Rule 1D - FILING AND FORMATTING OF DOCUMENTS(a)Method of Filing. All papers or electronic or digital content required by these Rules to be filed with the Law Court or with any Justice of the Law Court must be filed with the Clerk of the Law Court.(1)Attorneys Must File Electronically. A document filed with the Clerk of the Law Court by an attorney must be filed electronically as provided by subdivision (c) of this Rule, except where these Rules specifically require paper copies to be filed.(2)Unrepresented Parties May File on Paper or Electronically. A document filed with the Clerk of the Law Court by an unrepresented party may be filed either electronically as provided by subdivision (c) of this Rule or on paper as provided by subdivision (b) of this rule.(b)Filing of Paper Documents and Copies.(1)Where Made. Filing of paper documents shall occur at the office of the Clerk of the Law Court, 205 Newbury Street, Room 139, Portland, Maine 04101-4125, unless another office is designated by order of the Chief Justice.(2) When Effective-Attorney or Non-Incarcerated Party. A paper document filed with the Clerk of the Law Court by an attorney or by a non-incarcerated unrepresented party is deemed to be filed on the date that the Clerk receives it, unless the Clerk's office is not open at the time of receipt, in which case the filing is deemed to be filed on the next date that the Clerk's office is open for all or part of the day.(3) When Effective-Incarcerated Party. A paper document filed with the Clerk of the Law Court by an incarcerated party personally (and not through counsel) is deemed to be filed when it is deposited in the incarcerated party's institution's mail system for delivery to the Clerk and is accompanied by any necessary forms and payment that the institution requires for mailing.(c)Electronic Filing of Documents.(1) How Made. Where these rules permit or require a party to file a document electronically, the filing must be made by transmitting the document as an attachment to an email sent to the Clerk of the Law Court at the email address provided by the Clerk in any notices issued by the Clerk. If the document is too large to send as an attachment to an email, the filer must contact the Clerk of the Law Court for instructions on an alternative method of transmitting the document.(2) Format.(A) Any document filed electronically must be in the form of a Portable Document Format (pdf) file.(B) A document or portion of a document that is created for the appeal must be converted from the original word processing document into a text-based pdf file.(C) Appendices, exhibits to documents, and other documents that the filer does not possess in the form of a word-processing document may be scanned into a pdf file.(D) A filing consisting of both a document created for the appeal and one or more exhibits or other scanned documents must be filed as one combined pdf file.(E) The Clerk of the Law Court may, for good cause shown, relieve a party of one or more of the requirements of this subdivision (2).(3) When Effective. A document filed electronically is deemed to be filed on the day that the Clerk of the Law Court receives the email, as indicated by the Clerk's email system, if the Clerk's office is or was open for any portion of that day, regardless of the time of day that the Clerk receives the email. If the Clerk's office is not open for any part of the day on which the Clerk receives the email, the document is deemed to be filed on the next day that the Clerk's office is open for all or part of the day. (d) Formatting of Documents. Motions, responses, and other documents not required to be produced in a manner prescribed by Rule 7A(g) must be typewritten on pages that are 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size, with the typed matter double spaced in at least 14-point font, except that footnotes may be single spaced and may appear in 11-point font. Each document shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the Court (i.e., the Supreme Judicial Court sitting as the Law Court), the title of the case, the Law Court docket number, and a brief descriptive title of the document. Paper copies of the document must be printed or otherwise duplicated upon opaque, unglazed paper 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size and shall be stapled in the upper-left corner.(e) Indication of Service. Every filed document must contain or be accompanied by an indication that the document was served on each other party as required by Rule 1E. The indication may be in the form of "cc" addressees on an email, a "cc" indication on a cover letter accompanying the document, or a statement in or accompanying the document that states that the other parties were served with the document.Adopted September 25, 2024, effective 11/1/2024.Advisory Committee Note - November 2024
See the November 2024 Advisory Committee Note following Rule 1E for notes on the adoption of Rule 1D.