Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced on Tuesday (February 6) in her State of Our Judiciary Address, that the Appellate Divisions in all four Departments will be rolling out electronic filing rules for certain cases.  Of particular interest to commercial litigators is the First and Fourth Departments, in which the rule announcement specifically identifies commercial cases.  As for the Second Department, the rule applies to all appeals originating and electronically filed in Surrogate’s and Supreme Court, Westchester County.   This is a welcome addition and should lead to at least some tangible benefits including, reduced costs and increased efficiency to both the courts and litigants.

Also worthy of note is Chief Judge DiFiore’s recognition that our Commercial Division “has built a reputation for excellence and earned the respect of court and business leaders around the globe.”  Address at 16.  As a result, she has called upon the Advisory Committee on Civil Practice to study the CD rule changes and amendments to explore whether they should be adopted more broadly in other courts.