Douglas County District Court Document Filing Requirements

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

The specified pleadings must state the completion date of the second-level class and the date and outcome of re-mediation, or state that Conciliation waived those requirements because the parties completely agree on all issues.

Any party filing a Complaint to Modify (Parenting Plan), an Application for Order to Show Cause (Parenting Plan), or a Motion to Enforce Parenting Time, Visitation, or Other Access Orders must state in the pleading the date the approved 2nd Level Parent Education Class was completed and the date re-mediation was held and the outcome of remediation, or that such requirements have been waived by Conciliation due to complete agreement of the parties on all issues.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Parenting plan agreement

Parenting Plan agreements must be sent to Conciliation for checklist review, and Conciliation staff must send the approved agreement and appropriate closure form to the Clerk for filing.

All Parenting Plan agreements shall be forwarded to Conciliation where Conciliation staff shall review said Parenting Plan agreements for compliance with Conciliation’s Parenting Plan Checklist. Conciliation staff shall then forward a copy of the approved Parenting Plan agreement, along with the appropriate closure form to the Clerk of the District Court for filing.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Affidavit

Affidavits must contain the information required by the Nebraska Child Support Guidelines and the cited statute.

Affidavits shall set forth information required by Nebraska Child Support Guidelines and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2930 (Reissue 2016).

CRITICALCriminal cases

Applies to

Request to be added to douglas county court appointment list

A private attorney seeking appointment to the DC Panel must complete the named request form and file it with the District Court Administrator's Office.

To be considered for appointment to the DC Panel, a private attorney shall complete the form entitled "Request to Be Added to Douglas County Court-Appointment List" and shall file it with the Douglas County District Court Administrator's Office.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pretrial conference order

The court’s pretrial-conference order must specify the conference date, time, location, counsel requirements, manner of holding the conference, and any other appropriate matters.

Pretrial conferences will be on order of the court, consistent with Neb. Ct. R. § 6-1522, and shall specify the date, hour, location, requirement placed upon counsel, the manner in which the conference will be held, and any other matters the court deems appropriate.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Complaint or amended complaint

The caption of each civil complaint or amended complaint must state whether the action is at law or in equity.

The caption of each complaint or amended complaint in a civil action shall state whether the action is one at law or in equity.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Written receipt

Anyone permitted to remove court records must sign a receipt identifying the materials and providing contact information for both the remover and the person represented.

If a District Judge grants permission to remove from the Office of the Clerk of the District Court any records, papers, or files, the person to whom the permission is granted shall sign a written receipt for such materials. The receipt shall identify with particularity the materials being removed and shall include (1) the name, address, and telephone number of the person who is removing the materials and (2) the name, address, and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the materials are being removed.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

If the filing party claims the other party thwarted re-mediation, the pleading must specifically describe the filing party’s good-faith efforts and the other party’s responses.

If the filing party claims his or her attempt to re-mediate was thwarted by the other party, the filing party shall state with specificity in the pleading the filing party’s good faith efforts to re-mediate and the other party's responses thereto.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Evidence

Evidence must be submitted by affidavit, except where a party is self-represented and live testimony is required or the court orders otherwise.

Except where a party appears as a self-represented litigant and live testimony is required, or unless otherwise ordered, evidence shall be submitted by affidavits.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Continuance order

A continuance must be set for a specific date, which must be stated in the order granting it, unless the court orders otherwise.

All continuances shall be to a date certain and stated in the order granting the same, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Administrative order

An administrative order implementing emergency modified court procedures must state its expiration date unless it is vacated, extended, or amended earlier.

Any administrative order implementing emergency modified court procedures shall identify the date by which the order shall expire if not previously vacated, extended, or amended.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion for fees

Before an appointed attorney’s fee claim is allowed, the attorney must file a positively verified written motion stating time and expenses and disclosing any compensation received or contracted for.

Before the claim of any attorney appointed by the court is allowed, such attorney shall make a written motion for fees, positively verified, stating time and expenses in the case. Counsel shall also state in the motion that counsel has not received and has no contract for the payment of any compensation by the defendant or anyone in the defendant's behalf, or if counsel has received any fee or has a contract for the payment of same, to disclose the same fully so that the proper credit may be taken on counsel's motion.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Proposed scheduling order

The PSO shall be submitted by agreement of the parties.

The PSO shall be submitted by agreement of the parties.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed scheduling order

A trial date or other dispositive hearing cannot be scheduled until the required class and mediation or SADR attempt are completed or waived and the parties file a Proposed Scheduling Order, subject to the six-month limit for delay caused by a party’s failure or refusal to participate.

No trial date or other dispositive hearing will be scheduled until (1) attendance at the appropriate, required, and approved parent education class has been completed and mediation or other SADR facilitation process has been attempted to resolve issues of custody, parenting time, visitation, or other access, unless these requirements have been waived, and (2) the parties have filed a Proposed Scheduling Order pursuant to Fourth Judicial District Local Court Rule 4-10, provided, however, that failure or refusal to participate by a party shall not delay entry of a final judgment by more than six (6) months.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Objection notice

The mediator or facilitator must provide a notice explaining the right to object and the 21-day period for notifying the mediator or facilitator of written objections.

The mediator or facilitator shall provide the parties, with a copy of the written agreement, a notice informing the parties and their attorneys of their right to express their objections to the written agreement. The notice shall inform the parties and their attorneys that they have twenty-one (21) days from the date of the notice to notify the mediator or facilitator of any written objections to the terms of the agreement.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Supporting affidavit submission

A notice of the hearing must accompany the moving party’s supporting affidavits.

