1 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
AF 07

- 0110

______________ IN RE THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS ) TO THE MONTANA UNIFORM ) O R D E R DISTRICT COURT RULES )

______________ On June 19, 2003, this Court ordered the Commissio n on Uniform District Co urt Rules to meet and address the quest io n of tri al court del ay
. On June 1, 2005, the Commissio n, acting through its chairperson, Mr. John Grant, submitted proposed changes to the Uniform District Court Rules for the Court’s consideration. On May 22 , 2007, this Court ordered that the Uniform District Court Rules Commissio n meet wi th the Di strict Court Council to discuss the need for, and particulars of, any proposed changes to the Uniform District Court Rules. On July 30, 2007, Mr. Grant advi sed th e Court that the Uniform District Court Rules Commissio n and the District Court Council had met and that the Commissio n had unanimously voted to resubmit the proposed rule changes for the Court’s consideration. On November 13, 2007, the Court published t he proposed rule changes and provided a ninet y- day

comment peri od. As of February

13, 2008, the comment period had expired, and all written comments were on file with the Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court. On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, the matter was s et for public hearing before the Montana Supreme Court. At sai d hearing, the Court reviewed the objections and inquired as to whether any persons in attendance had any further comments or suggestions. There were no further comments. Most all of the fil ed comments stated that, unless the District Courts were given further resources, including addit io nal judges, the courts were not in a posit io n to com ply wi th the suggested time constraints set forth in proposed Rules 3, 11 and 12. It was also noted that those new rules are premature until such time as the District Court performance standards are

com pleted and unt il the 2009 Legislat ive Sessio n has had an opportunit y to address any requests fo r addi ti onal resources for the Di stri ct Courts. March 19 20082

Having revie wed the proposed amendments to the Uniform District Court Rules and the comments submitted thereto, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. The proposed amendments to Rules 1, 2, 4 and 5 are hereby adopted. 2. Adoption of proposed new Rules 3, 11 and 12 is hereby rejected wi

th out prej udice to submissio n at a later date. 3. The Uniform District Court Rules, as amended hereby and attached to this Order, shall beco me effect ive on June 1, 2008. 4. The Court thanks the Commission on Uniform District Court Rules fo r i ts hard work and perseverance in addressing the difficult and content io us subject of delay. DATED thi s 19 th day

of March, 2008.

/S/ KARLA M. GRAY

/S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART /S/ JAMES C. NELSON /S/ PATRICIA COTTER /S/ JOHN WARNER /S/ BRIAN MORRIS /S/ JIM RICE3 UNIFORM DISTRICT COURT RULES
Effect ive June 1, 2008
Rule 1. Form of papers presented for filing. (a) Papers defined. The word “papers” as used in this rule includes all documents and co pies except exhibits and records on appeal fro m lo wer courts. (b) P aginat io n, print ing, etc. All papers shall be: (1) ty pewri tten, printed, or equivalent; (2) cl ear and permanent; (3) equally legible to print ing; (4) of ty pe not smaller than pi ca ; (5) o nly on standard qualit y opaque, unglazed, acid

- free recycled paper, and be a minimum o f 25% cotton fiber content, minimum 50% recycled content, of which 10% shall be post

- co nsumer waste, 81⁄2” X 11” in size. (6) printed one side only; except copies of briefs may

b e printed on both sides. The original b ri ef shall be printed on one side. (7) lines unnumbered or numbered consecutively from the top; (8) spaced one and one

- half or doubl e; (9) page numbered consecut ively at the bottom; and (10) bo und firmly at the top. Matters such a s property

descripti ons or di

rect quotes may be single spaced. Extraneous documents not in the above format and not readily conformable may be filed in their original form and length. (c) Format. The first page of all papers shall conform

to the fo llo wing: (1) Commencing at line 1 at the left margin, single spaced, shall be the name of the attorney or party responsible for the pleadings, together with telephone number and the complete mailing address for service of papers. (2) Lines 1 through 7 of the right one

- half o f th e page shall be left blank for the use of the cl erk. (3) On or below line 8, the tit le of the court. (4) Commencing at line 9 or below on the l ef t, the ti tl e of the case. (5) On the right and opposite the tit le of the case, the case number and ident ificat io n of th e document being file d

. (6) Nonconforming papers may not be filed wi

th out l eave of the court. (d) Changes, conformance of copies. Addit io ns, del et io ns, or interlineat io ns shal l be init ialed by the clerk or judge at the time o f filing. All copies served shall conform to the original as filed.

