Key Takeaway
New York courts can take judicial notice of information on the official E-Courts website, allowing judges to consider publicly available court records without formal evidence presentation.
Judicial Notice and New York’s E-Courts System
New York’s electronic court filing system has transformed how legal information is accessed and verified. The E-Courts website provides public access to court records, case statuses, and other judicial proceedings. But can courts rely on this digital information without requiring formal proof? A recent decision from the Appellate Term clarifies that judges may take judicial notice of information available on the official New York State Unified Court System E-Courts website.
This principle of judicial notice allows courts to accept certain facts as true without requiring parties to formally prove them through traditional evidence rules. The concept streamlines proceedings by eliminating the need to prove commonly known or easily verifiable facts.
Jason Tenenbaum’s Analysis:
Alev Med. Supply, Inc. v American Tr. Ins. Co., 2012 NY Slip Op 50568(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2012)
“A review of the information on the New York State Unified Court System E-Courts public Web site, of which we may take judicial notice (see Matter of L & Q Realty Corp. v Assessor, 71 AD3d 1025 ; Kingsbrook Jewish Med. Ctr. v Allstate Ins. Co., 61 AD3d 13, 20 ), reveals that, although no judgment has been entered, the complaint was dismissed subsequent to the entry of the order appealed from. In light of that dismissal, this appeal must be dismissed as academic”
Key Takeaway
Courts can take judicial notice of publicly available information on New York’s official E-Courts website, treating it as reliable without requiring formal proof. This streamlines proceedings by allowing judges to verify case statuses and court records directly, though it must involve authoritative sources rather than unverified documents.
