Providence County Superior Court Filing Rules

Service must be made within 120 days after commencement; otherwise the court may dismiss without prejudice or order service within a specified time, but must extend the period for an appropriate duration when the plaintiff shows good cause, and the rule does not apply to foreign-country service.

The court may require a temporary-receiver decree to include the prescribed matters, but a conforming decree is mandatory when the temporary receivership has lasted more than 30 days.

In exceptional cases, the arbitrator may accept post-hearing briefs submitted within 10 days after the hearing concludes but may not accept post-hearing evidence.

An agreed continuance must be communicated to the Courtroom 4 clerk by email before the calendar call.

Each case-initiating document, required document, attachment, or exhibit must be submitted as a separate file within the same initial EFS submission.

An extension of a filing deadline must be requested at least seven days before the deadline and approved by the Hearing Justice.

After all filings are complete, the moving party must submit two tabbed binders containing the motions, objections, memoranda, affidavits, and supporting documents.

An unreadable or illegible scanned document is grounds for EFS rejection.

A party that rejects an arbitration award is subject to the filing fee prescribed by Arbitration Rule 5(b).

A hearing affecting a grand-jury proceeding must be closed to the extent necessary to prevent improper disclosure, except that a right to an open contempt hearing remains applicable.

Bills, receipts, invoices, photographs, and similar items may be submitted together in one attachment.

Parties must attempt in good faith to resolve discovery disputes before filing discovery motions and discuss the dispute voice-to-voice before the hearing.

When a party requests findings of fact and conclusions of law or an opinion supporting an award, the requested material may not exceed two pages.