As you know, proceedings for establishing parentage under the Child-Parent Security Act (L. 2020, c. 56, Part L; “CPSA”, “Act”) are subject to various confidentially provisions under State law, including a general sealing provision under the Act itself. Accordingly, the court file and papers in these proceedings may only be viewed by the parties or counsel or by court order.
To further this goal of confidentiality, the Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine, Statewide Coordinating Judge for Matrimonial Cases, has developed a model letter application by which an applicant may seek a court order directing use of an anonymous caption in all publicly viewable court records in CPSA matters, including the clerk’s minutes, public docket listings, and similar records. A copy of this application, which is expected to be filed along with the commencement documents in a CPSA proceeding, is below as Exh. A.
In addition, two new case types have been added to the “Other Special Proceeding” dropdown window list in the UCS NYSCEF system: “Child-Parent Security Act (Assisted Reproduction)” and “Child-Parent Security Act (Surrogacy Agreement)”. Documents uploaded through NYSCEF in these case types will automatically be shielded from public view, as the Act requires.
Please note, however, that if a CPSA proceeding is filed in paper format rather than electronically and includes an application similar to Exh. A, the County Clerk should not enter the child’s name in the clerk’s minutes if such minutes are immediately available for public view. Instead, the child’s name should be listed as “ANONYMOUS” until the court has ruled on the application.
