Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Flashcards
What do you need to commence an action?
The first step is filing of the complaint. The second is issuance of a summons and delivery to an officer for service.
What has to be in a summons?
- Name the court and parties
- Be directed to the defendant
- State the name and address of the Plaintiff’s attorney, or of the plaintiff (if unrepresented)
- State when the defendant has to appear and defend
- Notify defendant that failure to appear and defend will result in default judgement against defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint,
- Be signed by the clerk and bear the court’s seal
How is service made?
- Service to an attorney- if a party is represented, then service must be made on the attny.
- General service- handing it to the person, leaving it at their office, handing it to someone in their home of reasonable age and competence, mailing to their last known address, leaving it with the clerk if no address, electronic means if the person being served consents in writing.
Who can serve?
Anyone over 18, who is not a party, or a marshal or someone specially apptd. by the court
How does waiving service work?
research
What is required to be filed?
Any paper after the complaint that is required to be served (together with a certificate of service) must be filed within a reasonable time after service. THe following don’t have to be filed until they’re used in the proceeding or the court orders them to be filed:
- Depositions
- Interrogatories
- Requests for documents or tangible things or to permit entry onto land
- Requests for admission
How can you file?
A. By delivering to the clerk
B. By E-filing, done through the quick links on SF
Rules on redacted filings
Unless the court says otherwise: In a filing with the court that contains a SSN, taxpayer ID number, birthdate, name of a minor, or a financial-account number, the party making the filing may only include:
- SSN: Last four digits (xxx-xx-1234)
- DOB: year of birth (xx/xx/59)
- Minor: minor’s initials (Daniel Harris = D.H)
- Account #: last four digits (xxxxx-xxx-x-x-3452)
What is a protective order?
when for good cause, the court may require redaction of additional information or limit/prohibit a nonparty’s remote electronic access to a doc. filed with the court
How is time computed for days and hours w/r/t filing motions?
Days:
- Exclude the day of the event that triggers the period
- count every day, including weekends and legal holidays, and
- Include the last day of the period, but if the last day is a weekend day, or a legal holiday the period continues until it is not a weekend or a legal holiday.
Hours:
- Start counting immediately on the occurrence of the event that triggers the period,
- Count every hour, including those on weekends and legal holidays
- IF the period would end on a weekend or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the same time on the next day that is not in a weekend or a legal holiday
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What pleadings are allowed?
- Complaint, AT: Complaint
- Answer to counterclaim designated as a counterclaim
- AT: Crossclaim
- Third party complaint, AT: Third party complaint
- (If court ordered) a reply to an answer
How are requests for court orders made?
In general, must be made by motion. Motion must:
- Be in writing
- State with particularity the grounds for seeking the order
- State the relief sought
Who has to filed disclosure statements and when?
- Nongovernmental government parties must file 2 copies of a disclosure statement that
- IDs any parent corporation and any publicly held corporation owning 10% or more of its stock; or
- States that there is no such corporation
What must be in a pleading?
form of pleadings
- A caption with the court’s name
- Title that names all parties
- File Number
- Rule 7(a) designation (it can only be a complaint, counterclaim, etc)
