Category: URCP036

Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment period closes October 1, 2020

Consolidation and Venue Transfer Amendments

URCP042. Consolidation; separate trials; venue transfer. AMEND.

The amendments to Rule 42 involve two issues: consolidation and venue transfer. The amendments clarify the powers of the district court to 1) consolidate two or more cases from any district in the state, 2) transfer a case from any court to any other court in the state, or 3) take either action as to just a portion of two or more cases. The amendments further mandate that cases filed in an improper venue be transferred to a proper venue when such is available. The venue amendments address the Supreme Court’s invitation in Footnote 4 of Davis County v. Purdue Pharma, L.P, 2020 UT 17.

 

Domestic Injunction Amendments

URCP005. Service and filing of pleadings and other papers. AMEND.

URCP109. Injunction in certain domestic relations cases. AMEND.  

The proposed amendments to Rules 5 and 109 address conflicting provisions between the two rules. The amendments to Rule 5 add an exception to allow specific rules to state who serves the petition. The amendments to Rule 109 require the petitioner, rather than the court, to provide a copy of the injunction to the respondent.

 

Notice Amendments

As a whole, the proposed amendments to Rules 4, 7, 8, 36, and 101 would require more notice to parties of their rights and obligations. An example of a document containing the Judicial Council-approved bilingual notice of rights may be found here.

URCP004. Process. AMEND.  

The proposed notice amendments to Rule 4(c)(1) would require that the Judicial Council-approved bilingual notice of rights be included with the summons.

URCP007. Pleadings allowed; motions, memoranda, hearings, orders. AMEND.

The proposed notice amendments to Rule 7(c) would require caution language on the first page of all dispositive motions. It also requires the inclusion of the Judicial Council-approved bilingual notice of rights and provides consequences for failing to include them.

URCP008. General rules of pleadings. AMEND. 

The proposed notice amendments to Rule 8(a) would require caution language on the first page of all pleadings requesting relief and provides consequences for failing to do so.

URCP036. Request for admission. AMEND.

The proposed notice amendments to Rule 36(b) would require caution language on the first page of all requests for admission and provides consequences for failing to do so.

URCP101.Motion practice before court commissioners. AMEND.

The proposed notice amendments to Rule 101(a) would require caution language on the first page of all motions to court commissioners. It would also require the inclusion of the Judicial Council-approved bilingual notice of rights and provides consequences for failing to include them.

 

Service of Process Amendments

URCP004. Process. AMEND.  

The proposed service of process amendments to Rule 4 address service on minors in paragraph (d)(1)(B) and outline the requirements for electronic acceptance of service in paragraph (d)(3)(B).

 

Supplemental Proceedings Amendments

URCP64.Writs in general. AMEND.  

The proposed amendments to Rule 64 would require that 1) enforcement proceedings be initiated by motion under new Rule 7A, and 2) that the party against whom enforcement proceedings are initiated be served with the notice of hearing under Rule 4. Under the proposed amendments, If the party did not appear at the enforcement proceedings hearing, only then could a bench warrant issue. The term “referee” in paragraph (c) has also been replaced with “clerk of court.”

URCP007A. Motion to enforce order and for sanctions. NEW. 

URCP007B. Motion to enforce order and for sanctions in domestic law matters. NEW. 

URCP007. Pleadings allowed; motions, memoranda, hearings, orders. AMEND.  

New Rule 7A, which circulated once already for comment, has been split into two rules, 7A and 7B, in response to comments made during the comment period last year. Rules 7A and 7B would create a new, uniform process for enforcing court orders through regular motion practice. They would replace the current order to show cause process found in Rule 7(q) and in local court rules. During the comment period, several practitioners noted that the order to show cause process in the domestic arena differed from the process in other civil cases and should be separated out. Rule 7B would now address the domestic law order to show cause process. As previously noted, this would result in the repeal of Rule 7(q) because the provisions addressing the court’s inherent power to initiate order to show cause proceedings would now be found in Rules 7A(h) and 7B(h).

 

Vexatious Litigant Amendments

URCP083. Vexatious litigants. AMEND. 

The proposed amendments would bring represented parties into the rule’s purview. They would also permit any court to rely on another court’s vexatious litigant findings and order their own restrictions.

 

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Rules of Civil Procedure

NOTICE FROM UTAH SUPREME COURT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Civil Rules Committee has been working on extensive amendments to the rules, and particularly the discovery rules, in an effort to reduce the cost and delay of civil litigation. The draft rules were informally published in June 2010, and members of the committee met with lawyers and judges throughout the state to explain the rules and seek comments and suggestions. The informal comment period ended in December 2010.
Since then, the committee has reviewed and discussed all comments, and the draft rules were revised in response to some of them. The most significant changes were to specify “tiers” of standard discovery based on the amount at issue in the litigation and to provide parties with the choice of receiving a report from an opposing expert, or taking a 4-hour deposition of the opposing expert.
The draft rules are now being officially published, and comments will be accepted during the 45-day comment period. The committee will consider all comments received, make further changes to the rules if warranted, and then send its recommendations to the Supreme Court.
The comment deadline is June 21.
URCP 001. General provisions. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 008. General rules of pleadings. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 009. Pleading special matters. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 016. Pretrial conferences. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 026. General provisions governing disclosure and discovery. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 026A. Disclosure in domestic relations actions. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 029. Stipulations regarding disclosure and discovery procedure. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 030. Depositions. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 031. Depositions upon written questions. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 033. Interrogatories to parties. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 034. Production of documents and things and entry upon land for inspection and other purposes. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 035. Physical and mental examination of persons. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 036. Request for admission. w/o redline w/redline
URCP 037. Failure to make or cooperate in disclosure or discovery; sanctions. w/o redline w/redline

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