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TIME STANDARDS
PLYMOUTH COUNTY PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT TIME STANDARDS ADJUSTMENTS
Read below
NEW! 4/3/06 or
Download Time Standard Adjustments here (.pdf)
As a result of the provisions of Probate and
Family Court Standing Order 1-06 revising Standing Order 1-04 relative
to Case Management and Time Standards for cases filed in Probate and
Family Court Department, the Plymouth Probate and Family Court has
implemented certain revisions to its method of scheduling matters filed
in the court.
The items of most interest are
as follows:
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Case Track will continue to be determined at
time of filing. |
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Scheduling by the court will henceforth be
done after the return of service has been filed with the court
(instead of a time of filing). |
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Prior to a Case Management Conference, any
party may schedule a motion and mark same up for a motion session of
the assigned judge. The judge may conduct a Case Management
Conference at the motion hearing and will establish the further
scheduling for the case. |
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Any time after the filing of a case and before
a Case Management Conference, the parties may submit a Joint
Stipulation for Pre-Trial conference and eliminate the need to
appear at a Case Management Conference. The procedure is
outlined in a memorandum entitled Instructions for Joint Stipulation
for Pre-Trial Conference. |
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The court may schedule selected cases directly
for a Pre-Trial Conference instead of a Case Management Conference.
Parties who wish to first proceed to a Case Management Conference
instead of the Pre-Trial Conference may notify in writing the
scheduling clerk for the assigned judge of their agreement to cancel
the scheduled Pre-Trial Conference and to request a Case Management
Conference. The notification must be made within 30 days of
the date of the Notice of Pre-Trial Conference. The Case
Management Conference will be scheduled by the court. At the
Case Management Conference, the judge will then schedule a Pre-Trial
Conference. |
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At the conclusion of every court event until
the case goes to judgment, a permanent decree is issued, or the
matter is dismissed, the next court event shall be scheduled.
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In divorce cases, a certificate reflecting
attendance at a Parent Education Program must be filed in order for
a Pre-Trial Conference to be completed by the Judge.
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In divorce and paternity cases, a current
Financial Statement for each party must be filed at the time of the
Pre-Trial Conference. |
PLYMOUTH COUNTY PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT INSTRUCTIONS FOR JOINT
STIPULATION FOR PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE
Read
below NEW! 4/3/06 or Download
Time Standard Instructions for Joint Stipulation for Pre-Trial
Conference here (.pdf)
In order to facilitate
scheduling cases and accommodating the needs of parties, attorneys and
pro se parties may submit a Joint Stipulation in order to request a
pre-trial conference date and/or cancel a scheduled Case Management
Conference.
Counsel and pro-se parties may
be at any time after a complaint is filed, file a Joint Stipulation
signed by counsel for each represented party and by each pro se party,
which, at a minimum, must request the scheduling of a pre-trial
conference date and agree to a specific date to be the discovery
deadline for the case. Suggesting agreeable dates or ranges of
agreeable dates for the pre-trial conference will assist the court in
scheduling the conference. The discovery deadline shall be not
more than 180 days after the date of filing the complaint.
Counsel and pro se parties may,
after receiving notice that a Case Management Conference has been
scheduled, file, on or before the date of the Case Management
Conference, a Joint Stipulation signed by counsel for each represented
party and by each pro se party which, at a minimum, must request the
scheduling of a Pre-Trial Conference date and agree to a specific date
to be the discovery deadline for the case. Suggesting agreeable dates or
ranges of agreeable dates for the Pre-Trial Conference will assist the
court in scheduling the conference. The discovery deadline date shall be
not more than 120 days after the date of filing of the Joint
Stipulation. If the Joint Stipulation is filed prior to the time
scheduled for the Case Management Conference, no one need appear for the
Case Management Conference.
Upon the filing of such a Joint
Stipulation, the court will schedule a pre-trial conference for the next
available date not sooner than 14 days after the discovery deadline and
will issue a Pre-Trial Conference Notice and Order.
In divorce cases, a certificate
reflecting attendance at a Parent Education Program must be filed in
order for a Pre-Trial Conference to be completed by the Judge.
In divorce and paternity
cases, a current Financial Statement for each party must be filed at the
time of the Pre-Trial Conference.
A BRIEF SUMMARY
Pursuant to the Monan
Committee Report and a directive from Chief Justice for Administration and
Management Robert A. Mulligan, Chief Justice Sean M. Dunphy of the Probate
and Family Court Department has issued Time Standards under Standing
Order 1-04 in order to insure that all cases receive timely attention and
action from the Court.
Accordingly, at time of filing on
or after March 14, 2005, all cases shall be assigned to a case flow track
according to the type of case. Most cases shall be assigned to one
of the following tracks: 3-6 months to trial, 8 months to trial, or
14 months to trial.
After a case is filed, checked,
indexed, payment processed and initial pleadings docketed:
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A case track will be determined
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A Case Management Conference (CMC) will be
scheduled
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A summons/citation will be issued and sent to plaintiff/petitioner
with notice of Track Assignment and Notice of Case Management
Conference
Upon return of service,
appearance or answer, the Notice of Track Assignment and Notice of Case
Management Conference will be sent to the defendant/respondent by the
Court.
Prior to the Case Management
Conference, any party may schedule a motion and mark same up for a motion
session of the assigned judge. The judge may conduct the Case
Management Conference at the motion hearing and schedule a Pre-Trial
Conference. The judge may, in that instance, cancel the Case
Management Conference, but is not required to do so.
At the Case Management
Conference, the judge will discuss the status of the case with the parties
as outlined in the Notice of Case Management Conference. In most
instances, the judge will then schedule the Pre-Trial Conference.
The parties or their attorneys will soon thereafter receive the Notice of
Pre-Trial Conference from the court.
If a counsel appears after
a Notice of Case Management Conference or Notice of Pre-Trial Conference
has been sent, the court will not send to counsel a copy of such
notice. The Probate and Family Court Department has indicated that
it is the appearing counsel's responsibility to review the case
file.
At the Pre-Trial Conference, the
judge will establish the trial date(s). The parties, or their
attorneys, will soon thereafter receive the Pre-Trial Order and Trial
Notice.
All cases filed before March 14,
2005 will require a Request for Assignment to be filed with the Court
pursuant to the procedure previously in effect unless a judge has already
ordered a Pre-Trial Conference. Motions will continue to be marked
up by the moving party on the assigned judge's motion day.
When a 1A divorce is filed, it
will be checked for completeness. If the filing is incomplete, it
will be returned to the filing party or attorney with an indication of the
missing or incomplete documents. The matter will be scheduled for a
hearing after all necessary documents have been filed with the
court.
Due to the importance of
receiving complete files in all divorce cases, parties and/or attorneys
are discouraged from submitting Motions to Allow Late Filing of the
Marriage Certificate unless truly extraordinary circumstances exist.
Probate matters that are not
routinely allowed, such as general petitions, guardianships or
conservatorships, and that must be presented to a judge, must be scheduled
for the assigned judge's motion day or presented at the Case Management
Conference. This procedure will be applicable to all cases, no
matter when filed.
- March 7, 2005
Robert E. McCarthy, Register |
