Rule 10. Filing and service of papers - generally.

(1) Filing.

(a) Generally. Papers required or permitted to be filed must be placed in the custody of the clerk of the supreme court within the time fixed for filing. Filing may be accomplished by mail addressed to the clerk of the supreme court, but filing shall not be timely unless the papers are actually received within the time fixed for filing.

(b) Facsimile filing. Procedural motions and notices of appeal and cross-appeal, substantially complying with Form 1 or 2 in the Appendix of Forms, may be filed by facsimile between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on business days. A facsimile shall not be timely filed unless it is actually received by the clerk of the supreme court within the time fixed for filing of the document. Any document filed by facsimile shall contain a statement of the date and time of the facsimile filing in the certificate of proof of service prescribed in section (4) of this rule. The facsimile must be filed by the clerk of the supreme court.

(c) A party to an appeal or original proceeding who is represented by counsel may not file pleadings, motions, or documents on the party's own behalf, except that a party may file a motion for substitution or removal of counsel.

(2) Service of all papers required. Copies of all papers, including any transcript, filed by any party and not required by these rules to be served by the clerk of the supreme court shall, at or before the time of filing, be served by the party on all other parties to the appeal or review. Service on a party represented by counsel shall be made on counsel. In criminal cases appealed by the defendant and in appeals relating to involuntary commitment and proceedings regarding abused or neglected children, all briefs, motions, and other papers, not including transcripts, shall be served on both the county attorney and the attorney general. In such cases, transcripts shall be served on the attorney general only, and an electronic copy of filed transcripts will be made available to the county attorney at no cost by the court reporter upon request.

(3) Manner of service. Service may be made personally or by mail. Personal service includes delivery of the copy to a clerk or other responsible person at the office of counsel. Service by mail is complete on mailing.

(4) Proof of service. Papers presented for filing shall contain a certificate of service in the form of a statement of the date and manner of service and of the names and addresses of the persons served, certified by the person who made service. Proof of service may appear on or be affixed to the papers filed. The clerk of the supreme court may permit papers to be filed without a certificate of service but shall require the certificate to be filed within 5 business days.

(5) Number of copies to be filed. A signed original and 7 copies of all motions (other than motions for extension of time), petitions for rehearing, and the answers or responses thereto, shall be filed with the clerk of the supreme court unless otherwise ordered by the court. The original only of motions for extension of time shall be filed. The number of copies of transcripts shall be in accordance with rule 8(4)(b) and the number of copies of briefs shall be in accordance with rule 13(2). At the time of filing an uncontested procedural motion, counsel shall present a proposed order granting the relief requested, together with sufficient copies for service upon all parties, as well as stamped envelopes addressed to the same.

(6) Use of initials for parties in certain proceedings. In any proceeding regarding abused or neglected children under Title 41, Chapter 3, or in any proceeding under Title 40, Chapter 6, part 1 (Uniform Parentage Act); Title 41, Chapter 5 (Youth Court Act); Title 42 (Adoption); Title 52, Chapter 3, part 8 (Montana Elder and Persons With Developmental Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act); Title 53, Chapter 20 (Developmental Disabilities); Chapter 21 (Mentally Ill); or Chapter 24 (Alcoholism and Drug Dependence); or Title 72, Chapter 5, part 3 (Guardians of Incapacitated Persons), only the initials of the child, parent(s), or individual party(ies), as the case may be, may be used in all filings, unless otherwise provided by law.

(7) Redaction of confidential personal information.

(a) Confidential personal information includes complete social security numbers, complete financial account and taxpayer identification numbers, full birth dates of any person, and information that is not to be accessible to the public pursuant to state or federal law.

(b) Confidential personal information shall be redacted from documents filed with the clerk of the supreme court by the party who files the document. The original document without redaction of confidential personal information shall be filed with the clerk and remain under seal absent a request to obtain access granted under the Rules for Privacy and Public Access to Court Records in Montana or further order of the supreme court.

(c) Exemptions from the redaction requirement. The redaction requirement does not apply to the following:

(i) a financial account number that identifies the property allegedly subject to forfeiture in a forfeiture proceeding;

(ii) the record of an administrative or agency proceeding;

(iii) the record of a court or tribunal, if that record was not subject to the redaction requirement when originally filed; and

(iv) a filing made under seal.

(d) Filings made under seal. The court may order that a filing be made under seal without redaction. The court may later unseal the filing or order the person who made the filing to file a redacted version for the public record.

(e) Protective orders. For good cause, the court may by order in a case:

(i) require redaction of additional information;

(ii) limit or prohibit a nonparty's remote electronic access to a document filed with the court; or

(iii) provide other guidance regarding privacy and access consistent with the Rules for Privacy and Public Access to Court Records in Montana.

(f) Option for filing a reference list. A filing that contains redacted information may be filed together with a reference list that identifies each item of redacted information and specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely corresponds to each item listed. The list must be filed under seal and may be amended as of right. Any reference in the case to a listed identifier will be construed to refer to the corresponding item of information.

(g) Appendices. Because copies of documents included in appendices to briefs are not published and are solely for the supreme court's use, confidential personal information appearing in appendices need not be redacted.

(h) Non-conforming documents.

(i) Waiver. A person waives the protection of rule 10(7) as to the person's own information by filing it without redaction and not under seal.

(ii) Sanctions. If a party fails to comply with this rule, the court on motion of another party or its own motion, may order the pleading or other document to be reformed. If the order is not obeyed, the court may order the document stricken.

History: En. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0016, July 3, 2007, eff. October 1, 2007; amd. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0016, May 6, 2009, eff. October 1, 2009; amd. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0016, April 26, 2011, eff. October 1, 2011.