Judge Ben Fosland

Applies to

Omnibus hearing memorandum

The parties must file the completed Omnibus Hearing Memorandum by the Thursday before the scheduled hearing.

Applies to

Motion

Must include

proposed order

A motion must include a proposed order and state the adverse party’s position; probate PR Statements to Close Estate are exempt from the proposed-order requirement.

Applies to

Pleading

A pleading demanding a jury trial must identify the jury demand in both its title and its body.

A party or counsel must notify the Court through the assigned Judge's Judicial Assistant sufficiently in advance of a hearing that may involve potential violence.

Court scheduling must be handled through the Judicial Assistant or judge-designated personnel; the Judicial Assistant will propose hearing dates electronically, and the Court will set the matter after two unanswered attempts to communicate.

An attorney who expects a matter to be contested or last more than 15 minutes must notify the Judicial Assistant so additional time may be scheduled.

The presiding judge may appear by Zoom from the judge’s home county unless a party files a specific request for the judge’s personal appearance reasonably in advance of the hearing.

The completed Omnibus Hearing Memorandum is due no later than the Thursday before the scheduled hearing.

A party seeking an incarcerated defendant’s personal appearance must specifically request it sufficiently in advance for the Sheriff’s Office to arrange the defendant’s physical presence.

Papers presented for filing should conform to MUDCR 1 and Rules 10 and 11 of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure; the Clerk should not file nonconforming papers, and the Court may strike them.

Format

DOCX

Proposed orders must omit submitting counsel’s name and address from the upper-left corner and, when e-filed, must be attached in Microsoft Word format.

Briefs must be concise but sufficiently thorough; the Court may strike rambling, verbose, inflammatory, or unintelligible briefs or pleadings, and exceptions should be requested before filing.