Rule 2. Motions. (a) Upon filing a motion or within five days thereafter, the moving party shall file a brief. The brief may be acco mpanied by appropriate supporting documents. Within ten days thereafter4

th e adverse party

shall file an answer brief which also may be accom

panied by appropriate supporting documents. Within ten days thereafter, movant may file a reply brief or othe r appropriate responsive documents. (b) Failure to file briefs. Failure to file briefs may subject the motion to summary ruling. Failure to file a brief wit hin five days by the moving party

shall be deemed an admissio n that the mo ti on i s wi

th out meri

t . Failure to file an answer brief by the adverse party

wi thin ten days shall be deemed an admissio n that the motion is well taken. Reply briefs by mo vant are optional, and failure to file will not subject a motion to summary ruling. (c) Oral argument. The court may order oral argument sua sponte or upon application of a party

. (d) When motion deemed submitted. Unless oral argument is ordered or unless the time is enlarged by the court, the motion is deemed submitted at the expirat io n of any of the a pplicable t ime limits set forth above without supporting briefs having been filed. If oral argument is ordered, the motion will be deemed submitted at the close of argument unless the court orders addit io nal br iefs, in which case the motion will be deeme d submi tted as of the date designated as the time for filing the final brief. (e) In the event of conflict, the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure shall control. Time com putati on shall

be governed by

Rule 6, M.R.Civ.P.

Rule 3 . Ex parte matters. (a) Ex tensi on s of

time to further plead, file briefs, continue a hearing on a motion and other permissible ex parte matters, may b e granted by

order of the court upon wri tten applicat io n. (b) Pri or to the issuance of an ex parte order, the attorney seeking such order m

ust file a wri tten certificat io n wi

th the court declaring that opposing counsel has been contacted and given reasonable notice o f: ( 1 ) the time and place of the ex parte conference or meet ing; ( 2 ) the substance of the order sought; ( 3 ) whe th er counsel opposes the motion. (c) All requests for extensio n of time or continuance or other ex parte matters shall be accompanied by an appropriate form or order, with sufficient copies for the clerk to mail to adverse parties. (d) Except as otherwi se provi ded by these rules or statute, no document, including briefs, proposed orders and proposed judg ments, may be presented to the c ourt at any time unless i

t is fi rst filed wi

th the court and served on all opposing counsel.5

Rule 4 . Filing of disc overy. (a) Deposi

ti ons upon oral

or wri tten examinat io ns, interrogatories and answers thereto, requests for production of documents and responses thereto, requests for admissio ns and responses thereto, shall not be routinely filed. When any mot io n is fi led making reference to di scovery , the party

f iling the motion shall submit with the motion relevant unfiled documents. (b) The pre

- tri al

order shall

i dent ify all those porti ons of depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissio ns, and answers and re sponses thereto that the parties intend to introduce int o evi dence.
Commission Comment: Although not specifically prohibited by this rule, in line with not filing discovery it is also is not necessary to file a n otice of taking of d eposition, n otice o

f serving discovery, n otice of serving r esponses to discovery, or any other discovery

- related notice.

Rule 5 . Pre
- trial order and pre
- trial conference. (a) Pre

- tri al. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a pre

- tri al conference shall be held in al l contested civil cases. (b) Not l ater than five days prior to the pre

- tri al conference, plaint iff’s counsel shall convene a conference of all counsel for the purpose of preparing a pre

- tri al order. The proposed pre - tri al order shall

be presented fo r signature at the pre

- tri al conference. In the event of a di spute as to the contents of the order, such dispute shall be presented to the judge for resolution at the pre

- tri al conference. (c) Pre

- tri al

order. The pre

- trial order shall be substantially in the fo llo wing form : (TITLE OF COURT AND CAUSE) Pursuant to Rule 16 of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure, a pre

- tri al conference was held in the above

- ent it led cause on the ____ day of _

____ ___, 20 __, at ___ o’clock __

. m.

_______________________ ____________ represented the plaint iff(s). ___________________________________ represented the defendant(s).

