How court date calculations work

Esqase calculates each court date from three things: the rule set version that applies, the trigger you enter, and the court's calendar of holidays and closures. This page explains how the counting works, how to read a calculation, what the badges on a date mean, and what happens when Esqase updates rules or a court changes its calendar. It ends with the disclaimer that applies to every calculated date.

What goes into a calculation

• The rule set and its version. A rule set is a court's timing rules as Esqase has written them up, with a citation for every date. Rule sets are published in numbered versions, each in effect for a period of time, and Esqase uses the version in effect on the trigger date. The Apply court rules dialog says so: The version in effect on the trigger date is used.
• The trigger and your answers. The date of the event that starts the clock (and its time, when it has one), plus the details the trigger asks for, such as how and from where papers were served, a hearing date, or questions particular to the trigger.
• The court's calendar. Weekends, plus the court's holidays and closures as Esqase publishes them, including the state or federal holiday calendars the court follows. Your firm's own court closures are added on top. A custom court uses the holiday calendar you chose for it, or weekends only.
• The court's time zone. Dates are counted, and due times are given, in the court's time zone.

How the counting works

Every rule is different, and the rule set decides how each date is counted. The calculation shows exactly what was done. The common patterns are:

• Where counting starts. In most rules the trigger day itself is not counted, and counting starts the day after. Some courts start on the next court day instead.
• Calendar days and court days. Some periods count every day. Others count only court days, the days the court is open, and some courts count short periods in court days only.
• Forward and backward. Most dates count forward from the trigger. Some count back from a later date, for example papers due a number of court days before a hearing.
• Moving off a closed day. When a period ends on a weekend, a holiday or another day the court is closed, the date moves to the next court day, or to the previous court day for a period counted backward, unless the rule says the date does not move.
• Extra days for the service method. Some rules add days when papers are served in certain ways, such as by mail. The rule set says which methods add days, how many, and whether they are added before or after moving off a closed day. Some rules instead move the day service counts as complete. Where the papers were served from can change the number of days.
• Dates counted from other dates. Some dates count from another date in the same rule set rather than from the trigger.
• Special rules. Some rules are not a simple number of days, for example "the Monday after" a period ends, or whichever of two dates is later. The rule set writes these as separate steps, and the calculation shows each one.
• Due times. A date can carry a due time when its rule sets one.

Read a calculation

Each calculated date shows its citation, the rule it comes from. When you apply or recalculate court rules, each date on the Dates step also has a one-line explanation of how it was counted and moved.

The full working, step by step, is under Show calculation: in the Calculation column of a matter's Court dates tab, on the Dates step when you apply or recalculate court rules, and in the rule set preview in Settings. A date's Details tab lists the same steps under Calculation. Each step shows the date after that step and why, and lists the days it skipped with the reason for each, such as a weekend or the name of a holiday.

Under the steps, a sentence says how the date was calculated and whether it needs checking, as described in the next section.

What the badges on a date mean

Most dates carry no badge, and a sentence explains each one. A badge appears when a person needs to check or enter the date. The rule set preview in Settings also shows the two quieter levels as badges, Calculated and Typical.

Words in square brackets are filled in by Esqase. A date marked Check this date is still added, and it goes on the calendar like any other date.

When a date is marked Check this date

Esqase marks a date for checking when:

• The holiday calendar does not reach far enough. Esqase publishes each court's holidays year by year, and a period can run past the last published date: The [calendar] holiday calendar is published only through [date]., or The [calendar] holiday calendar has no published dates yet.
• A new version of the rules takes effect during the period: A different version of these rules takes effect on [date], inside this calculation.
• No version covered the trigger date: No version of these rules was in effect on [date]. The most recent earlier version was used., or The trigger date [date] is before the earliest version of these rules. The earliest version was used.
• The date falls on a holiday when the clerk's office may be open: [date] is [holiday]. Check whether the clerk's office is open that day.
• A detail was missing, for example: Where the papers were mailed from was not given, so in-state mail was used.
• The rule itself needs a person to read it. Esqase marks some rules for checking, for example where a rule can be read two ways, and gives the reason.

When Esqase publishes a court's holidays for another year, open dates due in that year are checked again, so a badge that was there only because the calendar did not reach that far can clear on its own.

Which version of the rules is used

Esqase uses the version of the rule set in effect on the trigger date, even when a later version exists. The Apply court rules dialog shows the version before you confirm, and Court rules on this matter, on the Court dates tab, shows the version each trigger uses.

