New York County Commercial Division Justices Oing and Scarpulla Participate in Test Program to Use Hyperlinks in E-Filed Papers

On March 17, 2014, the New York County Commercial Division announced an experimental program to use hyperlinks and bookmarking in e-filed cases. The full text of the statement is repeated below:

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM STATEMENT OF PROCEDURES GOVERNING BRIEFS AND CERTAIN OTHER DOCUMENTS IN HYPERLINKED AND BOOKMARKED FORMAT IN ELECTRONICALLY FILED CASES

Commercial Division Part 39 (Hon. Saliann Scarpulla ) and Commercial Division Part 48 (Hon. Jeffrey K. Oing) of the Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County strongly encourage counsel to submit, in any appropriate case assigned to either Part and filed in the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System ("NYSCEF"), affidavits, fafirmations, exhibits, and memoranda of law containing hyperlinks and bookmarks.

1) Application. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, documents containing hyperlinks and bookmarks shall be filed only as provided in this Statement of Procedures. Any party to an e-filed case assigned to either of the designated Parts may file documents containing hyperlinks and bookmarks. Bookmarking and hyperlinking in documents shall be permitted only in affidavits and affirmations, exhibits thereto, and memoranda of law that are filed electronically with NYSCEF pursuant to the procedures thereof in connection with motions brought on by notice of motion, notice of petition, or order to show cause, as well as in pre-trial and post-trial briefs and related submissions.

2) NYSCEF Format Requirements. Documents in NYSCEF cases must be filed electronically in accordance with NYSCEF requirements. Pursuant to those requirements, all documents filed with NYSCEF must be in PDF-A format and be text-searchable (i.e., shall be created by a word processing or other program that effectuates the conversion of documents into word-searchable PDF-A format or processed through an optical character recognition software program).

3) Bookmarks and Hyperlinks Defined. Bookmarks are an electronic functionality built into a document that provides, adjacent to the body of the displayed document or otherwise readily accessible, a listing of the contents of the document and facilitates easy navigation by the reader within the document and exhibits thereto. Hyperlinks are an electronic functionality built into a memorandum of law, for instance, that permits the reader, by clicking on the name of a case, statute, etc. in a table of authorities or in the body of the brief to be immediately connected or "linked" to a copy of the authority, which automatically opens up for viewing. Material made accessible by hyperlinking does not constitute a part of the formal record. Hyperlinks merely provide efficiency and convenience in the accessing of cited material. Certain software programs permit the user to create bookmarks and hyperlinks automatically.

4) Requirements for Bookmarking and Hyperlinking.

(a) Memoranda of law to which this Statement applies shall contain hyperlinks to listings or citations of cases and other legal authorities in the brief’s table of authorities and in the body of the brief, and to citations in the body of the brief to affirmations, affidavits, and exhibits submitted in connection with the application to which the brief relates. Hyperlinks shall be made to every such listing, citation, or reference, or at least to the most important thereof.

(b) Briefs and other documents to which this Statement applies may be self-contained and static, including the linked material as part of the file submitted. In such documents, PDF-A files of the texts of cited cases, statutes, and other legal authorities shall be aggregated as attachments to the text of the brief in PDF-A format and copies of exhibits shall be aggregated to the affirmation or affidavit to which they are annexed in the same format. Links in such a brief shall be to the full text of a case or law review article, the relevant section of a statute or rule cited, and, if the authority is a treatise or other lengthy work, the full text of the relevant portion thereof. If counsel prefers, links may be inserted to authorities on Westlaw and websites of state or Federal courts. Links may also be made to other documents filed with NYSCEF. Exhibits to affirmations/affidavits shall be text-searchable unless that is impossible (e.g., because of the presence of handwriting). Authorities cited in the brief shall appear in standard citation form. Affirmations and affidavits governed by this Statement shall contain exhibits in documentary form only, not copies of video depositions, audio clips, animations, or the like.

5) Manner of submission of electronic material; working hard copy. Bookmarked and hyperlinked material permitted hereby shall be submitted in electronic form by filing with NYSCEF in PDF-A format pursuant to the regular procedures of that system. Notwithstanding the requirements set forth in this Protocol, unless otherwise directed by the court under unusual circumstances, a working copy of the bookmarked or hyperlinked brief or other document shall not be submitted.

6) Deadline for filing. A bookmarked or hyperlinked document shall be filed electronically with the court by the final return date of the motion or application on notice or order to show cause or other deadline fixed by the court, or by no later than the close of business on the third business day after the final filing date provided that by the final filing date the document shall be filed without the bookmarkings or links.

7) Size limitations of briefs and other documents. A bookmarked or hyperlinked brief or other document submitted pursuant to this Statement of Procedures shall not exceed 15 megabytes. If the document is larger than that, it shall be submitted in sections, consecutively numbered, no one of which shall exceed that limit.

8) Disclaimer. The court does not endorse any organization, application or product that provides services for the incorporation of bookmarks and hyperlinks in documents.