N.C. R. Prac. Super. & Dist. Ct. 1

As amended through June 18, 2024

Rule 1 - GENERAL RULES AND GOALS FOR DISPOSITION

1.1.Purpose and Citation. The purpose of the 3A Judicial District Family Court Rules is to provide a framework for the fair, just, and timely resolution of legal problems affecting families and children appearing in this District's Family Court. These Rules are intended to supplement the North Carolina General Statues, North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the North Carolina Rules of Evidence, and the General Rules of Practice for Superior and District Courts for application in this District in the resolution of Family Court matters. These Rules, and all amendments hereafter, shall be filed by the Family Court Administrator with the Clerk of Superior Court in Judicial District 3A and with the Administrative Office of the Courts, along with a notation of the Effective Date of each version. These Rules may be cited as 3AFCR.

1.2. Application and Amendments. These Rules shall apply to all Chapter 50, Chapter 50A, and Chapter 52C matters, whether an initial filing, counterclaim, or a motion in the cause. These Rules shall not apply to Chapter 7B Juvenile Proceedings, or Chapter 50B Domestic Violence Actions. These Rules are not intended to be complete in every detail or to cover every situation that may arise. In the event that these Rules fail to address a specific matter, they should be construed to avoid technical, unnecessary, or unreasonable delay, to avoid prejudice to any party, to promote the fair resolution of family law cases, and to promote the ends of justice. The Family Court Office (FCO) and its administrators are authorized to act in consultation with an assigned/presiding Judge or the Chief District Court Judge in applying and interpreting these, Rules. These Rules are subject to amendment or modification as experience or need may dictate.

1.3. Family Court Rules Advisory Committee. A Family Court Rules Advisory Committee shall be established by the Chief District Court Judge. The Committee shall be comprised of at least two attorneys with more than ten (10) years of experience in Family Court or with a North Carolina State Bar specialist certification in Family Law; a Family Court Office Administrator; an Assistant or Deputy Clerk of Court with experience in Family Court matters; and a Family Court District Court Judge. One member of the appointed Committee shall be designated by the Chief District Court Judge as its Chairperson. The Chief District Court Judge may add members to the Committee as he/she deems necessary. The Committee Members shall serve at the discretion of the Chief District Court Judge. The function of the Committee shall be to review the Rules for amendments as may be necessary to serve their purposes in Family Court cases; to serve as a liaison and resource for Family Court, the practicing Bar, and the public as may be necessary to promote the just resolution of family law cases; to assist the Family Court in the development of standard forms for use in Family Court cases; to communicate and inform Family Court of legal and practice issues affecting the Family Court and these Rules; and to make recommendations to Family Court to better serve families and cases in the Family Court system of this District. The Family Court Advisory Committee shall meet at such times as may be set out or established by its Chairperson or the Chief District Court Judge.

1.4. Compliance and Sanctions. Parties and attorneys shall comply with these Rules. Although a party is not required to have an attorney, any party who is not represented by an attorney shall nevertheless be required to comply with these Rules and shall keep the FCO informed of his/her current mailing address, phone number, and email address for the receipt of electronic communications. FCO shall inform unrepresented parties of the obligation to comply with these Rules and shall provide information to unrepresented parties as to how they may obtain a copy of the Rules. Failure to comply with any section of these Rules and/or the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure and General Statutes may subject the parties and/or their counsel to sanctions as allowed by law and as deemed appropriate in the discretion of the Court, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Delay or continuance of the matter pending compliance;

(2) Monetary sanctions;

(3) Exclusion of evidence;

(4) Dismissal of a claim or claims. Dismissal of any claim shall be considered and imposed as a sanction only after the Court has considered and rejected available lesser sanctions as appropriate under the applicable facts and circumstances. A case or issue in the case which has been noticed properly for a conference or hearing shall be subject to dismissal for failure to appear and prosecute the matter if, at the time the matter is called for conference or hearing, the attorneys and/or parties necessary for the hearing of the matter are not present and ready to proceed, unless they have notified the Court of an emergency or good cause explanation which would excuse their presence.

1.5.Court Sessions. The Chief District Court Judge shall designate Family Court Sessions and assign Judges for such sessions. Emergency matters may be heard by the Judge assigned to a case in any courtroom regardless of the session to which the Judge is assigned for the week. If, due to illness, vacation, or other cause, the Judge assigned to a case is not available to hear ex parte or other emergency matters, another District Court Judge may hear those matters. See also Rule 2.4 below regarding motions for entry of ex parte orders.

1.6.Availability of Rules and Forms. The FCO will maintain copies of these Rules, and any associated available Family Court forms (See attached Appendix of Forms), which may be furnished to attorneys, parties, and the public upon request. FCO shall inform pro se parties of the existence of these Rules and Forms, of the obligation to comply with these Rules and Forms, and how a copy of them may be obtained. Counsel dealing with unrepresented parties are encouraged and expected to assure that such parties are made aware of the existence of these Rules and Forms. Except as otherwise specifically required by these Rules, where forms are required by the Rules, attorneys or pro se parties may use either the forms provided by FCO and attached to these Rules or a substantially similar form of their choosing which sets forth the necessary information. Use of the Pitt County Family Court approved forms set forth in the Appendix to these Rules is encouraged.

