Me. R. Civ. P. 107
No orders before judgment may be entered without notice to the parties or upon motion. The motion shall be accompanied by a draft order granting the relief requested.
In any action under this chapter in which the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant, the court may at any time before judgment, and governed by the same notice provisions, enter any of the foregoing orders that it deems proper that do not involve the payment of, or the allocation of responsibility for the payment of, money.
The moving party must determine and report to the court whether any other party objects to the requested relief and the motion for expedited hearing. The motion shall contain a notice stating the time for a response to the motion. Responses to a motion for expedited hearing shall be filed in writing within 7 days of the notice of the motion.
The court may rule on a motion for expedited hearing without actual notice to other parties if the moving party has made a reasonable and good faith effort to notify the other parties or if delay would defeat the purposes of the motion. No ruling granting substantive relief shall be made without notice and opportunity to be heard.
All expedited hearings shall be limited to no more than three hours.
Me. R. Civ. P. 107
Advisory Notes
Rule 107 is based on Rule 80(d) and 19-A M.R.S. §§105 and 904 relating to preliminary matters. It would also implement the recommendation of the Family Division Task Force to establish a procedure to seek an expedited hearing. It follows 80(d) with appropriate adjustments to fit it into the context of the Family Division Rules. The list of actions the court may take, as stated in 80(d), is separated out into individually numbered subparagraphs and some new categories of actions are added that reflect current practice and provide consistency with Rule 110A(b)(1) which is derived from FAM DIV III.A.1. The rule clarifies an uncertain issue as to whether the court has authority to order the sale of property pending a divorce as well as order the disposition of the proceeds. The new rule adds provision for appointment and payment of a guardian ad litem, as presently found in Rule 80(e).
This rule does not change the current practice before the magistrates that permits an oral motion for an order prior to judgment. The sentence requiring the filing a child support affidavit when child support is an issue is deleted because that language is provided by Rule 108.
Rule 107 deletes the language found in Rule 80(d) that provided for a hearing 7 days after a party had notice of a motion. It was deleted because no substantive standard existed for considering that motion, and the procedure was seldom used. The rule substitutes a requirement for a written response within 7 days of notice of the motion, leaving scheduling of any hearing to the court. The rule also outlines criteria to grant a request for an expedited hearing if the circumstances of the case warrant immediate court intervention.
Advisory Note - July 2016
Changing "prior to" to "before" throughout these rules reflects the Judicial Branch's preference for avoiding "legalese" in its rules and forms. The change from "may" to "shall" in Rule 107(a) is intended to assist the parties and the court in understanding precisely what relief is being requested. The additional language in Rule 107(a)(3) clarifies that the court may refer the parties to parent education classes on its own initiative. The language added in Rule 107(a)(4) clarifies that a court may order genetic testing, e.g., to determine parentage.
The new limitation on the time allowed for interim hearings, provided for in new Rule 107(b), reflects a suggestion contained in the June 2014 Family Division Task Force Report ("FDTF 2014 report"). Rule 107(b) imposes requirements on parties requesting interim or expedited hearings to provide witness lists, hearing time estimates, and proposed orders. It also limits the duration of any interim hearing to three hours and allows a magistrate to hear an interim proceeding without requiring the parties to first mediate their dispute, even in those cases where mediation is required. See Rule 92(b)(2). These changes, which should allow the parties and the court to better manage these proceedings and focus on which issues need immediate resolution, were recommended in the FDTF 2014 report.
Former Rule 107(b) is renumbered as Rule 107(c), and a reference to a court-approved Request for Expedited Hearing form is added. Adding the financial support of a child as a factor to be considered in Rule 107(c)(2) reflects a determination that providing for a child's best interest may require one parent to support another.