Vt. R. Elec. Filing. 1
Vt. R. Elec. Filing. 1
Reporter's Notes-2020
The new case management system, called Odyssey, will be implemented in the superior court by rollout in location-by-location over time. The rule gives the Court Administrator the authority to determine when units and divisions of the superior court will implement electronic filing and in what case types. The Court Administrator must provide at least 30 days' notice of each implementation directive to all licensed lawyers in the state and provide instructions by whatever means deemed appropriate on how to efile.
These rules apply to filings made on or after the date specified in the directive of the Court Administrator, whether in existing cases or in new cases. Cases in the following categories will continue to use the eCabinet electronic filing system and be governed by the 2010 rules until the new CMS is rolled out in these courts: the superior court (a) in the civil division for Rutland and Windsor units commenced on or after January 26, 2011, excluding stalking and sexual assault actions and small claims actions filed before January 25, 2016; (b) the civil division of Rutland, Windsor, Orange, and Addison units with respect to small claims actions commenced on or after January 25, 2016; (c) the civil division of Windsor and Rutland counties with respect to small claims appeals commenced on or after January 25, 2016; and (d) cases in the Environmental Division, commenced on after January 4, 2016.
Subdivision (e) authorizes the Court Administrator to specify the date of the implementation of efiling in the judicial bureau and specify who is required and who is permitted to efile. As with efiling in the superior court, the directive must be issued at least 30 days before implementation will commence. The method of notice of the directive is left up to the Court Administrator. The directive applies both to existing cases and to new cases. These rules will apply to judicial bureau cases to the extent an issue or requirement is not covered in a separate rule specifically created for the judicial bureau or in the Court Administrator's directive.
Subdivision (f) allows the Court Administrator to authorize electronic transmission of certain filings into the electronic casefile by a method other than efiling. This might occur where a filer in many cases, for example a prosecutor, desires to make bulk filings of certain documents for many cases and can transmit these filings in a manner that will be accepted by the judiciary's electronic casefile and appear for access as if they were filed through the efiling system.
Note that the electronic transmission into the judiciary system is still subject to the requirements of these rules. Thus, each document filed by this method must: meet the requirements of Rules 5(b) and 7(a), except the size-limit restriction contained in Rule 7(a)(2); conform to the signature requirements in Rule 9(a)-(c); include payment of any required fee that would have been applicable if the filing had been made through the electronic filing system; and be served pursuant to Rule 11 if applicable.
Reporter's Notes-2021 Amendment
Rule 1(b) is amended to make the efiling rules applicable to the Supreme Court. New subdivision (d) establishes the procedure for instituting electronic filing in the Supreme Court and actions needed to instigate efiling. Efiling commences pursuant to these rules when the Court issues an administrative order. The order must be made with enough time for the Court Administrator to give at least 30 days' notice to the Vermont Bar of the Court order and provide instructions on how to efile. Efiling pursuant to these rules will commence on that date in all cases open in the Court, including those initiated in the Court prior to that date, and all cases commenced in the Court thereafter. This will include cases in which the Supreme Court is acting under Administrative Order 9, related to lawyer discipline, disability, or competency, even though it is reviewing action by a Professional Responsibility Board hearing panel where efiling has not been implemented. As in the trial courts, efiling will be mandatory pursuant to Rule 3(a) unless an exception applies pursuant to Rule 3(b)-(d).