When Esqase updates rules or a court changes its calendar

When Esqase publishes a new version of a rule set, it recalculates the open dates on the matters that use it, with the version in effect on each trigger date. What happens next depends on the When the rules change choice the matter was given when the rules were applied (see Turning on court rules and following courts):

• Review changes first: a date that would change keeps its current date, shows Change to review, and waits for a member to accept the new date or keep the current one.
• Apply changes automatically: Future dates that nobody has changed by hand move straight away. A date changed by hand, or already past, gets its new date for review instead.

Either way, completed, vacated and not applicable dates are left alone, and dates added by hand are never recalculated. A new version can also produce dates the matter does not have yet, or stop producing a date it has. Esqase does not add or remove those on its own. A date the rules stop producing stays open and shows a Needs review badge, and the notice counts the dates still to add. Recalculating the trigger brings the matter in line after you have seen every change. See Working with court dates.

A matter set to Keep rules version on its Court dates tab is not updated when Esqase publishes new rules: its dates stay on the version they use until someone recalculates the trigger. Changes to a court's holiday calendar still ask for review on that matter. See Working with court dates.

When Esqase publishes a change to a court's holiday calendar, such as a new holiday or a closure, open dates whose calculation touched a changed day are recalculated in the same way: moved under Apply changes automatically, or offered for review otherwise.

Members hear about these changes through the Court rules updated and Court dates added or changed notifications. See Working with court dates.

Disclaimer

Court dates in Esqase are calculated by software, from rule sets and holiday calendars that Esqase staff maintain from published court rules, statutes and court holiday notices. Esqase is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

These are the words Esqase shows in the product. Words in square brackets are filled in by Esqase.

When an owner or administrator accepts the court rules terms for the firm:

Esqase calculates court dates from the rules and holiday calendars it has on file for each court, and shows the rule set, the version and the date it was last verified next to every date it calculates.

Local rules, judges' orders and case-specific orders can change or override those dates. Check each date against the governing rules and the orders in your case before relying on it.

Your firm remains responsible for its deadlines.

In the Apply court rules dialog:

Esqase calculates these dates from the rules and holiday calendar listed below (rule set [name], version [number], verified [date]). Local rules, judges' orders and case-specific orders can change or override them. Check each date against the governing rules and the orders in your case before relying on it. Your firm remains responsible for its deadlines.

At the top of every matter's Court dates tab:

Computed from the rules Esqase has on file for this court. Verify every date against the court's current rules and orders before relying on it.

In the description of every calendar entry created from court rules:

Court date from [citation]. Check it against the court's current rules and the orders in the case.

When you preview a rule set in Settings:

Esqase calculates these dates from the rules and holiday calendar listed here ([rule set name], version [number], verified [date]). Local rules, judges' orders and case-specific orders can change or override them. Check each date against the governing rules and the orders in your case before relying on it.

When you add a court form:

Esqase copies the official form into your documents. The copy belongs to your firm and never changes when the court publishes a new version.

Each calculated date also carries its own sentence, as listed under What the badges on a date mean.

What the calculations cover:

• Calculations cover only the courts and rule sets listed for your firm. They do not include judges' standing orders, scheduling orders, stipulations, extensions, tolling or statutes of limitation. Enter dates from orders by hand, and change a calculated date by hand when an order changes it.
• Court calendars can change at short notice, for example when a court closes for an emergency. Record a closure you know about under your firm's court closures, and recalculate.
• Court forms are copies of the forms the issuing court publishes. Check that you are using the version in effect when you file.
• Always confirm deadlines against the court's rules and orders, and keep your own docketing review process.

Common questions

A date does not match my own count. What should I check? Open Show calculation and compare each step with the rule. Check the trigger date, how the papers were served, and the version shown for the trigger. If a local rule or an order changes the date, change it by hand and give the reason.

The court announced a closure that Esqase does not show yet. What do I do? Add it under Court closures in Settings, then recalculate the trigger so the matter's dates count around it. See Turning on court rules and following courts.

Does Esqase apply a judge's standing order? No. Add dates from standing orders and scheduling orders by hand. See Working with court dates.

Why do most dates have no badge? A badge appears only when a person needs to check or enter a date. Every calculated date still has its sentence and its step-by-step working under Show calculation.

Related

• Applying court rules to a matter
• Working with court dates
• Turning on court rules and following courts
• Court forms