Rule Text
The clerk may grant, sign, and enter the following orders without further direction by the court, but any orders so entered may be set aside or modified by the court:
1. Stipulations extending time;
2. Orders of dismissal pursuant to Rules 12, 28, and 29 of these rules;
3. Stipulations for substitutions of attorneys;
4. Default judgments as provided in Rule 55(b)(1) and judgments pursuant to Rule 68 of the District Court Rules of Civil Procedure (Attorneys' fees may be awarded as provided by law); and
5. Any other order referred to in the District Court Rules of Civil Procedure which is grantable by the clerk.
Amendment history: Amended February 8, 1996, effective April 1, 1996; further amended December 6, 1996, effective December 6, 1996; further amended January 23, 2018, effective January 23, 2018.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
The court clerk has the power to handle certain routine paperwork without needing a judge to personally approve it. This includes things like agreements between both sides to extend a deadline, agreed changes in which attorney is handling a case, certain types of dismissals, and default judgments (when one side doesn't respond to a case at all). The clerk can also sign off on judgments that come from settlement offers under Rule 68, and any attorney's fees connected to those can still be awarded if the law allows it.
This process helps things move faster since not every small step in a case needs a judge's direct attention. But this doesn't mean these orders are permanent or untouchable. If something the clerk signed needs to be changed or canceled, the judge still has the final say and can set it aside or modify it later.
In short, this rule lets the clerk take care of routine, non-controversial paperwork so cases keep moving smoothly, while still giving the judge full authority to step in if needed.
