Vt. Memo to the Bar, July 15, 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: Emergency Promulgated, Promulgated and Proposed Rules & Miscellaneous

Information

DATE: July 15, 2020

For your information, please find:

• Emergency Order Amending Rules 3(b) and 4 of the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic

Filing

• Promulgation Order Amending V.R.F.P. 4.3(b)

• Proposed Order Amending Rules 2(a)(2) and 4.0(b)(2)(3)(B) of the Vermont Rules for

Family Proceedings

• Odyssey Electronic Filing & Other Important Info

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENTS

a. Emergency Order Amending Rules 3(b) and 4 of the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic

Filing

This Order was promulgated on July 15, 2020; effective immediately.

The emergency amendment to Rule 3(b)(1) clarifies that government agencies, which are

required to submit reports and other case documents such as Department of Corrections

(presentence investigation reports) and Department for Children and families (disposition reports)

and law enforcement entities must efile and are not excepted from efiling as self-represented

litigants.

New paragraph 3(b)(4) is added to clarify that nonelectronic filing may be permitted by the

court for documents such as a handwritten or edited stipulations, agreements, or other case

documents that are created or finalized by parties and/or counsel who are present at court

premises for related proceedings, including proceedings such as scheduled case-manager

conferences.

The emergency amendment to Rule 4, subdivision (a) conforms the text of the rule to actual

practice in the Odyssey efiling system. In Odyssey, in contrast to an Independent (self-represented) User, a “Firm” registers, which includes solo practitioners, as well as government

agencies. The Firm Administrator authorizes access for all user accounts in that firm.

The amended language in Rule 4(b)(4) addresses how others inside a firm may be authorized

to file and view on an attorney’s behalf.

Rule 4(c) is amended to further clarify the process to secure elevated access to case

documents not publicly accessible via the internet. Registration in the efiling system provides

access to documents filed by the efiler. To view other documents in the case, including those filed

by another party, the filer must register with the public access portal, and receive authorization.

This is a one-time process for each portal user, which provides ongoing access for all subsequent

cases in which the user is involved. See also V.R.P.A.C.R. 5 (governing specific rights of access

by attorneys, parties, and others, to case records that are not otherwise publicly accessible).

Comments on these emergency amendments should be sent by September 15, 2020, to Hon.

John A. Dooley (Ret.), Chair of the Special Advisory Committee on Rules for Electronic Filing,

at the following address:

Honorable John A. Dooley, (Ret.), Chair

John.Dooley@vermont.gov

b. Promulgation Order Amending V.R.F.P. 4.3(b)

This Order was promulgated on July 13, 2020; effective September 14, 2020.

The amendment to Rule 4.3(b) deletes former paragraph (1) providing for a motion by a

nonparty for relief from a parentage judgment. The amendment also deletes references to that

motion in the caption and first sentence of subdivision (b), renumbers the amended first sentence

as paragraph (1), and deletes the now superfluous caption of paragraph (2).

Former Rule 4.3(b)(1) was added by amendment in 2017 as a narrow response to the concern

raised by the Supreme Court in Columbia v. Lawton, 2013 VT 2, 193 Vt. 165, 71 A.3d 1218, that

existing law, 15 V.S.A, § 302(a), prohibited such a nonparty action in the absence of a

constitutional claim. See Reporter’s Notes to 2017 Amendment. Subsequently, the Legislature

enacted the Vermont Parentage Act, 15C V.S.A. §§ 101-809, and repealed the prior statute

involved in Columbia. 2017, No 162 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2. The Act was effective July 1, 2018, § 6,

and, per § 5, in certain proceedings before that date. The Vermont Parentage Act is a

comprehensive measure, setting forth procedural provisions and means of establishing parentage,

and providing requirements of standing and time limits for proceedings by nonparties challenging

adjudications, acknowledgements, and presumptions of parentage. Essentially, the Act renders

obsolete former Rule 4.3(b)(1).

II. PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS

(NOTE: THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AND HAVE NOT

BEEN APPROVED BY THE SUPREME COURT.)

a. Proposed Order Amending Rules 2(a)(2) and 4.0(b)(2)(3)(B) of the Vermont Rules for

Family Proceedings

The proposed amendments to Rules 2(a)(2) and 4.0(b)(2)(3)(B) are amended for consistency

with the recent amendment of V.R.C.P. 3.1 eliminating all reference to “in forma pauperis” and

replacing it with “waiver of filing fee and service costs.”

Comments on these proposed amendments should be sent by September 15, 2020, to Hon.

Michael Kainen, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules for Family Proceedings, at the

following address:

Hon. Michael Kainen, Chair

Michael.Kainen@vermont.gov

III. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Odyssey Electronic Filing and Other Important Information

The Addison, Bennington, Chittenden and Rutland trial courts and Environmental Division will

begin using Odyssey starting September 1st, with electronic filing to commence on or about

October 19th. Odyssey and electronic filing are already operational in the Orange, Windsor, and

Windham trial courts and the Judicial Bureau. Please use the following links to access Odyssey

electronic filing and portal systems and for more information.

• Odyssey File & Serve. Odyssey File & Serve (OFS) is the platform through which you

will electronically file with the courts. To access Odyssey File & Serve, please visit

https://vermont.tylerhost.net/ofsweb. This page contains user guides in the lower left-hand corner. They include instructions on how to register and use OFS.

• For information about OFS processing fees and for docket specific user guides, please

visit https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-

access/electronic-filing.

• Odyssey Public Portal. The Odyssey Public Portal allows you to view your case files. To

access the portal, please visit https://publicportal.courts.vt.gov/Portal/. Before you can

view your case files, you must first register in the portal and then request elevated access.

The Public Portal User Guide contains instructions on how to register and request elevated

access. You can read the user guide via this link:

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/sites/default/files/documents/VT%20Public%20Portal

%20User%20Guide%20v8.pdf. For full information on how to use the portal, please visit

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/public-portal.

• FAQ. Please visit https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/odyssey for answers to frequently

asked questions and updates about the project.

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-vermont-judiciary/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.