Willoughby Municipal Court, Ohio Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

When the Court grants a motion to seal an eviction record, the Clerk must redact the tenant’s name from public records, retain the electronic record, and ensure it can be retrieved and unsealed if ordered.

4. If the Court grants a Motion to Seal Eviction Record, the Clerk shall forthwith cause the Tenant’s name to be redacted from all public records it maintains, including the electronic case index system, to the same extent that it would for a criminal sealing of records (formerly known as expungement). The clerk shall retain the electronic record of the action, in accordance with its record retention policy. The Clerk shall ensure that the record of the case can be retrieved and unsealed, if ordered.

CRITICAL

Sealing restricts access without removing the case from the docket; access is limited to specified court personnel, though a party may move for access and the Court may provide access for official government business.

6. Sealing the record restricts access to the case record; it does not remove the record from the Court’s electronic or paper docket. Access to the sealed record shall be limited to the Clerk of Court, the Clerk’s designee, the Judge, and the Judge’s designee. A party to the original action may file a motion requesting access to the record or case file. The Court may provide access to the record as required by law enforcement officials, or others conducting official government business.

CRITICAL

Filing parties must omit or, when necessary, partially redact the listed identifiers and information from filings, unless the assigned judge orders otherwise; only the last four digits of a Social Security number may remain, and specified juvenile-name exceptions apply.

1. Filing parties shall omit or, where inclusion is necessary, partially redact the following personal data identifiers from all pleadings, documents and exhibits, whether filed electronically or on paper, unless the assigned judge orders otherwise: • Social security numbers except for the last four digits; • Financial account numbers, including but not limited to debit card, charge card, and credit card numbers; • Employer and Employee identification numbers; • A juvenile's name in an abuse, neglect, or dependency case, except for the juvenile's initials or a generic abbreviation such as "CV: for "child victim"; • Proprietary or trade secret information. • Medical records

CRITICAL

The filing party alone is responsible for redacting personal data identifiers.

3. The responsibility for redacting personal data identifiers (i.e., social security numbers and bank/credit card numbers) rests solely with the filing party.

CRITICAL

A party may file an unredacted document under seal only with court permission, must electronically file a motion to seal, and may be required to file a redacted public copy.

2. With permission of the Court, a party may file, under seal, a document containing the non-redacted personal data identifiers listed above. a. The party seeking to file a non-redacted document shall electronically file a motion to file the document under seal. b. In granting the motion or application to seal, the judge may require the party to file a redacted copy for the public record.

CRITICAL

When personal identifiers are omitted, the party must submit or file them on a separate form and provide them to the Court or Clerk upon request, or to a party upon motion; the Clerk may provide a standard form.

B. When personal identifiers are omitted from a case document submitted to a court or filed with a clerk of court pursuant to Rule 1.4(A), the party shall submit or file that information on a separate form. The Clerk may provide a standard form for parties to use. Redacted or omitted personal identifiers shall be provided to the Court or Clerk upon request or a party to the judicial action or proceeding upon motion.

CRITICAL

Parties must omit personal identifiers when submitting or filing a case document.

A. When submitting a case document to court or filing a case document with a clerk of court, a party to a judicial action or proceeding shall omit personal identifiers from the document

CRITICAL

An application to seal an eviction record must be made by motion.

Application to have an eviction record sealed must be made by motion.

WARNING

The Court may seal an eviction record when the interests of justice outweigh the public and government interests, including in the listed circumstances and subject to the stated five-year limits.

The Court may order the Clerk to seal an eviction record when the interests of justice in sealing the record outweigh the interests of the government and the public in maintaining a public record of the case, including, for example, in the following circumstances: a. The court dismissed or entered judgment for the tenant/movant on the claim for possession; or b. The landlord dismissed the claim for possession before adjudication of that claim; or c. The landlord stipulates, in writing to the Court, to sealing the record, except that sealing of a record solely on the basis of the stipulation by the landlord shall be granted only once on any five- year period; or d. The landlord prevailed on the merits on the claim for possession, and all of the following occurred:  Extenuating circumstances led to the eviction;  at least five years have passed since judgment was entered for the landlord;  at least five years have passed since the tenant has had an adverse judgment granting an eviction in any jurisdiction.

INFO

For good cause, the Court may unseal a record on its own motion after giving notice to the parties.

For good cause, the Court may unseal a record on its own motion, after notice to the parties on the case.