Pleadings And Other Documents

(a) Legibility. All pleadings and other documents must be typewritten, printed, reproduced, or in electronic form and easily readable. (b) Signature. All pleadings and other documents of a party represented by an attorney must be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney's individual name and contain beneath the signature the attorney's name address, telephone number, e-mail address for electronic service, and State Board of Law Examiners identification number. All pleadings and other documents of a party who is not represented by an attorney must be signed by the party and contain beneath the signature the party's name, address and telephone number. (c) Filing of Documents. A party seeking to file a pleading or other document must submit it to the clerk. The first submitted version of a pleading or document will be treated as the original unless otherwise ordered by the court. A party need only file a single copy of any pleading or document. (d) Lost Documents. If any original document is lost or withheld by any person, the court may authorize a copy to be filed. (e) File Numbers. The clerk, at the time of the filing of a case and at the time of the filing of any responsive pleading, must assign a file number to the case and immediately notify the attorney of record of the assigned file number. Thereafter, all documents and pleadings to be filed must bear the assigned file number on the front or title page in the upper righthand portion of the document to be filed. (f) Filing After Service. After the complaint is filed, all documents required to be served on a party, together with certificate of service, must be filed with the court within a reasonable time after service. Discovery documents may only be filed as allowed by N.D.R.Civ.P. 5( d)(3). (g) Privacy Protection. Parties must follow privacy protection instructions in N.D.R.Ct. 3.4 when making filings with the court. Court personnel have no duty to review documents for compliance with N.D.R.Ct. 3.4. (h) Non-Conforming Documents. (1) Documents and pleadings that do not conform to this rule may not be filed. (2) If a non-conforming document is filed by mistake, the court on motion or on its own may order the pleading or other document reformed. If the order is not obeyed, the court may order the document stricken. (3) If a document is stricken, the time for filing is tolled from the time of submission to the time the order striking the document is filed. The document will be considered timely filed if resubmitted in corrected form within three days after the order striking the document is filed. (i) Paper Documents. Paper documents may be filed only as allowed under Rule 3.5(a). Except as otherwise permitted by the court, paper documents must be prepared on 8 1/2 x 11 inch white paper. Each sheet must be separately numbered and in the proper sequence. Writing may appear on one side of the sheet only and must be double-spaced, except for quoted material. Paper documents must be filed by the clerk flat and unfolded with each set of papers firmly fastened together.