Rule 77 Superior Courts and Clerks

(a) Superior Courts Always Open. The superior courts shall be deemed always open for the purpose of filing any pleading or other proper paper, of issuing and returning mesne and final process, and of making and directing all interlocutory motions, orders, and rules.

(b) Trials and Hearings; Orders in Chambers. All trials upon the merits shall be conducted in open court and so far as convenient in a regular courtroom. All other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted by a judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court officials and at any place either within or without the county where the action is pending.

(c) Clerk’s Office and Orders by Clerk. The clerk’s office with the clerk or a deputy in attendance shall be open during business hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays and shall be open for electronic filing at all times provided in either the 2010 or 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, if applicable. All motions and applications in the clerk’s office for issuing mesne process, for issuing final process to enforce and execute judgments, for entering defaults, and for other proceedings which do not require allowance or order of the court, if accepted for filing pursuant to the 2010 or 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, are grantable of course by the clerk; but the clerk’s action may be suspended or altered or rescinded by the court upon cause shown.

(d) Notice by the Clerk.

(1) Orders or Judgments. Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment the clerk shall give notice of the entry to every party who is not in default for failure to appear, and shall make a note in the docket of the notice. Any party may in addition serve a notice of such entry in the manner provided in Rule 5 for the service of documents. Lack of notice of the entry by the clerk does not affect the time to appeal or relieve or authorize the court to relieve a party for failure to appeal within the time allowed, except as permitted in Rule 4 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

(2) Method of Giving Notice. The clerk shall give notice under paragraph (1), and shall give any other notice that these rules require the clerk to give, by a method that the Supreme Court has provided by administrative order or directive. That notice shall be sufficient for all purposes for which notice by the clerk is required under these rules.

(e) Confidentiality of Records. The clerk shall not disclose any materials or information required by law to be kept confidential.