Section 2 - Suspension of RuleIn any action filed under Vermont Rule of Family Proceedings 4.1 in Windham, Windsor, Caledonia, Orange, Orleans, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Essex, Washington, Bennington, Addison, and Rutland Units, Rule 4.1(a)(2) of the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings will be amended to read as follows (deleted matter struck through; new matter underlined):
RULE 4.1. CASES INVOLVING MINOR CHILDREN
(a)Complaint; Service; Case Management Conference.(2) Commencing an Action; Service. If either party is or may be obligated to pay child support to the other party or to the Office of Child Support, the action must be commenced, and service of process must be made, as provided in this paragraph. (A) The complaint must be filed and a hearing or case manager's conference must be scheduled before the complaint is served. (B) After filing, the family division clerk will complete a notice of hearing or notice of case manager's conference and must attempt to schedule the hearing or case manager's conference so that it is held from 45 to 60 days after the summons and complaint were filed, unless because of unavailability of magistrates, judges, or case managers or because of a subsequent failure to complete service, it is not practical to do so. (C) After a hearing or case manager's conference has been scheduled, prompt service on the defendant must be made as follows:(i) by a designated representative of the Office of Child Support (OCS) when OCS is providing Title IV-D services on a case;(ii) in all other cases by the clerk, or upon request, the plaintiff's attorney.(D) Service may be made by personally serving the defendant by any method provided in V.R.C.P. 4(d), (e), or (k) with a summons, complaint, and the notice of hearing or case manager's conference signed by the clerk. (E) In the alternative, the summons, complaint, and notice of hearing or case manager's conference may be served by mailing them to the defendant at one or more of the addresses supplied by the plaintiff or by the defendant or otherwise, by certified mail, return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee. The plaintiff must pay the expense.(F) If certified mail is refused by the defendant, the notice of hearing or case manager's conference, summons, and complaint may be served by mailing it to the defendant by ordinary first-class mail and by certifying that such service has been made. Any service must be made:(i) by a designated representative of the Office of Child Support (OCS) when OCS is providing Title IV-D services on a case; (ii) in all other cases by the clerk. (G) Service may be made by publication by order of the court, as provided in V.R.C.P. 4(g). (H) At any time, service may be made by delivering to the defendant by any method chosen by the plaintiff the summons and a request that the defendant waive service by any other method. The summons and request must be accompanied by the complaint, the notice of hearing or case manager's conference if applicable, and a waiver of service form. The defendant must sign and date the waiver of service and return it to the court no later than 21 days from the date the documents were delivered, or 60 days from that date if the documents and request are delivered to the defendant outside a state or territory of the United States. If the defendant answers the complaint, the defendant must do so within 21 days of the date that the defendant signed the waiver or, if the waiver is undated, within 21 days of the date that the waiver is filed with the court. Failure to comply with a request to waive service may result in the imposition of costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, against the defendant for expenses incurred in effecting service by another means.Vt. Admin. Ord. Of. Sup. Ct. 2
Amended March 7, 2022, eff. 4/1/2022; amended July 5, 2022 eff. 7/5/2022; amended August 7, 2023, eff. 8/7/2023; Amended October 10, 2023 eff. 10/10/2023; amended June 3, 2024 eff. 6/3/2024.