Rule 56 Exhibits; View of Property

A Marking Exhibits.

A(1) Before submission to the court, parties must mark all exhibits in the following manner:

A(1)(a) Plaintiff’s exhibits must be marked numerically, contain the case number, and each page of the exhibit must be numbered sequentially from 1 through the end of the exhibit.

A(1)(b) Defendant’s exhibits must be marked alphabetically, contain the case number, and each page of the exhibit must be numbered sequentially from 1 through the end of the exhibit.

A(1)(c) Intervenor’s exhibits must be marked numerically with a capital “I” in front of each number, contain the case number, and each page of the exhibit must be numbered sequentially from 1 through the end of the exhibit.

A(1)(d) In cases involving multiple parties or large numbers of exhibits, the parties must agree on the assignment of the numbers. If the parties cannot reach agreement, or if for any reason the numbering system cannot accommodate the parties, then the court may direct the parties to use any other numbering system it deems appropriate in the circumstances.

A(1)(e) Parties must tab each exhibit by number or letter so that it may be easily referenced. During trial, oral argument, or in any other proceeding at which an exhibit is referenced, parties must refer to each exhibit by its exhibit and page number, as marked pursuant to this rule.

A(2) Upon request, tax court personnel will provide a party with appropriate stamps, label, or tags for exhibit marking.

A(3) At the time of exchange of exhibits for trial, the parties must submit to the court a typed list of the exhibits, describing each exhibit and indicating the number or letter for each.

B Exchange of Exhibits for Trial.

B(1) Exhibit List. At the time of exchange of exhibits for trial, the parties must submit to the court a typed list of the exhibits, describing each exhibit and indicating the number or letter for each.

B(2) Exchange Generally. To avoid confusion and delay, each party must provide opposing parties and the court with copies of all documents that will be offered as evidence in support of that party’s case-in-chief. “Documents” includes all writings, photographs, maps, and other similar materials. If the document is a book, journal, or other published material commonly available, only that portion particularly relevant need be exchanged. Computer produced documents must be accompanied by a written explanation of the printout formatting, disclosing underlying assumptions.

B(3) Exchange in Valuation Cases.

B(3)(a) In valuation cases, for purposes of TCR 56 B(1) “documents” includes appraisal reports, field notes, work papers, computer files, and all other documents relied upon by the appraiser, whether or not such documents are introduced into evidence.

B(3)(b) If an appraiser testifying in a valuation case relies upon the use of a computer database in forming an opinion on the value of property at issue in that case, the appraiser must disclose the use of that database to the opposing party and the court at or before the time for exchanging appraisal reports and associated documents. A party making use of such database does not, however, have to provide access to that database to an opposing party or the court if access to that database is either freely available to the general public or readily available for commercial purchase or subscription. In all other instances the portions of a database that the appraiser relied upon in forming an opinion as to value must be exchanged pursuant to TCR 56 B(2) or, if that is not practicable, must be made available for inspection by the opposing party and the court pursuant to TCR 56 B(3)(a).

B(3)(c) “Appraiser” defined. For the purposes of TCR 56 B, “appraiser” means any witness, other than the owner of the property at issue, whose testimony or work product is offered to establish the valuation of the property at issue.

B(4) Exceptions.

B(4)(a) Bulky or voluminous materials such as extensive catalogues, libraries, or files must be made available for inspection and selective copying;

B(4)(b) Exhibits prepared for illustrative purposes do not need to be exchanged if the information contained therein has been provided to the opposing parties and the court in other documents;

B(4)(c) Documents submitted as rebuttal evidence only do not need to be exchanged.

B(5) Time of Exchange; Filing of Courtesy Copies.

B(5)(a) In valuation cases, documents relied upon by the appraiser must be provided to the other parties no later than 30 days before trial unless an alternative date is set by the court. At the time of the exchange, each party must provide the court with an electronic courtesy copy of any appraisal report that it intends to offer as evidence in support of its case-in-chief, in addition to the list of all exchanged documents pursuant to subsection A(3) of this rule.

B(5)(b) In all cases, all documents described in subsection B(1)of this rule, and not exchanged pursuant to subsection B(4)(a), must be provided to the other parties not less than five business days prior to trial. At the time of the exchange, each party must provide the court with an electronic courtesy copy of the documents and the list pursuant to subsection A(3) of this rule.

B(5)(c) All documents exchanged, and all courtesy copies, must comply with the labeling requirements of section A of this rule. Notwithstanding TCR 9 adopting UTCR 21, and UTCR 21.070(p), exhibits may be filed with the court by OJD electronic filing, by mail or in person, by secure file transfer, or other method [as] determined by the court. Spreadsheets, such as Excel workbooks, may be filed in PDF format. A courtesy copy of each spreadsheet must be submitted to the court in its original file format, including working formulas. Exhibits filed via OJD electronic filing must otherwise comply with the provisions of UTCR 21. Submission of documents to the court at the time of exchange does not constitute their admission into evidence or otherwise affect their admissibility at trial. The court will treat courtesy copies of documents in the same manner as exhibits for purposes of applying section D of this rule.

B(5)(d) The judge of the court may designate the tax court clerk to decide the manner of filing exhibits. When a party is permitted to submit exhibits by mail or in person, an electronic courtesy copy of exhibits will still be required.

B(6) Sanctions. Failure to comply with this rule may result in exclusion of documents and any testimony relating thereto.

C Handling Exhibits. Exhibits which have been marked must be retained by the parties until they have been offered as evidence. After an exhibit has been offered as evidence by counsel and the witness has concluded testimony concerning such exhibit, counsel must cause the exhibit to be handed to the judge. For convenience however, at trial a copy of an exhibit may be handed to the judge prior to or during testimony concerning the exhibit.

D Custody of Exhibits. Any original record of the court or any exhibit offered as evidence, other than a demonstrative exhibit, must not be taken from the custody of the court except by written order of the court or to transmit the original records and exhibits to the Oregon Supreme Court upon an appeal of a case. After final disposition of the case, a notice will be sent to the parties of record that unless they withdraw their respective exhibits within 30 days the exhibits will be disposed of by the court. Copies of any documents on file with the court, except confidential documents sealed by court order, may be obtained from the tax court clerk. The fees therefor will be charged in accordance with ORS 305.493.

E View of Property. Requests that the court view property at the property’s location, made in advance of trial, will be honored at the court’s discretion. TCR amended Jan 1, 2026.