the service of such papers. In addition to the above, in post-conviction relief actions, the post-conviction relief judge shall submit the signed order or judgment to the clerk of court for filing and the clerk shall promptly provide notice of the entry of judgment and serve a copy of the signed order to the parties. Pursuant to Rule 5(b) service shall be made solely on the attorney when the applicant is represented by counsel and, where an applicant is proceeding pro se, service shall be made upon the applicant at the last known address provided to the clerk by the applicant.
Note to 2014 Amendment
This amendment requires the clerk to serve notice of entry of an order or judgment through the SCE-File electronic filing system for all parties who are proceeding in the electronic filing system. Any party or the attorney for a party who is a traditional filer and not proceeding in the electronic filing system must be served by first-class mail as provided in paragraph (d).
The South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure are amended by adding the following rule:
RULE 41.2
PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR FILINGS
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(a) Redaction. A person filing a document in paper or electronic format shall not include, or will redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal identifying information.
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(1) Social Security Numbers, Taxpayer Identification Numbers, Driver's License Numbers, Passport Numbers or Any Other Personal Identifying Numbers. If it is necessary to include personal identifying numbers in a document, the parties should utilize some other identifier. Parties shall not include any portion of a social security number in a filing.
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(2) Names of Minor Children. If a minor is the victim of a sexual assault or the victim in an abuse or neglect case, the minor's name must be completely redacted and a term such as "victim" or "child" should be used. In all other cases, the minor's first name and first initial of the last name (i.e., John S.), or only the minor's initials (i.e., J.S.) should be used.
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(3) Financial Account Numbers, Including Any Type of Bank Account Numbers, Personal Identification Number (PIN) Code, or Passwords. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers should be used.
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(4) Home Addresses of Minors, Sexual Assault and Abuse and Neglect Victims, and Non-Parties. If a home address of a minor, sexual assault victim, or non-party must be included, only the city and state should be used
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(5) Date of Birth. If a date of birth must be included, only the year of birth should be included.
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Note:
Easy access to electronic court records raises privacy concerns.
This rule details the type of personal information that parties
are required to redact in court filings. Parties preparing or
filing documents are prohibited from filing documents that
contain personal identifying information delineated in S.C. Code
Ann. § 30-2-330(A). Parties should exercise caution and
refrain from including any unnecessary personal identifying
information in court filings so as to limit the necessity of
redacting documents. Furthermore, parties should exercise
caution in including other sensitive personal data in filings,
such as medical records, employment history, individual
financial information, proprietary or trade secret information,
information regarding an individual's cooperation with the
government, information regarding the victim of any criminal
activity, or national security information.
(b)
Reference Lists. Where personal data identifiers are relevant to
an issue in the case, a filing that contains redacted
information may be filed together with a confidential reference
list that identifies each item of redacted information and
specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely corresponds to
each item listed. The list must be filed as a confidential
document, which is not available to the public, and may be
amended as of right. The confidential reference list shall not
be made available on the Case Management System Public Index and
may only be viewed by the parties and the court and staff. Any
reference in the case to a listed identifier will be construed
to refer to the corresponding item of information. No order of
the court is required to file a reference list.
Note:
Paragraph (b) provides for the same procedure as provided in
Rule 5.2(g) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and permits
parties to file a reference list to accompany a redacted filing.
Parties should only file a reference list if the redacted
information is relevant to an issue in the case or necessary to
understand the filing.
(c) Responsibility to Redact.
The clerks of court and their staff will not review filings for
redaction or to determine if materials should be sealed pursuant
to Rule 41.1, SCRCP. The responsibility for ensuring that
information is redacted or sealed rests with counsel and the
parties.
(d) Limitations on Remote Access to
Electronic Files. Some documents or images that are filed may be
removed from the Case Management System Public Index.
- (1) The clerk of court may remove documents, exhibits, or other filings that may be highly inflammatory or otherwise potentially harmful.
- (2) Documents, exhibits, or other filings which are removed under paragraph (d)(1) may be viewed at the courthouse.
(e) Requests to Remove. An individual may request that a
clerk of court remove, from an image or copy of an official
record placed on the Case Management System Public Index, any
data which should have been redacted under paragraph (a) of this
rule.
- (1) Any request to remove data which should not have been included or should have been redacted in accordance with paragraph (a) must be made in writing, legibly signed by the requester, and delivered by mail, facsimile, electronic transmission, or in person to the clerk of court. The request must specify the document and the page number of the document that contains information to be redacted.
- (2) The clerk of court has no duty to inquire beyond the written request to verify the identity of an individual requesting redaction.
- (3) A fee must not be charged for the redaction pursuant to the request.
Note:
Paragraph (e) of this rule is consistent with the requirements of S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-330(B).
