FILING AND SERVICE OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS ON PARTIES

(a) Service: When required. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, every document filed subsequent to the original complaint, including every written communication to the court, shall be served upon each of the parties. Electronic service shall be made on JEFS Users as provided by Rule 6 of the Hawaiʻi Electronic Filing and Service Rules. Conventional service shall be made on non-JEFS Users as provided in these Rules and Rules 1 and 6 of the Hawaiʻi Electronic Filing and Service Rules. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, no service needs to be made on parties in default for failure to appear, except that pleadings asserting new or additional claims for relief against them shall be served upon them in the manner provided for service of a summons in Rule 4 of these Rules. (b) Service of Post-Decree Motions: How made. If, after the entry of a judgment, order, or decree finally determining all pending issues and after the expiration of the time for taking an appeal which lies from such judgment, order, or decree, a motion is filed raising new issues, that motion shall be personally served upon the responding party in the same manner as stated in Rule 4 of these Rules for service of a summons. Service through JEFS or JIMS shall not be permitted. (c) Service of All Other Documents: How made. Except for the service of a complaint and accompanying summons or post-decree motion or a motion filed under Rule 87(b)(2) of these Rules, whenever service of a document is required to be made upon a party and that party is represented by an attorney, service shall be made upon the attorney unless service upon the party is ordered by the court. Documents shall be served upon attorneys electronically as provided in Rule 6 of the Hawaiʻi Electronic Filing and Service Rules. Parties who are JEFS Users shall also be served electronically as provided in Rule 6 of the Hawaiʻi Electronic Filing and Service Rules. Service through JEFS or JIMS is complete upon electronic transmission of the Notice of Electronic Filing. Non-JEFS Users shall be served as follows: (1) Service upon a party shall be made by delivering a copy to the party or by mailing it to the party at the party’s last known address or, if no address is known, by any other method authorized by Rule 4(e) of these Rules. (2) Delivery of a copy within this Rule means: handing it to the party; or leaving it at the party’s office with a clerk or other person in charge thereof; or, if there is no one in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous place therein; or, if the party’s office is closed or the party has no office, leaving it at the party’s dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein. (3) Service by mail is complete upon mailing. (d) Proof of service. A Proof of Service shall be filed to show proof that a pleading or other document was personally served. Proof of Service may be by written acknowledgment of service, by affidavit or declaration of the person making service, by appearance and waiver pursuant to Rule 8(h) or 10(e) of these Rules, or by any other proof satisfactory to the court, unless otherwise provided by these Rules, order of the court, or statute. A party who has been prejudiced by failure to receive due notice or to be served, or who has been prejudiced by reason that service was made by mail, may apply to the court for appropriate relief. (e) Certificate of service. For all documents which are not required to be personally served, a certificate of service shall be filed with the court. For electronically filed documents, the Notice of Electronic Filing shall constitute a certificate of service on JEFS Users in accordance with Rule 6.1 of the Hawaiʻi Electronic Filing and Service Rules. For documents which are served on non-JEFS Users, a certificate of conventional service shall be filed, indicating the date the document was actually served and the method of service. (f) Filing. Except as provided in subdivision (h) of this Rule, all documents after the complaint required to be served upon a party shall be filed with the court before service. (g) Filing with the court defined. The filing of pleadings and other documents with the court as required by these Rules shall be made by filing them with the clerk of the court, except that the judge may permit the documents to be filed with the judge, in which event the judge shall note thereon the filing date and forthwith transmit them to the office of the clerk. Any other rule to the contrary notwithstanding, the clerk shall not refuse to accept for filing any document presented for that purpose solely because it is not presented in proper form as required by these Rules. Proposed findings, conclusions, orders, or judgments submitted for signature shall be attached to a coversheet which includes “Proposed” in the title, although the attached document itself shall not include “Proposed” in its title, and shall be filed in accordance with Rule 9 of the Hawaiʻi Electronic Filing and Service Rules. (h) Nonfiling of discovery materials. A deposition, interrogatory, request for discovery production or inspection, request for documents, request for admissions, and answers and responses thereto shall not be filed automatically with the court; provided that on a motion or at trial any such document shall be filed when offered in evidence or submitted as an exhibit. In addition the court may at any time, on ex parte request or sua sponte , order the filing of any discovery material. A certificate of service shall be filed by the party requesting discovery and shall indicate the date the discovery request was actually served and the method of service. A certificate of service shall also be filed by the party responding to the discovery request and shall indicate the date the response was actually served and the method of service. (Amended March 30, 2022, effective April 25, 2022.)