Friendly Reminder about Bankruptcy Rule 9037...

Now that December 1 has come and gone, and another set of amendments of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure has become effective, time for a belated reminder that Bankruptcy Rule 9037 has been adopted. For those of you who, like me, have been too busy filing amended pleadings to replace outdated Official Forms and creating notice pleadings for small business case financial disclosures, it is time to turn your attention to 9037.
Rule 9037 mirrors many federal court local rules, and existing statutory law in many states, regarding the filing of record or other disclosure of individual identifying information such as social security numbers, year of birth, account numbers of financial accounts, and the names of minors. The reasons for the rule are obvious, but the the long-term implication for lawyers, commercial clients, and any user of "data-enabled" forms should not be overlooked, as the story below makes clear.

Have a Happy Friday.