Rule 1.110.Definitions

Read this rule before you read any other one in the set. A definition changes how a requirement lands, and two here do most of that work. Days means calendar days unless a rule specifies otherwise, and UTCR 1.130 sends you to ORCP 10, in the separate Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure, for the method of computing a period. And document means any instrument filed or submitted in any type of proceeding, including any exhibit or attachment referred to in it, in paper or electronic form depending on context. A rule about documents reaches your attachments.

The rule keeps original, electronic, and authenticated signatures separate, and the differences matter in electronic filing. An original signature is a handwritten signature on a printed document. An electronic signature is an electronic symbol intended to substitute for a signature, such as a scan of a handwritten signature or a signature block with the typed name preceded by an s slash in the space where the signature would appear. An authenticated signature is the strongest of the three: one created using software with a security procedure designed to verify that the signature is that of a specific person, sufficient if it meets the definition of security procedure in ORS chapter 84.

The rule also fixes who the players are. Party means a litigant or the litigant's attorney, which is why a rule that speaks of what a party must do can be satisfied or broken by counsel. Plaintiff or petitioner means any party asserting a claim for relief, whether by claim, third-party claim, crossclaim, or counterclaim, and defendant or respondent means any party a claim is asserted against, so a counterclaiming defendant wears both labels depending on the rule. Trial court administrator covers the court administrator, the administrative officer of the records section, and where appropriate the trial court clerk.

Two definitions have practical bite for the public. Court contact information means the name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address and fax number if any of a person submitting a document, enough for the court to reach them and for other parties to serve them under UTCR 2.080(1), and it can be something other than the person's actual address or telephone or fax number, such as a post office box or a message number, provided the court and adverse parties can make contact. Remote means and remote proceeding cover telephone, telecommunication, video, another two-way electronic communication device, or simultaneous electronic transmission, used in a way that lets all participants hear and speak with each other.