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Rule 77 – Superior Courts and Clerks

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Vermont

(a) Superior Courts Always Open. The superior 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.
(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 judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court officials and at any place either within or without the county 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 during business hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays and shall be open for electronic filing at all times provided in either the 2010 or 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, if applicable. 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, and for other proceedings which do not require allowance or order of the court, if accepted for filing pursuant to the 2010 or 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, are grantable of course by the clerk; but the clerk’s action may be suspended or altered or rescinded by the court upon cause shown.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 by the Clerk.

(1)Orders or Judgments. Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment the clerk shall give notice of the entry to every party who is not in default for failure to appear, and shall make a note in the docket of the notice. Any party may in addition serve a notice of such entry in the manner provided in Rule 5 for the service of documents. 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 Rule 4 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
(2)Method of Giving Notice. The clerk shall give notice under paragraph (1), and shall give any other notice that these rules require the clerk to give, by a method that the Supreme Court has provided by administrative order or directive. That notice shall be sufficient for all purposes for which notice by the clerk is required under these rules.
(e) Confidentiality of Records. The clerk shall not disclose any materials or information required by law to be kept confidential.

V.R.C.P. 77

Amended Jan. 11, 1972, eff. May 1, 1972; Oct. 21, 1983, eff. Jan. 1, 1984; Feb. 22, 1996, eff. July 1, 1996; Oct. 25, 2000, eff. Jan. 1, 2001; Dec. 17, 2008, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Aug. 17, 2010, eff. Oct. 1, 2010; Aug. 30, 2011, eff. Oct. 31, 2011; May 30, 2012, eff. July 30, 2012; Apr 20, 2017, eff. Apr 24, 2017; amended Dec. 10, 2019, eff. March 2, 2020.

Reporter’s Notes-2020 Amendment

Rule 77(c) is amended to clarify that its cross references are to the 2010 or 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic filing, if either is applicable.

Notes-2017 Emergency Amendment

Rule 77(e) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure was promulgated in 1984 to align the Rules of Civil Procedure with the existing confidentiality provision set forth in 4 V.S.A. § 652(4), enacted in 1972. With the legislative repeal of 4 V.S.A. § 652(4) in 2013, the residual confidentiality provision of Rule 77(e), which precluded disclosure of records pertaining to the filing of an action until the action was disposed or at least one defendant was served, is superfluous, and is therefore removed.

Reporter’s Notes-2009 Emergency Amendment

V.R.C.P. 77(d) is amended to provide that notice of entry of an order or judgment, and any other notice that the rules require the clerk to give, is to be given by a method that the Supreme Court will provide by administrative order or directive. In language taken from V.R.Cr.P. 56(d), paragraph (2) provides that notice pursuant to that order or directive will be sufficient under the rules. The amended rule will apply to Family and Environmental Court proceedings by virtue of its incorporation in the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings and the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings. Similar amendments are being made simultaneously to V.R.Cr.P. 56(d), V.R.P.P. 77(d), and V.R.A.P. 45(c). These are emergency amendments to allow the Supreme Court to take appropriate steps to reduce the costs of service in the face of economic exigencies.