_______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________ (other appearances) were also present. AGREED FACTS The fo llo wing facts are admitted, agreed to be true, and require no proof: (Here enumerate all agreed facts, including facts admitted in the pleadings.) PLAINTIFF’S CONTENTIONS Pl aint iff’s contentions are as fo llo ws: 1. 2.6 DEFENDANT’S CONTENTIONS 1. 2. EXHIBITS At tached to the pre

- tri al

order are exhibi

t l ists i dentifying by

n umber and brief descript io n each exhibit and stating any object io ns to the exhibits. Any exhibi t offered at the tri al to which no object io n was made in the pr e - tri al order will be admitted into evidence. WITNESSES The fo llo wing wi

tn esses and no others will (may) be called to testify ex cept on rebuttal: Pl aint iff 1. 2. Defendant 1. 2. ISSUES OF FACT The fo llo wing i ssues of fact, and no others, remain to b e lit igated upon the trial: (Here specify each issue.) 1. 2. ISSUES OF LAW The fo llo wing i ssues of l aw, and no others, remain to be lit igated upon the trial: (Here set forth a concise statement of each.) 1. 2. DISCOVERY The final pre

- tri al order shall refer to all those portio ns of deposit io ns upon oral examinat io n and interrogatories, requests for admissio ns, and answers and responses that the parti es intend to i

nt roduce into evidence. Any objections to the use of the above documents shall be st ated, and if not stated, shall be deemed waived. (Because this rule relates to filing and is designed to consolidate in one place all o f th e f rui ts of di scovery

and because there can be no surpri se element invo lved, the court shall be liberal in permitt ing the amendment of the pre

- tri al order to include any material not originally listed.) ADDITIONAL PRE

- TRIAL DISCOVERY (Here specify

any addi ti on al discovery

contem plated by ei th er party and the time wi

thin which such discovery

will be com

pleted.) STIPUL ATIONS (Here include any st ipulat io ns in addit io n to the agreed facts set forth above.)7 DETERMINATION OF LEGAL QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE OF TRIAL It was agreed that the fo llo wing legal issues should be determined by the court in advance of the tri al. (H ere specify

i ssues and make provisio n fo r filing briefs with respect to such issues.)

ADDITIONAL ISSUES Addit io nal issues to be determined and/or addressed include: order of proof where there is a counterclaim; attorney ’s f

ees testimony

and/or proof; time of filing and service of trial briefs and other issues.

JURY SELECTION AND PROCESS Order and method of select io n, sti pulat io n that j ury

wi ll be selected or drawn, numbering of panel , number of challenges, time to file instructions, length of t ime on vo irdi re. TRIAL It i s estimated that the case will require ____ hours/days for trial. The case will be tried before the court with (without) a jury

. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this pre

- tri al order shall

supersede the pl eadings and govern the course of the trial of this cause, unless modified to prevent manifest injustice. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all pleadings herein shall be amended to conform to this pretri al order. DATED thi s ____ day

of
_________20 ___.

___________________________ Di stri ct Judge Approved as to form and content.

___________________________ At torney f or Pl aint iff

___________________________ At torney f or Defendant

Rule 6 . Briefs. All br iefs presented to the court at any time will be filed with the court and must fo rthwi th b e served on all opposing counsel.

Rule 7
. Jury instructions and verdict forms. (a) Submissio n. All proposed jury instructi ons and verdi ct f orms must be delivered to the court in duplicate and a copy served upon all opposing parties at the time fixed in the pre

- tri al order. Thereafter, addit io nal instructions may be allowed to prevent manifest injust ice. (b) Ci ta ti on of authori ties. Each proposed instructio n shall contain at the bottom the source thereof and a citation of authori ties, if any, supporting the statement of law therein. (c) Form. Each instruction shall be on 81⁄2” X 11” paper and shall, after the citation of authori ties, indicate the party

on whose behalf it is requested and be numbered consecut ively. One copy of the instructi ons filed wi

th the court shall not be firmly bound together.8

(d) Request for special findings by jury. Whenever a party desi res special findings by a jury h e shall file wit h the court and serve a copy upon all opposing parties, in wri

ting, the issues or questi ons of fact upon which such findings are requested, in proper form for submissio n to the jury

.

Rule 8. Findings and conclusions. In all matters where the court must enter findings of fact and conclusio ns of law pursuant to Rul e 52, M.R.Civ.P., all parties shall file with the court and serve upon opposing counsel, at least five days prior to the scheduled trial or hearing, proposed findings of fact and conclusio ns of l aw. Failure to file proposed findings of fact and conc lusio ns of l aw in a t imely manner shall be cause for appropriate sanct io n, including removal of the case fro m th e tri al calendar, dismissal or granting of a judgment, precluding the offending party f rom presentati on of

evi dence or obj ect ing to evidence sub mitted by the other party , or such other action as the court deems appropriate. Post

- trial amended and supplemental findings of fact and conclusio ns of l aw may be submitted in appropriate circumstances and only upon order of the court.

