Rule 10. Naming of parties to action. A. PARTIES. (1) Actions must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the person who benefits from or is responsible for the satisfaction of any judgment rendered in justice or city court. That person is considered the real party in interest. (2) A personal representative, administrator, guardian, conservator, fiduciary, bailee, trustee of […]
Rule 11. Substitution of parties. A. SUBSTITUTION. If an original party to an action dies, becomes incompetent, transfers the party’s interest, or is succeeded in office and the claim survives the absence of the original party, the justice or city court may order substitution of the proper party. The substitution is governed by Rule 10A. B. FAILURE TO MAKE […]
Rule 12. Joinder of claims and parties necessary for just adjudication. A. INVOLUNTARY JOINDER. A person subject to service of process must be joined if in the person’s absence: (1) complete relief cannot be accorded among those already parties; (2) the person will not be able to protect the person’s interest in the subject of the action without being named; […]
Rule 13. Discovery. A. SCOPE AND LIMITS. There shall be no formal discovery except pursuant to court order as provided by these rules. (1) Either party may make a motion for an order to obtain discovery through the use of requests for production, depositions and written interrogatories, regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter […]
Rule 14. Pretrial conferences. A. OBJECTIVES. In any action, the court may, in its discretion, direct the parties’ attorneys or the parties to appear before it for one or more conferences before trial for the following purposes: (1) expediting the disposition of the action; (2) establishing early and continuing control so that the case will not be delayed because of […]
Rule 15. Right to jury trial. A. RIGHT PRESERVED. The right of a trial by jury as declared by the constitutions of the United States and the State of Montana or as given by statute must be preserved to the parties inviolate. B. DEMAND. At any time after the commencement of the action and not later than 5 days […]
Rule 16. Failure to appear or proceed. A. DEFENDANT. If a defendant, who has been properly served, fails to appear at the time fixed for trial, the trial may proceed at the request of the adverse party or parties. B. PLAINTIFF. If a plaintiff fails to appear at the time fixed for trial, the judge shall dismiss the plaintiff’s […]
Rule 17. Costs. Jury fees and other costs as defined in 3-15-203, M.C.A., and Title 25, chapter 10, M.C.A., must be taxed as costs against the losing party as determined by the court, following the procedures set forth in Title 25, chapter 10. History: En. Sup. Ct. Ord. February 9, 1990, eff. June 1, 1990; amd. Sup. Ct. […]
Rule 18. Jury. A. NUMBER OF JURORS. A jury in a justice or city court consists of six persons, but the parties may agree to fewer than six. B. IMPANELING. The jury in a civil action in justice or city court must be impaneled as provided in 25-7-202 through 25-7-209 and 25-7-221 through 25-7-224. Where the words “clerk” or […]
Rule 19. Order of trial. In a nonjury trial or in a jury trial after the jury has been impaneled, the trial must proceed in the following order, unless the court, for good cause, otherwise directs: (1) The party on whom rests the burden of the issues may briefly state a case and the evidence by which the […]
Rule 2. Commencement of action. (a) A civil action is begun by filing a complaint with the justice or city court. A concise written statement of the cause of action is considered a complaint. A person as defined in Rule 4(A)(1) may file individually or through an attorney. All others, as defined in Rules (4)(A) 2, 3, 4, […]
Rule 20. Notice of trial. After all parties served with process have appeared or some have appeared and the remaining have been defaulted, the judge, upon request of any party, shall fix a day for trial of the cause and shall provide notice of the trial date to the plaintiffs and defendants who have appeared. History: En. Sup. […]
Rule 21. Entry of judgment. A. GROUNDS. A judge shall enter judgment in the docket of the court in the following circumstances: (1) Offer to compromise before trial. If the defendant, at any time before the trial, offers in writing to allow judgment to be taken against the defendant for a specified sum, the plaintiff may immediately have judgment […]
Rule 22. Relief from judgment. A. RELIEF. A judge may, on such terms as may be just and on the payment of costs, relieve a party from any judgment or other order taken against the party by mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, but the application for relief must be made within 30 days after entry of the […]
Rule 23. Execution. A. HOW ENFORCED. (1) By justice or city court. A judgment may be enforced within the boundaries of the state by a writ of execution issued by the justice or city court or the clerk thereof. (2) Issuance of execution by judge or clerk of justice or city court. From the time of docketing in the clerk’s […]
Rule 24. Appeal to district court. Appeals from a justice or city court to a district court are governed by Title 25, chapter 33, except that the undertaking on appeal, when the judgment is for the payment of money, may be in the form of an appeal bond or a deposit of money in a sum equal […]
Rule 3. Place of trial or venue. A. Proper place of trial. The proper place for the trial of an action is called “venue”. There may be one or more proper place(s) for the trial of a particular action, and justice and city courts may have concurrent venue under these rules. The proper place for trial is determined […]
Rule 4. Persons — jurisdiction — process — service. A. PERSON. As used in this rule, the word “person”, whether or not a United States citizen or resident of this state and whether or not organized under the laws of this state, includes: (1) an individual, whether operating in the individual’s own name or under a trade name; (2) an […]
Rule 5. Service and filing of pleadings and other papers, excluding summons. A. WHEN MADE. Whenever a pleading permitted by Rule 7 is filed and served, the party served shall file and serve any further written pleading within 20 days, unless otherwise provided by law, after service unless the time period is extended pursuant to Rule 6B, M.J.R.Civ.P. […]
Rule 6. Time. A. COMPUTATION. When the computation of any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules is by order of a court or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default after which the designated period of time begins to run may not be included. The last day of the period […]
