Christmas prezzies sorted? Self-executing orders complied with? Default judgment averted? Holiday booked?

Maybe some of your Christmas deadlines are less pressing than they appear.

Civil litigators should remember at this time of year that the Civil Procedure Rules allow them a bonus 16 days over the Christmas / New Year break to comply with most orders and Court rules containing time limits.

In each of the Supreme, County and Magistrates’ Court rules, time stops running because of Rule 3.04(1). The two alternative formulations of Rule 3.04(1) have identical effect. The Supreme and County Court version provides:

In calculating time fixed by these Rules or by any order fixing, extending or abridging time, the period from 24 December to 9 January next following shall be excluded, unless the Court otherwise orders.

An example. A defendant who files an appearance today (Friday, 11 December 2015) would normally as a consequence be required (by Rule 14.02) to serve a defence within 30 days thereafter (ie by Monday, 11 January 2016). But at this time of year that 30 days actually expires in 46 days’ time on Wednesday, 27 January 2016 after allowance is made for the end-of-year suspension of time under Rule 3.04(1) and also the Australia Day holiday on 26 January 2016. (See Rule 3.01(5) as to the effect of public holidays and other days when the courts’ offices are closed).

The Federal Court is even more generous. Its equivalent is Rule 1.61(5) which provides:

If the time fixed by [these Rules or by an order of the Court] includes a day in the period starting on 24 December in a year and ending on 14 January in the next year, the day is not to be counted.

That was that good news. Now the bad news.

Time pauses for some litigation purposes over the break but not for others.

In Kuek v Victoria Legal Aid [1999] VSC 158 the plaintiff sought to rely upon Rule 3.04(1) to commence an appeal which was otherwise out of time under the Magistrates’ Court Act. He failed. Beach J held that Rule 3.04(1) as a rule of Court could not have the effect of extending a statutory deadline unless the statute concerned (or some other) gave the Court express power to vary that deadline.

So if you have a statutory demand or a potential appeal quietly ticking away on your desk as Christmas approaches, Rule 3.04(1) offers no yuletide peace and goodwill.

But if you have no such time bombs on your desk – Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, a Splendid Silly Season and a very happy new year to you.