Rule 18. Filing, Form, Service, and Notice

(a) Filing. Papers required or permitted to be filed in the Supreme Court shall be filed electronically with the Clerk of the Supreme Court in accordance with Rule 1(d). Filings shall not be timely unless the papers are received by the Clerk of the Supreme Court within the time fixed for filing. The only proof of the time of filing any paper, when filed electronically or nonelectronically, shall be the file mark of the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

(b) Form. Unless authorized by order of the Supreme Court, pursuant to a party's written motion, all papers filed with the Court shall be eight and one-half (8 1/2) by eleven (11) inches and double spaced, using Times New Roman font and at least fourteen (14) point as the font size; footnotes are to be single spaced and also use Times New Roman font and at least fourteen (14) point as the font size. Selfrepresented litigants who do not have access to a word processing system must file typewritten or legibly handwritten documents. Such documents must otherwise comply with the form requirements in this rule. Pages must be numbered consecutively at the bottom center of each page. Written material shall appear on only one side of the paper and margins must be at least one (1) inch on all four (4) sides, except that page numbers may be within the bottom margin. Headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the word limitations in these rules. The cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, statement of the issues, signature blocks, and certifications do not. All Rule 12A statements and briefs shall include a signed certification that the filing complies with the form and length requirements of these rules, as follows: CERTIFICATION OF WORD COUNT AND COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 18(B). 1. This [Rule 12A statement/brief] contains __________ words, excluding the parts exempted from the word count by Rule 18(b). 2. This [Rule 12A statement/brief] complies with the font, spacing, and type size requirements stated in Rule 18(b). ____________________________________ Signature of Filing Attorney The person signing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the brief.

(c) Service. Copies of all papers filed by any party and not required by these rules to be served by the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall, at or before the time of filing, be served by a party or a person acting for the party on all other parties to the appeal or proceeding. Service on a party represented by an attorney shall be made on the attorney.

(d) Manner of Service. Service of nonelectronic papers may be personal or by mail. Personal service shall be by delivery to the person to be served or by leaving the same at the person's office with some person in charge thereof. Service by mail shall be by regular, certified, or registered mail return receipt requested. Service by mail is complete upon mailing.

(e) Proof of Service. Papers presented for filing shall contain an acknowledgment of service by the person served or proof of service. Proof of service may appear on or be affixed to the papers filed and must list the name of the party or attorney receiving service.

(f) Clerk Review and Acceptance of Papers. Following submission, the Clerk shall timely review the electronically filed document(s) and shall notify the filing party as to whether the filing is accepted or rejected. Upon acceptance, the submitted document(s) shall be entered into the docket of the case and the docket shall reflect the date and time of filing as set forth in Article X, Rule 5(b) of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules Governing Electronic Filing.

(g) Rejection of Papers at Filing. In accordance with Article X, Rule 5(c), grounds for rejection by the Clerk of papers electronically filed with the Supreme Court are limited in scope as follows:

(1) Papers failing to comply with subsections (b) – (e) of this rule;

(2) Papers filed without a conventional signature where required;

(3) Papers filed without the required documents as set forth in the Supreme Court's Electronic Filing System Guidelines;

(4) Papers not submitted individually with related documents submitted as separate files within the same submission or filing (for example, a motion and memorandum or other supporting attachments or exhibits filed in support of a motion);

(5) Papers, including any required documents, attachments, or exhibits, scanned in the wrong orientation, e.g., upside down or backwards;

(6) Papers scanned and filed that are unreadable or illegible;

(7) Papers filed in a fillable portable document format (PDF);

(8) Papers filed do not match the selected filing code type;

(9) Papers filed into the wrong case;

(10) Papers containing an incorrect or incomplete case caption;

(11) Papers filed with no case identification;

(12) Papers improperly scanned or uploaded;

(13) Papers where the party name, party address, or paper name exceeds the number of allotted characters in the electronic filing system;

(14) Papers where the filer added a party or participant that is not configured in the case management system or does not match the information in the case;

(15) Papers where a payment processing error occurred; and/or

(16) Papers where a technical submission error occurred. If rejected, the filing will not be docketed and notice will be sent to the Registered User indicating why the document(s) was returned. The rejection notice shall identify the basis for the rejection. A rejected filing shall be corrected and resubmitted within ten (10) days from service of notice of the rejection.

(h) Hardcopies Required.

(1) Rule 12A Statements and Briefs. The parties shall file with the Clerk nine (9) nonelectronic copies of Rule 12A statements and briefs, within five (5) days of the Clerk's acceptance of the electronic filing thereof.

(2) Appendices, Petitions, and Supporting Memoranda. The parties shall file with the Clerk six (6) nonelectronic copies of appendices, petitions for extraordinary writs, petitions for reargument, and any supporting memoranda within five (5) days of the Clerk's acceptance of the electronic filing thereof.

(3) Parties exempt from electronic filing shall file an original plus the number of nonelectronic copies required pursuant to subsection (1) and (2) of this rule.

(4) All nonelectronic copies shall be on good paper of sufficient opacity and a print quality to be distinctly legible. All nonelectronic copies shall match exactly what has been filed electronically.

(i) Rejection of Papers after Acceptance. Upon the rejection of any papers after acceptance, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall notify the parties and shall state the reason for the rejection. The filer shall have ten (10) days from service of notice of the rejection to file and serve any corrected papers, unless a different time for filing is ordered by the court.

