Vt. Memo to the Bar, Apr. 13, 2020

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

PATRICIA GABEL, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

patricia.gabel@vermont.gov 109 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05609-0701

Telephone (802) 828-3278

FAX: 802 828-3457

www.vermontjudiciary.org

TO: Members of the Vermont Bar

FROM: Patricia Gabel, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Seventh Amendment to Administrative Order No. 49 – Declaration of Judicial Emergency and

Changes to Court Procedures & Miscellaneous Information

DATE: April 13, 2020

For your information, please find:

• AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 4-13-20

• Helpful links for Updates and Information about Odyssey and the NG-CMS Project

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENT

AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 4-13-20

This Order was promulgated on April 13, 2020; effective immediately.

This order further amends A.O. 49, which declared a Judicial Emergency on March 16, 2020 in

response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order amends ¶ 6 regarding service of pleadings and other documents. New paragraph 6(c),

regarding service in the Superior Court, requires lawyers to serve documents, except for service of

process, on one another by email in divisions where there is no electronic filing. To facilitate this,

lawyers must provide up to three emails to receive service. Lawyers may also agree in writing to an

alternative method of service, including by mail or another electronic method, but must put the agreement

in writing. Email service is not required by or to self-represented parties, but the parties may agree to

service by email or another electronic service in a writing filed with the court. Former paragraph 6(c) is

relettered 6(d). Paragraph 6(e), concerning service in the Supreme Court is amended to incorporate the

rules for the Superior Court in 6(c). The sole exception is that for the Supreme Court, briefs and printed

cases must be served as required by the appellate rules, in particular a paper copy must be served on a

self-represented party unless the parties agree otherwise.

More information regarding COVID-19 and court operations can be found at

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/news/information-regarding-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-and-

court-operations

II. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Helpful links for Updates and Information about Odyssey and the NG-CMS Project

For ODY Public Portal information: https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermontjudiciary/public-portal

For information about the Judiciary’s new case management project:

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/next-generation-court-case-management-

system

b. Court Forms

Court forms are constantly being updated. Please refer to the judiciary website for the most up-to-date

forms, https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/court-forms.

Please use the link below to report any form question, concern or issue

http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/website-feedback-form or you can access our Website Feedback

program at the bottom of each web page.

c. Obligation under A.O. 41

Attorneys are reminded that an “attorney must report to the State Court Administrator within thirty days

any change of the office mailing or electronic mail address” and that “[n]otice sent to a reported address is

sufficient even if not received by the attorney because of failure to report the proper address or failure of

delivery not caused by the court.” A.O. 41, § 4(c); see A.O. 44, § 1.

Please email those changes to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov. Your cooperation is very much

appreciated.

To ensure you continue to receive these emails, please add JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov to your

Safe Senders list.

d. eCabinet Registration

Administrative Order No. 44 requires attorneys in active status to register up to three email addresses

in eCabinet for purposes of receiving notices of hearing and other documents. You may include staff

email addresses in the three email addresses that you specify. eCabinet registration is required whether

you practice in court or not.

If you have already registered in eCabinet, the email address(es) you provided as part of that process

will be used.

If you have not already registered in eCabinet, please go to https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/,

click Register Now, and follow the simple prompts. Attorneys will need their attorney license numbers

to register. Helpful information about the Attorney Email Registration process is also available on the

Electronic Filing page of the judiciary website at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermontjudiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing. Please contact jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov or call the

Helpdesk at 802-828-4357 with any questions in the meantime.

You are also reminded that you are required to update the email address(es) and other contact

information you have registered as soon as there are any changes, including changes to staff email

addresses you may have included with your registration. To revise the information, please go to

https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, log into eCabinet, click “Account,” choose “My Profile,” and

make the necessary changes to your contact information.

Notification to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov or in eCabinet of a change to your contact

information does not automatically notify the other. It is your responsibility to notify both. If you are a

member of the Vermont Bar Association, you will also need to separately notify the VBA.