N.D.R.Ct.
RULE 3.1. PLEADINGS
(a) Legibility and Numbering. All pleadings and other documents must be typewritten, printed, or reproduced and easily readable. Each sheet must be separately numbered. Pleadings and other documents filed with the court, except as otherwise permitted by the court, must be prepared on 81/2 x 11 inch white paper.
(b) Signature. All pleadings and other documents of a party represented by an attorney must be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney's individual name and contain the attorney's address, telephone number, and State Board of Law Examiners identification number. All pleadings and other documents of a party who is not represented by an attorney must be signed by the party and contain the party's address and telephone number.
(c) Spacing and Names. Writing must appear on one side of the sheet only and must be double-spaced, except for quoted material. Names must be typed or printed beneath all signatures.
(d) Binding. All pleadings or other documents in an action or proceeding must be filed by the clerk flat and unfolded and each set of papers firmly fastened together.
(e) Filing of Documents. A party seeking to file a pleading or other document must submit it to the clerk. The first submitted version of a pleading or document will be treated as the original unless otherwise ordered by the court. A party need only file the original demand for change of judge.
(f) Lost Papers. If any original document is lost or withheld by any person, the court may authorize a copy to be filed.
(g) File Numbers. The clerk, at the time of the filing of a case and at the time of the filing of any responsive pleading, must assign a file number to the case and immediately notify the attorney of record of the assigned file number. Thereafter, all documents and pleadings to be filed must bear the assigned file number on the front or title page in the upper righthand portion of the document to be filed.
(h) Proof of Service Required. Proof of service must accompany pleadings and documents submitted to the clerk for filing, unless a rule or statute requires a document to be filed before it is served.
(i) Privacy Protection. Parties must follow privacy protection instructions in N.D.R.Ct. 3.4 when making filings with the court. Court personnel have no duty to review documents for compliance with N.D.R.Ct. 3.4.
(j) Non-Conforming Documents.
(1) Documents and pleadings that do not conform to this rule may not be filed.
(2) If a non-conforming document is filed by mistake, the court on motion or on its own may order the pleading or other document reformed. If the order is not obeyed, the court may order the document stricken and its service to be of no effect.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Rule 3.1 was amended, effective January 1, 1988; March 1, 1996; March 1, 1999; August 1, 2001; March 1, 2005; March 1, 2007; March 1, 2009; May 1, 2012: March 1, 2013.
Rule 3.1 was reorganized, effective May 1, 2012, to make it clear that all documents presented for filing must conform to all applicable requirements of the rule.
A new subdivision (b) was added, effective March 1, 1996, which contains signature requirements. The letter designation of each existing subdivision was amended accordingly.
A new subdivision (e) was added, effective March 1, 2005, to clarify that documents must be filed with the clerk. Submitting a document to a judge or to court personnel other than the clerk does not constitute filing. The first version of a given document submitted to the clerk, regardless of what form it is in, will be filed and treated as the original. A party seeking to correct the original or have another document treated as the original must obtain an order from the court.
Subdivision (e) was amended, effective May 1, 2012, to specify that a party making a demand for change of judge may file only one original. This provision supersedes the requirement in N.D.C.C. 29-15-21 that a demand for change of judge be filed in triplicate.
Subdivision (h) was amended, effective March 1, 2013, to clarify that, unless a rule or statute requires a document to be filed before it is served, proof of service must accompany any document submitted for filing.
Subdivision (i) was amended, effective March 1, 2007, to specify that court personnel have no duty to review documents for compliance with privacy protection rules.
Subdivision (i) was amended, effective March 1, 2009, to reflect the transfer of document privacy protection requirements to N.D.R.Ct. 3.4.
Sources: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of September 27, 2012, page 14; January 26-27, 2012, pages 16-17; January 24, 2008, pages 9-12; October 11-12, 2007, pages 28-30; April 26-27, 2007, page 31; September 22-23, 2005, pages 16-17; September 23-24, 2004, pages 3-5; April 29-30, 2004, pages 6-13, 17-25; January 29-30, 2004, pages 3-8; September 16-17, 2003, pages 2-11; April 24-25, 2003, pages 6-12; January 29-30, 1998, page 22; September 29-30, 1994, pages 6-7.
Statutes Affected: Superseded: N.D.C.C. § 29-15-21 (in part).
Cross Reference: N.D.R.Civ.P. 5 (Service and Filing of Pleadings and Other Papers); N.D.R.Ct. 3.4 (Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court); N.D.Sup.Ct.Admin.R. 41 (Access to Judicial Records).