TITLE TWO — COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION; SERVICE OF PROCESS, PLEADINGS, MOTIONS AND ORDERS
Rule 6. Time
Pre-Trial Period. The court shall allow a total of one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours, being seven (7) days, for the process of pre-trial proceedings to occur. The period is stated in hours, runs from the commencement of the action, and is computed as Rule 6(4) provides. The court may enlarge or shorten it as this rule provides.
Coordinated Universal Time. Every date and time in the record of the court is recorded, stated, and computed in Coordinated Universal Time. Every period prescribed by these rules, by a statute that does not provide otherwise, by an order, or by a notice given under these rules is computed in Coordinated Universal Time. No local time, no time zone, and no seasonal adjustment of time has any effect upon the computation of a period.
Time Runs Continuously. Time runs continuously. In the computation of any period:
There are no court days and no business days. Every day counts.
There are no holidays. No day is excluded by reason of a holiday, a weekend, or the closure of any office.
There is no filing cutoff hour. Every hour counts, and the hour of a filing is immaterial except as it fixes the moment of the filing.
A filing transmitted at any hour on the last day of a period is timely, provided the filing attains the status of Submitted or Accepted within the period as Rule 5.1(7) requires.
No period is extended, and no act is deemed done on a later day, by reason of the inaccessibility of any office, facility, or officer of the court.
Periods Stated in Hours. Where a period is stated in hours, counting begins immediately upon the occurrence of the event that triggers the period. Every hour is counted. The period expires at the expiration of the last hour.
Periods Stated in Days. Where a period is stated in days, the day of the event that triggers the period is excluded, every day thereafter is counted, and the period expires at the end of the last day, being 23:59:59 Coordinated Universal Time on that day. A day is a period of twenty-four (24) hours beginning at 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time.
Periods Computed Backward. Where a period is measured before an event, counting proceeds backward from the recorded time of that event, by the same measure the period is stated in and subject to the same subdivisions of this rule.
Period Running from Service. A period that runs from service begins at the moment the electronic filing system records the clerk’s acceptance of the filing served, as Rule 5(8) provides. No time is added to any period by reason of the manner of service. Where service was made under Rule 5(10), the period begins on delivery.
Period Running from Entry of an Order. A period that runs from the entry of an order, judgment, ruling, or decree begins at the moment the electronic filing system records that instrument upon the docket. Where the instrument is served under Rule 5, a period that runs from its service begins as Rule 6(7) provides.
Period Running from Filing. A period that runs from filing begins at the filing date fixed by Rule 5.1(5), and not at the moment of tender and not at the moment of acceptance.
Period Running from an Event Outside the Record. A period that runs from an event the electronic filing system does not record — the taking of testimony, an act in the proceeding communications, an act in the world of the game — begins at the time of the event as the court finds it. The party asserting the time bears the burden of establishing it.
No Computation or Enforcement by the System. The electronic filing system computes no deadline, maintains no calendar of due dates, issues no reminder, and takes no action upon the expiration of any period. Every period under these rules is self-executing and is enforced only on the motion of a party or upon the court’s own initiative. No consequence follows from the expiration of a period until the court, on motion or on its own initiative, so orders.
No Period Alters the Record. The expiration of a period neither strikes, removes, voids, nor alters any filing, document, or entry in the record. Relief for a failure to act within a period is obtained by motion.
Enlargement. Where by these rules, by a notice given thereunder, or by order or rule of court an act is required or allowed to be done at or within a specified time, the court for cause shown may at any time in its discretion:
With or without motion or notice, order the period enlarged, if the request therefor is made before the expiration of the period originally prescribed or as extended by a previous order; or
Upon motion made after the expiration of the specified period, permit the act to be done where the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect.
Excusable Neglect. In determining whether a failure to act was the result of excusable neglect, the court shall consider:
The danger of prejudice to the party opposing relief;
The length of the delay and its effect on the proceedings;
The reason for the delay, and whether it was within the reasonable control of the movant;
Whether the movant acted in good faith;
Whether the delay was caused by a failure of the electronic filing system, of the notification by which service is given, or of the account through which the movant files.
Shortening. The court, for good cause and upon such notice as it directs, may shorten any period prescribed by these rules or by a prior order. The court shall not shorten a period prescribed by statute.
Enlargement by Stipulation. The parties may enlarge a period prescribed by these rules by stipulation, filed under the filing code for a stipulation and effective upon its acceptance. The parties shall not by stipulation:
Enlarge or shorten a period prescribed by statute;
Alter a date set by the court for a trial or a hearing; or
Failure of the Electronic Filing System. Where the electronic filing system was unavailable, or was unable to receive documents, during a period within which an act was required to be done, the court on motion may enlarge the period. The movant shall state the time at which the unavailability began, the time at which it ended, and the nature of it. No period is enlarged automatically by reason of such unavailability, and no such enlargement occurs without an order.
Periods Prescribed by Statute. Where a statute prescribes a period, this rule governs the computation of that period unless the statute provides a different method of computation. No provision of these rules shall abridge, enlarge, or modify a period prescribed by statute, as 3 R. Stat. § 121.106(b) requires.