The moving party shall provide the Court and opposing counsel or the non-moving party, if not represented, the supporting affidavits at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the hearing, together with a notice of the hearing.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion to compel

A motion to compel must include a certification describing the movant's good-faith conference or attempted conference.

The motion must include a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make disclosure or discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

A party may present the specified evidence at trial only if a written motion for leave, accompanied by a notice of hearing, has been filed, heard, and granted before trial.

At trial, parties shall not present evidence intended to object to a provision in an approved parenting plan or to show a material change in circumstances subsequent to the filing of a final agreement unless a written motion asking leave of the court to present such evidence at trial, accompanied by a notice of hearing, has been filed with the court and has been heard and granted prior to the trial.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Filing

At filing, a party who knows of companion cases must note their titles and case numbers.

The party shall, at filing, if known to the party, note companion case titles and case numbers, and the Clerk of the District Court shall assign all companion cases to the judge with the case that has the lowest case number.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Certification

Before an order awarding temporary relief is entered, the moving party must certify registration with or contact with Conciliation.

Prior to the entry of any order awarding temporary relief, the moving party shall certify that the party has registered with or contacted Conciliation.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion or similar filing

All motions or similar filings shall contain a certificate by the serving party of how the opposing party was notified.

All motions or similar filings shall contain a certificate by the serving party of how the opposing party was notified.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading or order

Each pleading and order submitted for judicial action must be identified by its specific type.

Each pleading filed with the Clerk of the District Court and each order submitted for judicial action must be specifically identified by type, e.g., Motion (Continuance); Motion (To Compel Response To Discovery Request); Motion (Temporary Allowances); Motion (To Suppress Evidence); Order (Summary Judgment); Order (Show Cause--Contempt).

CRITICAL

Applies to

Information

When filing each information, the County Attorney must note the title and case number of every companion case.

The County Attorney shall, at the time of filing each information, note on the information the case title and case number of each companion case, as defined by this rule, and the Clerk of the District Court shall assign each such companion case to the judge to whom is assigned the case with the lowest case number.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Motion to reinstate

A party may seek reinstatement after dismissal only by filing a motion to reinstate and submitting a signed proposed scheduling order to the assigned Court.

When a case has been dismissed pursuant to this rule, any party may request that the case be reinstated, but only upon filing a motion to reinstate the case and submission of a signed PSO to the Court assigned to the case.

WARNING

Applies to

Mediation agreement

An agreement reached through mediation or SADR facilitation must be written, and the mediator or facilitator must provide copies to the parties and their attorneys.

If the parties reach an agreement through mediation or the SADR specialized alternative dispute-resolution facilitation process, the agreement shall be reduced to writing. The mediator or the facilitator shall provide copies of the agreement to the parties and their attorneys.

WARNING

Applies to

Real estate description

A real estate description must include the legal description as well as the street address.

Real estate shall be described by legal description in addition to street address.

WARNING

Applies to

Mediation letter

The Mediation Committee must prepare a letter stating that the basic parent education class is mandatory and must be completed on time; the letter should also address referrals, trial scheduling prerequisites, the six-month delay limit, and possible disqualification in abuse-related matters.

The Mediation Committee will prepare a letter, for distribution by the District Court Administrator, advising the filing parties and their attorneys that attendance at an approved basic level parent education class is mandatory and required for domestic-relations matters involving children under the age of majority and must be completed within the time frame specified in this rule. The letter should also advise the parties and counsel (1) that Parenting Plans and issues of child custody, parenting time, visitation, or other access with a child will be referred for mediation or specialized alternative dispute resolution; (2) that no trial or other dispositive hearing will be scheduled until attendance at the required parent-education seminar has been completed and mediation or specialized alternative dispute resolution to resolve issues of custody, parenting time, visitation, or other access has been attempted; (3) that failure or refusal to participate by a party shall not delay entry of a final judgment by more than six (6) months; and (4) that issues of domestic-violence, domestic intimate-partner abuse, or child abuse or neglect may, upon consideration by the trial court, disqualify the parties from parent education, mediation, or the specialized alternative dispute resolution processes.

WARNING

Applies to

Parenting plan checklist

Conciliation must maintain a Parenting Plan Checklist covering the specified parenting and child-related issues susceptible to mediation or specialized alternative dispute resolution.

Conciliation shall maintain a Parenting Plan Checklist, which shall include issues of child custody, parenting time, visitation, other access, and any other issues relating to the children that may be susceptible to mediation or the specialized alternative dispute resolution process.

WARNING

Applies to

Filing and service packets

The Clerk of the District Court must include the mediation letter in the filing and service packets it distributes.

The Clerk of the District Court is directed to include this letter with the filing and service packets distributed by the Clerk.

WARNING

Applies to

Exhibit or affidavit

The Court may decline to receive an exhibit into evidence or accept an affidavit that was not submitted in compliance with the rule.

The Court, in its discretion, may decline to receive into evidence any exhibit or accept any affidavit unless it has been submitted in compliance with this rule.

INFOCivil cases

Applies to

Proposed scheduling order

If the parties cannot agree on a proposed scheduling order, any party may submit one and set the matter for a hearing before the assigned Court.

However, if the parties cannot agree, any party to the pending action may submit a PSO and set the matter for hearing before the Court assigned to the case.