1.7.Goals for Disposition. The North Carolina Family Court Advisory Committee has established a case management plan to aid in the just, fair, and timely resolution of family law cases filed in this district. This plan meets the suggested guidelines promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts for the Family Courts in North Carolina. Unless otherwise specified, days are calendar days. In the event there is an excusable or unavoidable delay in accomplishing the lawful service of process of legal documents, or for good cause shown, any time frame provided by these Rules (including the outer time frame) may be extended in a written Order entered by an assigned District Court Judge or the Chief District Court Judge. The Judge, in his/her discretion, may extend the outer time limit of the time frames described in these Rules for good cause shown or in accord with an agreement/consent between the parties and/or counsel of record. Only the Court may extend the outer or maximum time limits provided by these Rules. So long as the outer time limits for the entry of permanent Orders or Judgments as established below are not exceeded, without the necessity of a Court Order the parties and/or counsel of record may establish the appropriate time frames for an event or activity by written agreement signed by all parties or their counsel of record and filed in the case record. Established and scheduled hearing and trial dates may only be continued or extended by the Order of the Court. The time frames as listed in these Rules represent the goals for the completion of Family Court matters and events. Unless extended as provided above, parties and counsel of record shall adhere to the schedule and time limits as indicated.

MATTER/EVENT	TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETION
Hearing to be held for Temporary CSUP	Within 75 days of service of Claim
Entry of Temporary CSUP Order	Within 90 days of service of Claim
Hearing to be held for Permanent CSUP	Within 335 days of service of Claim
Entry of Permanent CSUP Order	Within 365 days of service of Claim
Hearing to be held for Temporary CUST	Within 75 days of service of Claim
Entry of Temporary CUST Order	Within 90 days of service of Claim
Scheduling of CUST Mediation Orientation	Within 10 days of service of Claim
Completion of CUST Mediation	Within 60 days of service of Claim
Hearing to be held for Permanent CUST	Within 335 days of service of Claim
Entry of Permanent CUST Order	Within 365 days of service of Claim
Hearing to be held for PSSU	Within 120 days of service of Claim
Entry of PSSU Order	Within 150 days of service of Claim
Appoint Mediator for ALIM	Within 45 days of service of Claim
Scheduling & Discovery PT Conf for ALIM	Within 120 days of service of Claim
Complete Mediation ALIM	Within 210 days of service of Claim
Final PT Conf ALIM	Within 240 days of service of Claim
Trial of ALIM Claim	Within 270 days of service of Claim
Entry of ALIM Order	Within 365 days of service of Claim
Appoint Mediator for EQUD	Within 45 days of service of Claim
Initial Pretrial for EQUD	Within 120 days of service of Claim
Complete Mediation for EQUD	Within 210 days of service of initial EQUD Claim
Final PT Conf EQUD	Within 240 days of service of initial EQUD Claim
Trial of EQUD	Within 270 days of service of initial EQUD Claim
Entry of EQUD Judgment/Order	Within 365 days of service of initial EQUD claim, or within 30 days following completion of trial if later

1.8.Scheduling/Discovery Conferences/Orders. To assist in meeting the goals and time frames set forth in Rule 1.7 above, within sixty (60) days following the filing of any claim or motion identified in Rule 1.7, counsel for the parties and/or any unrepresented party shall confer for the purpose of establishing a discovery and scheduling plan which complies with Rule 26(f) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, N.C. General Statute § 50-21, and the time limits of Rule 1.7. The party who filed the initial claim or motion shall initiate the communication with the other counsel or unrepresented party for this purpose. In the event that the parties are able to reach an agreement on a case discovery and scheduling plan, they shall complete the Scheduling and Discovery Order, FORM #8 (See attached Appendix of Forms), which shall be signed by all counsel of record or unrepresented parties and submitted to the FCO within five days from the date of the planning discussion and agreement. The FCO shall promptly submit the plan contained in Form #8 to the assigned Judge for consideration and entry as a case scheduling Order.

Additional specifics regarding the initial scheduling and discovery conference with respect to alimony and equitable distribution are set forth in Rules 8 and 9 below.

Any case appropriately designated as a complex equitable distribution matter shall be identified as such at this scheduling and discovery conference and shown in Form #8. Requests to designate a family law case as a complex case shall be made in accordance with Rules 2.1 and 2.2 of the General Rules of Practice. When all parties are in agreement, a request for 2.1 designation may be presented to the Assigned Judge as a consent motion/consent order. When all parties are not in agreement, the request shall be made in the form of a motion and scheduled for hearing at the time of this required scheduling and discovery conference. In both instances, the motion should include information on the factors set out in Rule 2.1(d) of the General Rules of Practice.

In the event the parties are unable to agree on a discovery and scheduling plan or the assigned Judge does not approve the plan, then the FCO shall schedule a conference with counsel and unrepresented parties and the assigned Judge to address all scheduling and discovery matters and for the entry of an appropriate Order.

In the event the initial discovery and scheduling plan does not address those matters set forth in N.C. General Statute § 50-21(d), then the FCO shall schedule a meeting to comply with the statute. Nothing in this Rule shall be construed as superseding the requirements of any statute, and conflicting statutory provisions shall control.

The FCO administrators shall be responsible for monitoring, managing, and maintaining compliance with the time limits required by these Rules and any applicable statutes for the resolution of Family Court cases and matters. The FCO administrators shall notify the Court and the concerned parties or counsel of record of any noncompliance, and they are authorized to schedule a hearing with a District Court Judge in order to resolve or otherwise address the noncompliance.

N.C. R. Prac. Sup. & Dist. Ct. Civ. P. 1

Adopted January 4, 2023, effective 2/1/2023.