Me. R. Civ. P. 10
Advisory Committee's Notes - 1992
Rule 10(a) is amended to implement P.L. 1991, ch. 125, which enacted 14 M.R.S.A. §2401(2), effective January 1, 1992, requiring clerks to identify cases affecting title to real estate on the docket. A reference to the amended rule is incorporated in the instructions to the Caption section of the Appendix of Forms by simultaneous amendment.
The amendment places the burden for identifying real estate cases on the attorneys filing the pleadings. The rule applies to any pleading asserting a claim or defense in which title is involved. The statute provides that such cases include but are not limited to partition actions, boundary and access disputes, insolvency proceedings, mortgage foreclosures, declaratory judgment actions, actions commenced by attachment, actions to enforce mechanics' liens, dissolutions, and actions to acquire title. Many divorce actions will also be included. A failure to comply with this provision is curable by amendment and does not affect the validity of a judgment obtained in the action.
Advisory Committee's Notes - June 2, 1997
Rule 10(a) is amended to require that the caption identify the location rather than the division of the District Court in which the action is filed. Few litigants are aware of the locations of the District Courts by division, as opposed to the city or town in which the court is located. This amendment promotes a clear understanding of the location at which filings are to be made and hearings are to be attended. Thus, the amended rule is satisfied, for example, by substituting "Portland" for "Division of Southern Cumberland" in the caption.
Advisory Committee's Notes - May 1, 2000
In subdivision (a) the dating requirement is changed from referencing the complaint to referencing each pleading. Subdivision (d), adopted by the MEJIS rules is eliminated because in substance it is moved to Rule 5(h).