Wyoming's Rule 3.1 - File On Time or Else

• June 02, 2014
• by Stephanie Irvine
• Legislation

Cheyenne, WY—By order of the Supreme Court, Wyoming quietly introduced a new rule (3.1 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for Circuit Courts) that required service affidavits to be filed within 10 days of service back in January, but process servers are just now starting to see the effects of this rule.

Rule 3.1 went into effect April 1, 2014, which requires the complaint, summons, and proof of service to be filed within 10 days of completed service. What is particularly important to note of this new change is that in the event that these documents are not filed within the 10 days mandated by this rule, the court will dismiss the action and may even determine that a reasonable sum of money is due to the defendant to compensate them for their expense and inconvenience, which will be paid by the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney.

The new rule provides an incentive to get court cases moving and harsh ramifications for those who slow down the process.

We spoke with Bob Tate and his team at Process Service of Wyoming to see how this new rule is affecting how civil process service companies are handling the change. He said that they have had about 500 cases that have come through since the new legislation went into effect. Despite the change, he stated that “We have been fortunate that our clients and servers are working well together to get the proper paperwork completed and filed on time. I’m really pleased with our servers. They’re on the ball.“

What can be problematic for process servers, especially in the rural areas of Wyoming, is dealing with the US Postal Service. Service is often slow given the sheer groundcover that the Mail Carriers have to cover as Wyoming is a lot of open space. Despite this, process servers in Wyoming have to make it happen within the allotted time period ordered by the courts. Electronic filing, which Process Service of Wyoming is eagerly anticipating, is likely still a few years away from being implemented.

Tate also explained that their processes have slightly changed to accommodate this new rule. Now, Process Service of Wyoming includes self-addressed stamped envelopes with documents to help speed up the process, specifically dealing with the mail. “It’s been a bit of a learning curve, especially with many of our servers living far from the post office, but they are getting the hang of it,” Tate said.

Overall, this rule will not affect the safety of process servers; it simply affects the speed at which they complete the job and file the appropriate paperwork. If all the necessary paperwork is delivered, signed, and filed on time and the way that this legislation dictates, process servers should not be negatively affected by the legislation.

Here is the original rule, in case you missed it:

If for some reason you cannot see the rule, click here.