Notice

Notice of Electronic Availability of Case File Information
and Policy Regarding Public Access

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri is an electronic case management court (CM/ECF) which has been accepting electronically filed pleadings and making the content of these pleadings available on the court's Internet website. Any subscriber to CM/ECF and/or PACER will be able to read, download, store and print the full content of electronically filed documents. Attorneys of record in a case are given one free access to filed documents. For additional access opportunities, and for other interested viewers, there are minimal charges associated with case access as well as a requirement for a PACER password. (See, ecf.mowb.uscourts.gov)

The Clerk's office will not make electronically available those documents which have been sealed or otherwise restricted by court order.

You should not include sensitive information in any document filed with the court unless such inclusion is necessary and relevant to the case. You must remember that any other personal information not otherwise protected will be made available over the Internet via CM/ECF and/or PACER. You should, for example, exercise caution when filing documents that contain the following:

1. Personal identifying number, such as driver's license number;
2. Medical records, treatment and diagnosis;
3. Employment history;
4. Individual financial information; and
5. Proprietary or trade secret information.

In the near future, in compliance with the privacy policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States regarding public access to electronic case files, personal data identifiers such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, dates of birth and the names of minor children, will have to be partially redacted from all pleadings, whether filed traditionally or electronically. You will be notified beforehand when this privacy policy is to be implemented in bankruptcy courts.

When this does occur, in compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002, a party wishing to file a document containing the personal data identifiers specified above may also file an unredacted document under seal. This document will be retained by the court as part of the record

Counsel are strongly urged to share this notice with all clients so that an informed decision about the inclusion or exclusion of certain materials may be made.