More Categories

Rule 77 – Superior and District Courts and Clerks

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Maine

(a) Courts Always Open. The Superior and District Courts shall be deemed always open for the purpose of filing any pleading or other proper paper, of issuing and returning mesne and final process, and of making and directing all interlocutory motions, orders, and rules. Filings after normal business hours and at places other than appropriate for the venue of the proceeding are governed by Rule 5(g).
(b) Trials and Hearings; Orders in Chambers. All trials upon the merits shall be conducted in open court and so far as convenient in a regular courtroom. All other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted by a justice or judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court officials and at any place either within or without the county or division where the action is pending.
(c) Clerk’s Office and Orders by Clerk. The clerk’s office with the clerk or a deputy in attendance shall be open on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, and except such other days as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or Chief Judge may designate. The hours of operation shall be designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court by way of administrative order. All motions and applications in the clerk’s office for issuing mesne process, for issuing final process to enforce and execute judgments, for entering defaults or judgments by default, and for other proceedings that do not require allowance or order of the court are grantable of course by the clerk; but the clerk’s action may be suspended or altered or rescinded by the court upon cause shown.
(d) Notice of Orders or Judgments. Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment the clerk shall serve a notice of the entry in a manner provided for in Rule 5 upon every party who is not in default for failure to appear, and shall make a note in the docket accordingly. In lieu of serving a notice of the docket entry, the clerk may serve a copy of the order or judgment in a manner provided for in Rule 5. Any such service is sufficient notice for all purposes for which notice of the entry of an order is required by these rules; but any party may in addition serve a notice of such entry in the manner provided in Rule 5 for the service of papers. Lack of notice of the entry by the clerk does not affect the time to appeal or relieve or authorize the court to relieve a party for failure to appeal within the time allowed, except as permitted in the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure.
(e) Facsimile Signature of the Clerk. A facsimile of the signature of the clerk imprinted at the clerk’s direction upon any summons, writ, subpoena, judgment, order or notice, except executions and criminal process, shall have the same validity as the clerk’s signature.

Me. R. Civ. P. 77

Amended April 27, 2015, effective May 1, 2015; effectiveMay 30, 2017.

Advisory Note – May 2017 Rule 77(c) is changed to address an inconsistency with Maine Rule of Unified Criminal Procedure 54(b) regarding the hours of operation of the Clerk’s offices. For years, both Rules were identical and provided that the chiefs of the trial courts had authority to designate the hours of operation. 2 This direction may have been necessary to address what were formerly different clerks’ offices for each trial court in many courthouses. However, with practical consolidation of most clerks’ offices as a result of changes resulting from the adoption the Maine Rules of Unified Criminal Procedure, decision-making by both trial court chiefs was no longer necessary. Recently Criminal Rule 54(b) was amended to provide that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court has the authority to designate those hours of operation. The first two sentences of Rule 77(c) now incorporate the language of Criminal Rule 54(b). Advisory Note April 2015 Rule 77(b)(2) is deleted because the content of that provision is superseded by provisions contained in Rule 76H(b). Former subdivision(b)(1) is reformatted as subdivision (b). Advisory Committee’s Notes May 1, 2000 Subdivision (a) is amended to recognize the after hours filing provisions and limitations of the filing Administrative Orders of September 19, 1997. Subdivision (b) is amended by adding a subdivision (2) relating to recording as directed by the transcript production Administrative Orders of September 19, 1997. Advisory Committee’s Notes July 1, 2001 The amendment [to Rule 77(d) ] strikes the reference to Rule 73(a) of the civil appeal rules which is being replaced by the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure. A specific rule citation is not needed in this reference. Annotation: Rule 77(d): Bourke v. City of S. Portland, 2002 ME 155, 3-4. .