Me. R. App. P. 1C

As amended through November 25, 2024

Rule 1C - SIGNATURES

(a)Form of signature. Where a signature is required on any document filed with the Clerk of the Law Court, a person may sign the document by using one of the following methods:

(1) Physically signing the document;

(2) Embedding in the document an image of the person's physical signature; or

(3) Typing "/s/" followed by the person's name, all on the signature line.

(b) Signature block to follow signature. Every person who signs a document must include a signature block immediately below that person's signature. A signature block must include the following:

(1) The person's printed name;

(2) The person's mailing address;

(3) The person's email address, if any; and

(4) If the person is an attorney,

(A) the attorney's Maine bar number,

(B) the attorney's law office or firm name, if any,

(C) the attorney's telephone number, and

(D) the name of each party on whose behalf the document is filed.

(c) Effect of signature. A person's signature on a document constitutes a representation that the document, together with any associated exhibits or other documents, is filed in good faith and conforms to the page or word limits and the form and formatting requirements of the applicable rule or rules.

(d) Authenticity of signature. The filing of a document constitutes a representation by the person actually filing the document that each signature on the document is authorized by the person whose signature it purports to be. If a party has a good-faith basis to believe that an image or typed signature was not authorized by the person whose signature appears on a document, the party challenging the signature may file a motion with the Court. If the Court determines that there is a substantial possibility that the signature was not authorized by the person whose signature it purports to be, the Court may strike the challenged document, direct that the challenged document be filed and served again with an original handwritten signature, or impose any other requirement it deems necessary.

Me. R. App. P. 1C

Adopted July 13, 2022, effective 7/13/2022.

Advisory Committee Note - July 2022

Rule 1C is adopted to provide a uniform rule on signatures and to expand the types of permissible signatures, primarily to allow for lawyers to "sign" documents electronically and to direct another attorney or an assistant to place a signature on a document. It is modeled on provisions from existing Rule 7A(g)(1) and from Pandemic Management Order PMO-SJC-2(G) (as amended December 14, 2020). It has four subdivisions.

Subdivision (a) permits a signature to be placed on a document by methods other than the traditional handwritten, or "wet ink," signature. A person may sign a document by physically signing the document by hand (as always), by incorporating an image of a handwritten signature, or by typing "/s/" followed by the person's name. Filers should note that a mere "/s/," without a typed name following the signature, is insufficient. For example, a signature might be "/s/ Jane Smith."

Subdivision (b) sets out the requirements for the "signature block" following a signature. The signature block must contain the listed information about the person whose signature appears on the signature line. Each client must be named; an indication that the attorney is the "Attorney for appellants" is not sufficient. If more than one attorney from a single firm signs the document, the common information need not be repeated. For example, the signatures and signature block on a document filed by two attorneys on behalf of three appellants should take this form:

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Andrea Attorney

Andrea Attorney

Maine Bar No. 11111

aattorney@attylawyer.com

/s/ Lawrence Lawyer

Lawrence Lawyer

Maine Bar No. 22222

llawyer@attylawyer.com

Attorney & Lawyer, LLC

100 Main St

Anytown, Maine 04999

207-555-5555

Attorneys for John Doe, Jane Roe, and Charlene Client