Otnes v. PCC Structurals, Inc.

UTCR 21.080(5) authorizes a trial court to relate the filing date of a rejected document back to the original date the document was tendered for filing, if the filing party cures the deficiency identified by the trial court within three days.

A court clerk rejected Plaintiff’s motion on the basis of failure to pay the filing fee. Plaintiff assigned error to the court’s denial of his motion. On appeal, Plaintiff argued UTCR 21.080(5) does not require a person to “justify” or “excuse” the filing failure, only that a reason is provided. Defendant argued Plaintiff did not provide a sufficient reason as UTCR 21.080(5) does not apply when a document is rejected for failure to pay a filing fee as required under ORS 21.100. UTCR 21.080(5) authorizes a trial court to relate the filing date of a rejected document back to the original date the document was tendered for filing, if the filing party cures the deficiency identified by the trial court within three days. The Court ruled that UTCR 21.080(5)(a) on its face only requires a requestor to submit a cover letter with a reason, it does not require that the reasons provided be proven by the filer. The Court held that the lower court erred in denying Plaintiff’s request. REVERSED AND REMANDED.