(j) Notice, Where None Required. Whenever these rules do not expressly provide for giving notice, the Supreme Court may order that special notice be given.

(k) Self-represented Litigant Filings by Party Represented by an Attorney. In any appeal where a party is represented by an attorney, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall not accept for filing any self-represented litigant's briefs, pleadings, or other papers. In the event that such briefs, pleadings, or papers are presented for filing, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall acknowledge receipt and notify the party that such papers are not being filed. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall notify the responsible attorney of the receipt of the papers, including with the notification, copies of such papers. This subsection shall not apply to self-represented litigant's pleadings or papers directed to the court concerning the performance of an appellate attorney.

(l) Unpublished Orders and Electronic Case Citations. Unpublished orders will not be cited by the Supreme Court in its opinions and such orders will not be cited in papers filed with the Court. Unpublished orders shall have no precedential effect. Citation to a case contained in an electronic service (e.g. Westlaw or Lexis) is permissible only when the case which is set to be published in the national reporter is not yet published in book form. To the extent that a Lexis citation is used in papers filed with the Court, the citation shall be accompanied by the concomitant Westlaw citation. Rule 18A. Sanctions for failure to file statements of the case, counterstatements and briefs in accordance with Rules 12A and 16. In implementation of Rules 12A and 16 of these rules, the following authority is hereby conferred upon the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

(1) Failure to File a Statement of the Case. In the event that an appellant should fail to file a statement of the case within the time limit set forth in Rule 12A or in any order entered pursuant to a single justice conference or by the Supreme Court setting a different time, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall enter a conditional order of dismissal of the appeal subject to reinstatement if the statement of the case or a motion for an extension of time to file the statement of the case is filed within ten (10) days after the entry of the order.

(2) Failure to File a Counter-statement. In the event that an appellee shall fail to file a counter-statement within the time limit set forth in Rule 12A or in any order entered pursuant to a single justice conference or by the Supreme Court setting a different time, following the filing of appellant's statement of the case, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall enter a conditional order of default subject to reinstatement if the counter-statement or a motion for an extension of time to file the counterstatement is filed within ten (10) days of the date of the order. The order of default will have the effect of barring the appellee from filing any further statements, memoranda, or briefs in support of appellee's position or from arguing orally to the Supreme Court in opposition to the appellant's argument unless otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court or a justice thereof.

(3) Failure of an Appellant to File a Brief. In the event that an appellant fails to file a brief in support of the appeal within the time limit set forth in Rule 16 or any order entered pursuant to a singlejustice conference or other order entered by the Supreme Court setting a different time, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall enter an order of conditional dismissal of the appeal, subject to reinstatement if the brief is filed within ten (10) days of the date of the conditional dismissal.

(4) Failure of an Appellee to File a Brief. In the event that an appellee fails to file a brief in support of the appellee's position within the time limit set forth in Rule 16 after filing of appellant's brief or such additional time as may be authorized by court order, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall enter an order of conditional default subject to reinstatement of the appellee's right to proceed if the brief is filed within ten (10) days of the date of the order. The order of default will have the effect of barring the appellee from filing any brief in support of appellee's position or from arguing orally to the Supreme Court in opposition to the appellant's argument unless otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court or a justice thereof. In addition to the foregoing actions which may be taken by the Clerk of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court may impose sanctions upon attorneys for failure to meet their filing obligations in respect to appellate matters pending before this Court. Such sanctions may include monetary penalties to be paid to the opposing parties or to the Supreme Court, or both. Rule 18B. Dismissal.

(1) Voluntary Dismissal. At any time prior to the scheduling of oral argument, the appellant or petitioner may withdraw an appeal or petition for review by filing written notice with the Supreme Court. Thereafter, the Supreme Court may dismiss the appeal or petition for review upon the filing of a stipulation of dismissal signed by the parties.

(2) Involuntary Dismissal by the Clerk for Lack of Prosecution. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall enter a conditional order of dismissal in each case where there has been no action by the parties for a period of at least ninety (90) days and the parties are not awaiting action by the Supreme Court. Cases conditionally dismissed by the Clerk of the Supreme Court pursuant to this rule shall be reinstated if a statement to show cause why the case should not be dismissed is filed by any party within twenty (20) days of the conditional order of dismissal. The show cause statement shall be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and shall be submitted in the form and manner set forth in Rule 18.

(3) Cases Stayed or Held in Abeyance - Duty to Keep the Supreme Court Informed. In all cases where the Supreme Court has entered an order to stay a case or hold a case in abeyance, the party that sought the stay or to hold the case in abeyance shall notify the Court, in writing, every sixty (60) days starting from the date of the order, as to the status of the case and continued need for the stay or for holding the case in abeyance. If the party that sought the stay or to hold the case in abeyance fails to provide the Supreme Court with such notice, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall, depending on which party sought the stay or to hold the case in abeyance, either enter a conditional order of dismissal of the appeal or a conditional order of default subject to reinstatement if the notice is filed within ten

(10) days of the date of the order. An order of default will have the effect of barring the appellee from filing any further statements, memoranda, or briefs in support of appellee's position or from arguing orally to the Supreme Court in opposition to the appellant's argument unless otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court or a justice thereof.