Rule 9 . Juro r questionnaire. All jurors are requested to complete a questionnaire, the form of which is on file wit h the cl erk in his general order file and which contains basic vital statist ic s and other pertinent informat io n. The completed questionnaires will be available for examinat io n or copying by counsel in the clerk’s office in advance of trial and should be used so as to expedite the examinat io n of jurors. The attorneys shall not unduly rei terate the informat io n contained in the questionnaires during their vo irdi re examinat io n.

Rule 10. Death or removal of attorney. (a) Whenever an attorney represent ing a party

to an act io n, or in another civil proceeding of any kind, i s removed, wi thdraws or ceases to act as such, said attorney m ust inform

the cour t and all other parties of the full name and address of his client and any other informat io n which th e court may

find appropri ate to assi st in contacting said party

. (b) When the attorney

represent ing a party

to an acti on or proceedi

ng dies, is removed, wi thdraws, or ceases to act as such, that party , before any f urther proceedings are had against him must be given notice by any adverse party : (1) That such party

m ust appoint another attorney or appear in person, and (2) The date of the trial or of th e next hearing or action required in the case, and (3) That if he fails to appoint an attorney or appear in person by

a date certain, which may not be l ess than twenty

days from

the date of the noti ce, the acti on or other proceeding wi ll proceed and may resul

t in a j udgment or other order being entered against him, by de f aul t or otherwi se. (c) Such notice may be by personal service or by certified mail to said party’s last known address. (d) If said party

does not appoi

nt another attorney

or appear in person wi

thin twent y days of the service or mailing of said notice, the action may proceed to judgment. However, copies of9

all papers and documents required to be served by these rules and the Rules of Civil Procedure shall be mailed to said party at his la st known address. (e) In addit io n to the foregoing requirements of Rule 10 and before any change of subst it ut io n of atto rn ey

i s effect ive, whether such change or subst it ut io n is occasio ned by the death of the attorney

or by his remov al, wi

thdrawal , cea sing to act, suspensio n or di sbarment, the requi rements of sect io ns 37

- 61

- 403, 37

- 61

- 404 and 37

- 61

- 405, MCA, shall have been fully satisfied.

Rule 11 . Judgments and decrees. Whenever a judgment or decree is signed by the presiding judge, it shall be delivered to th e cl erk and immediately filed in the records of the court, and the fee required by law shall be fo rthwi th paid to the clerk. Failure of counsel to observe this rule shall be deemed a contempt of court.

Rule 12 . Exhibits. (a) Every exhibi t placed on file or offered in evidence shall be held in the custody of the cl erk. Unless there be good reason why the original

of an exhibit should be retained, upon applicat io n, the court may order a copy

f iled in it s pl ace. Public records offer ed in evidence may be wit hdrawn at the conclusio n of the hearing on order of the court. (b) Exhibits may be withdrawn by the party offering them

thi rty days after a j udgment has become final. Forty

- five days after a judgment has beco me final, the clerk ma y apply to the court for an order to dispose of exhibits and shall notify counsel o f record of said applicat io n. Twent y days after mailing of said notice, the court may enter its order authorizing the clerk to di spose of exhibits.

Rule 13 . Regulat ion of attorneys not admitted to practice in Montana. An attorney

seeking to be admitted to practice before th e court on a particular case who is not admitted to the Bar of Montana and who is authorized to practice law in the highest courts of another sta

te m ust, at the time of his/her first appearance in a district court in Montana or within ten days thereafter and before any f urther proceedings are had in the matter, join with, of record, an attorney

who is admitted to practice in Montana and who is a re si dent of Montana. In order to help secure the just, speedy , and inexpensive determinat io n of every act io n, such local counsel m ust be furnished wit h all factual, evident iar y, and legal inf orm ati on necessary to act on behalf of the party and m ust also be vested wi

th f ull and com

plete authori

ty to act on behalf o f and bind the party in all matters connected with the lit igat io n. A fa ilure of local counsel to take any act io n required by the Rules of Civil Procedure or th ese rul es by

l ack of authori ty shall , f or the purpose of imposing sanctions, be treated as a refusal to act.10

Rule 14 . Chief district judge. (a) In a m ul ti judge distri ct court of Montana, a chief district judge shall be selected at the beginning of each calendar year, and the posit io n shall rotate among the j udges o f th e di strict annually, unless the judges of the district agree otherwise. The rotation shall co mmence with the mo st senior district judge. (b) The duties o f th e chief district judge shall be to provide for the efficient ma nagement of the di strict court business, in cooperation with the other judges of the district.

Rule 15 . Local rules allowed. Nothing in these rules shall be construed as limit ing the power of the district courts from prom ulgating rules that do no t conflict with these rules.