As amended through September 30, 2024
Rule 2.2 - Form of Pleadings and Motions(a) General. All pleadings and documents to be filed shall be in substantially the form annexed to these rules and described in particular in this rule. All documents shall be prepared to display, print, and copy in a clear and legible manner.(b) General requirements.(1) QUALITY AND SIZE OF PAPER, AND STYLE OF TYPE. (i) Documents to be conventionally filed shall be typed or printed in black and shall be neat, clean, and legible. (ii) Conventionally filed documents shall be submitted on unruled, opaque, unglazed, white, standard quality 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, not less than 13 pound weight, with a portrait orientation.(iii) The type shall be standard 12 point pica or equivalent and yield no more than 14 characters to the inch. Footnotes and quotations shall be in the same font and size as the text. Twelve point Times New Roman, Courier New, or Arial fonts are deemed to satisfy the requirements of this rule. No attempt shall be made to reduce or condense the print in a manner that would increase the content of the document.(2) MARGINS. (i) Each page, except the first page, shall have a margin at the top and bottom of 1 inch. The first page shall have a 3 inch margin at the top and a 1 inch margin at the bottom.(ii) The left-hand and right-hand side margin shall be not less than 1 inch.(3) SPACING. Lines shall be double spaced or one and one-half spaced except in headings, quotations, citations, indexes, footnotes, and appendices; provided that descriptions of real property and quotations may be single spaced.(4) TWO-SIDED COPIES. copies of conventionally filed documents, but not originals, may be two-sided.(5) PAGINATION. All pages to a document, except the first page, shall be numbered consecutively at the bottom and shall be firmly bound together at the top.(6) SIGNATURE. Signatures and all other handwritten entries on conventionally filed documents shall be in legible black or blue ink. The name of the signator shall be typed or printed under the signature. The page on which the signature(s) appear(s) shall contain at least 2 lines of text and/or a notation at the bottom of the page with the following information: case number, case name, and title of document.(7) EXHIBITS. Exhibits may be fastened to pages of the specified size. Copies of exhibits shall be as legible as the original.(c)No flyleaf shall be attached. No flyleaf shall be attached to any conventionally filed document, unless required by a specific rule.(d)Form of first page of a document. Except as provided in paragraph (f), the first page of each document shall be in the following form: (1) The space at the top left of the center of the page shall contain the name, attorney number, office address, telephone number, facsimile number (if any), and electronic mail address of the attorney for the party in whose behalf the document is filed, or of the party if appearing pro se;(2) The space at the top right of the center of the page shall be left blank for the use of the clerk of the court. (3) The caption shall conform to the following: (i) The name of the court shall be centered and not less than 3 inches from the top of the page;(ii) The space to the left of the center of the page shall contain the case name; (iii) In the space to the right of the case name, there shall be listed: the case number, the title of any document(s) attached, and the hearing date, time, and name of the presiding judge.(iv) In the center of the page below the caption, there shall be a title stating the character of the document.(v) Notice that certification or acknowledgment of service is attached may be entered at the bottom margin.(e)Contents of first paragraph. When the purpose of a motion is to request the court to issue an order, the first paragraph of the motion shall contain a concise statement of the relief sought. When applicable, the first paragraph shall include a reference to any prior order, judgment or decision implicated by the relief sought.(f)Two or more documents filed together. Except as otherwise provided in the Hawai'i Electronic Filing and Service Rules, when 2 or more documents are filed together (such as a motion and its supporting documents), the documents following the first document need not begin on a new page and need not comply with the first page requirements of paragraph (d), except that the title of the ensuing document(s) must be centered on the page before the first paragraph of that document. (g)Signing of pleadings and other documents. Every pleading and other document shall be signed by the party or the party's counsel. Where 2 or more [papers or ]documents are filed together, the party or party's counsel need only provide one signature at the close of the documents filed together, with the exception that where affidavits or declarations of counsel are filed together with pleadings or other documents, the affidavits or declarations must be separately executed. Documents filed through JEFS shall be signed as provided by Rule 5 of the Hawai'i Electronic Filing and Service Rules.(h)Forms furnished by the court. The court shall furnish forms approved by the supreme court, and those forms shall be used in all appropriate instances, unless otherwise permitted by the court. Approved forms may be reproduced through photocopiers, computers, or other means. A reproduced form shall be similar in design and content to the approved form. Any person filing a form that is not identical in content to an approved form shall advise the court of the differences by attaching a short explanatory addendum to the document. The court may impose sanctions upon the filing person for failure to comply with this rule. The approved forms or any reproduction thereof permitted by this rule shall not be subject to the format requirements of this rule.Added February 4, 2000, effective 7/1/2000; amended May 7, 2012, effective 6/18/2012.