New Hampshire's PAD Pilot Project Rules to Be Implemented Statewide

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire entered an order last week amending the Superior Court Proportional Discovery/Automatic Disclosure Pilot Project Rules to implement the PAD Pilot Rules in all counties beginning March 1, 2013. The rules implement changes to the pleading and discovery rules, including replacing notice pleading with fact-based pleading, requiring early initial disclosures after which only limited additional discovery is permitted, and assignment to a single judge. The PAD Pilot Project was originally launched in Strafford and Carroll County Superior Courts on October 2, 2010. The pilot project has run for two years, and the National Center for State Courts is currently evaluating the data from the project. Because of positive feedback from its original implementation, the rules were extended to the Superior Courts for Hillsborough Counties beginning October 1, 2012, and will soon be applicable statewide. New Hampshire’s website offers a wealth of information regarding the project, including a PAD primer, timeline , flowchart, and forms.