MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Andy Forward
DATE: March 30, 2010
RE: Order 17, N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin., Family Mediation Pilot Project
Staff has prepared amendments to Order 17 based on the time computation amendments made to the federal rules. The principal simplifying innovation is to count all days, including intermediate weekends and holidays, in computing time periods under the procedural rules. Under the previous rules, intermediate weekends and holidays were omitted when computing short periods but included when computing longer periods. Under the amended rules, intermediate weekends and holidays are counted regardless of the length of the specified period.
To further simplify time-counting, the federal advisory committees proposed changing most periods of less than 30 days to multiples of 7 days. The advisory committees adopted 7, 14, 21, and 28-day periods when possible, so that deadlines will usually fall on weekdays.
In Section 5(A), line 36, the time period for a clerk to refer a proceeding to the Project Administrator was increased from 10 to 14 days after filing.
In Section 8(C)(1), line 73, the time period to attend a pre-mediation orientation was increased from 20 to 21 days.
In Section 14(C), lines 140, 142, the time period to reconsider the decisions made in mediation was changed from five business days to seven days after signing the agreement.
Some form and style amendments are also proposed.
The proposed amendments to Order 17 are attached.