In Re: Order Amending Rule 205.6 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure ( 2021 )

CIVIL PROCEDURAL RULES COMMITTEE ADOPTION REPORT Amendment of Pa.R.Civ.P. 205.6 On December 1, 2021, the Supreme Court amended Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 205.6 to conform the rule to recent amendments to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania adopted on October 6, 2021. The Civil Procedural Rules Committee has prepared this Adoption Report describing the rulemaking process. An Adoption Report should not be confused with Comments to the rules. See Pa.R.J.A. 103, Comment. The statements contained herein are those of the Committee, not the Court. Effective January 1, 2022, the amendments to Section 7.0(A) and (C) of the Policy require filers to safeguard confidential information using a Confidential Information Form. Prior to the amendments, the Policy provided an option for a court to adopt a rule or order to permit the filing of a document in two versions, a “Redacted Version” and an “Unredacted Version” rather than require the use of the Confidential Information Form. In addition, Section 9.0(H) has been added to indicate that the amendments to the Policy do not apply retroactively to documents filed with a court prior to their effective date. Pa.R.Civ.P. 205.6 governs confidential information and confidential documents in civil filings, including the certification that a filing is compliant with the Policy. Conforming amendments have been made to delete references within the rule and comment relating to the option for a court to require redacted and unredacted versions of a document when safeguarding confidential information.