Lewis and Clark County District Court, Montana Filing Rules

SW, IS, DF, DA, DD, DI, and DN matters must be filed under seal; specified parties and court personnel may access them without authorization, while anyone else needs specific Court authorization.

After a motion is fully briefed and any requested oral argument has been held, the movant must file a Notice of Submittal before the matter is deemed submitted for decision.

The movant must serve the Notice of Submittal after a motion is fully briefed and any requested oral argument has been held.

Lewis and Clark County does not accept filings by email or fax.

Briefs must follow Montana Uniform District Court Rule 1, except that their font size must be at least 12 point.

The hard-copy original of an emailed document must be provided within five business days, and the Court may direct that the filing be stricken if it is not filed on time.

Filing and scheduling-order deadlines are strictly enforced unless the Court receives and approves a written extension motion.

Except for initial pleadings, pleadings and briefs are limited to 20 pages excluding attachments, or may instead use the 6,500-word limit with the required certification; additional pages require court leave and good cause, and serial motions intended to evade the page limit may be summarily denied.

Before seeking discovery relief, the movant must confer or attempt to confer in good faith and certify that effort.

A party who believes a potentially violent situation may arise must notify the assigned judge, court security officer, and/or court bailiff sufficiently in advance for security measures to be taken.