Vt. Sup. Ct. Promulgation Order of Oct. 6, 2025: Emergency Amendment VREF5

Comments on this emergency amendment should be sent by December 6, 2025, to Hon. John A. Dooley (Ret.), Chair of the Advisory

STATE OF VERMONT

VERMONT SUPREME COURT

OCTOBER TERM, 2025

Order Promulgating Emergency Amendment to Rule 5(d)

of the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing

Pursuant to the Vermont Constitution, Chapter II, § 37, and 12 V .S.A. § 1, it is hereby ordered:

1. That Rule 5(d) of the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing be amended as follows

(new matter underlined):

RULE 5. PROCEDURE FOR ELECTRONIC FILING

(d) Court Staff Processing in the Superior Court.

(1) Court Staff Review. Court staff will review all electronic filings for compliance with

these rules and Rule 7(a)(1) of the Rules for Public Access to Court Records, in the manner

prescribed by Rule 7(a)(3) and (4).

(A) Except as designated in (B), court staff review will occur prior to entry into the

electronic case management system.

(B) Initial civil complaints made in commencement of an action pursuant to Vermont

Rule of Civil Procedure 3 will be reviewed to ensure the absence of confidential information

prior to entry into the case management system, and for compliance with all other rules after

entry into the electronic case management system, subject to the corrective and remedial

actions of Rule 7(a)(3) and (4) of the Rules for Public Access to Court Records. Electronic

filers remain obligated under Rule 5(b) to comply with filing requirements. Complaints

initiating the following civil actions will continue to be reviewed prior to entry:

(i) Actions for Orders Against Stalking or Sexual Assault (12 V .S.A. Ch. 178),

(ii) Small Claims Actions (12 V .S.A. Ch. 187), and

(iii) Any civil action that is within the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, or

within the jurisdiction of criminal division, family division, environmental division,

probate division, or the judicial bureau.

(2) Accepting or Rejecting a Filing. Court staff will electronically notify the efiler either

that the efiling has been accepted or rejected. A rejection will provide the reason for the rejection.

Court staff may reject a filing that does not comply with these rules or Rule 7(a)(1) of the Rules

for Public Access to Court Records. Court staff may also reject a filing that contains an error that

cannot be corrected by court staff. The Court Administrator will delineate the permissible

reasons for rejecting a filing and provide the list in a prominent place on the Judiciary website.

(3) Failed Submission. A filing that does not comply with the instructions in the efiling

system or the formatting requirements in Rule 7 may not be processed by the electronic filing

system and may result in a failed submission. A failed submission does not reach the clerk queue

and may not be appealed.

(4) Correcting an eFiling. An efiler may submit a corrected efiling within 7 days after

receiving the notification that a filing resulted in a failed submission or was rejected if the efiler

follows the instructions for efiling a correction on the electronic filing system. It is the efiler’s

responsibility to demonstrate the date of rejection or failed submission. The court may extend the

time for correction for good cause. Court staff will accept a corrected efiling if all requirements

of those rules and the instructions for correction have been met.

(5) Filing Date. When an efiling has been accepted, the date and time of efiling for all

purposes under the applicable rules of procedure are the date and time that the initial efiling was

submitted if the corrected filing complied with the time limits in (d)(4).

(6) Assigning Case Number. The electronic filing system will provide a case number for a

new case filing that has been accepted in the acceptance notification. The assigned case number

must appear on all subsequent efilings pertaining to the case.

(7) Appeal of Rejected Filing. In the event an efiler and court staff are unable to resolve a

dispute regarding an electronic filing, the efiler may appeal the basis for a rejected filing to the

Court Administrator. The appeal must be filed within 7 days from the date of the rejection. The

time period in (d)(4) for correcting an efiling is tolled until the appeal is decided.

Reporter’s Notes—2025 Emergency Amendment

Rule 5(d)(1)(B) is amended in response to developments in the

litigation between Courthouse News Service and other various

news outlets and the Vermont Judiciary. When electronic filing

first began in March 2020, the Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing

required clerk review before electronically filed documents were

publicly accessible to prevent improper disclosure of confidential

information. The COVID-19 pandemic struck around the same

time that electronic filing began, and prompt processing of

complaints was impacted by staffing shortages and equipment

challenges. Courthouse News Service filed suit alleging that the

delays in accessing complaints violated its First Amendment right

of access. The district court issued an injunction barring a delayed

release of complaints, and Rule 5(d)(1) was amended in December

2021 to create a press-review queue where civil complaints could

be accessed before clerk review.

Comments on this emergency amendment should be sent by December 6, 2025, to Hon. John A. Dooley (Ret.), Chair of the Advisory

Comments on this emergency amendment should be sent by December 6, 2025, to Hon. John A. Dooley (Ret.), Chair of the Advisory

On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that

the pandemic-impacted delays violated the plaintiffs’ First

Amendment right of access but observed that the Judiciary’s

processing of new filings had since improved. Courthouse News

Serv. v. Corsones, 131 F.4th 59, 63 (2d Cir. 2025). The Second

Circuit vacated the district court injunction as overbroad. On

remand, the district court revised the injunction to enjoin only the

type of review taking place prior to August 2021. In response to

this revised injunction and the Second Circuit ruling, the Judiciary

reinstated pre-access review limited to confidential information in

civil complaints and with an expedited review process.

Rule 5(d)(1)(B) is revised to reflect this change in practice. The

amendment indicates that civil complaints are reviewed to ensure

the absence of confidential information prior to entry into the case

management system. The rule amendment recognizes that filers

have a responsibility to determine whether filings contain

information that is not publicly accessible and to either redact it or

separate it from publicly accessible information. V .R.P.A.C.R.

7(a)(1). In particular, the Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court

Records indicate that some personally identifying information is

not publicly accessible, including social security numbers, passport

numbers, and financial account numbers. V .R.P.A.C.R. 6(b)(8).

Under the revised rule, civil complaints are reviewed to ensure

there is no release of this personal information before the

complaint is accepted into the case management system.

2. That this amendment be prescribed and promulgated, effective immediately. The

Reporter’s Notes are advisory.

3. That the Court finds that this emergency amendment must be promulgated without resort to

the notice and comment procedures set forth in Administrative Order No. 11, to allow for clerk

review for compliance with Rule 7(a)(1) of the Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court

Records and limit any inadvertent release of confidential information.

4. That the Court Administrator is directed to send this rule as amended out for comment

pursuant to Administrative Order No. 11, with comments to be made to the Advisory Committee

on the Rules for Electronic Filing. The Advisory Committee is directed to review any comments

received and advise the Court whether the amendment should be revised or made permanent.

5. That the Chief Justice is authorized to report these amendments to the General Assembly in

accordance with the provisions of 12 V.S.A. § 1, as amended.

Dated in Chambers at Montpelier, Vermont, this 6th day of October, 2025.

____________________________________

Paul L. Reiber, Chief Justice

____________________________________

Harold E. Eaton, Jr., Associate Justice

____________________________________

Signed by the Vermont Supreme Court William D. Cohen, Associate Justice

____________________________________

Nancy J. Waples, Associate Justice

Comments on this emergency amendment should be sent by December 6, 2025, to Hon. John A. Dooley (Ret.), Chair of the Advisory