FRCP 6(d) Amendments RE
Electronic Filing
The recent amendments to The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will affect the timing of responses to almost all federal court filings.
The most impact will be felt from the amendments to FRCP 6(d). Attorneys practicing in federal courts have become accustomed to having an additional three days to respond to motions and other filings unless the service is done by personal delivery. This is no longer the case. These additional three days no longer apply to electronically filed documents.
These changes currently only affect cases commenced on or after December 1st, 2016 but the courts will expand this amendment to cases filed before the first of December as it is “just and practicable” to do so.
The three additional days was originally added in the early days of electronic filing when there were still concerns about errors and delays in transmissions. The Rules Committee Comments state that “those concerns have been substantially alleviated by advances in technology and in widespread skill in using electronic transmission.”
Additionally, many rules have been amended to make it easier to calculate deadlines but adding the extra three days complicated counting and increased complications when the last day is a weekend or holiday.
While this change is logical and makes calculating deadlines easier, it will require getting used to the shorter deadlines. SmartRules guides give you everything you need to make sure your filings are timely filed.