--- name: or-law-references version: 0.3.1 description: > Use this skill to cite, apply, or research Oregon civil law. Triggers include "ORCP 21", "ORCP 43", "ORCP 46", "ORCP 47", "ORCP 71", "Oregon civil rules", "OEC 803", "OEC 901", "OEC 902", "business records", "authentication", "motion to compel", "attorney fees", "ORS 20", "lodestar", "UTCR", "Oregon citation format", "Or", "P3d", "SLR". Covers ORCP, OEC (ORS 40.010 et seq.), UTCR citation format, ORS 20 fees-and-costs, local SLRs, key civil cases, and canonical online-sources. For subject-matter- specific law (debt collection, landlord-tenant, etc.), compose with relevant subject-matter skill (e.g., or-consumer-debt). Composes with or-statewide-format, or-multcc / or-wccc, or-pro-se, and or-fact-check. --- # Oregon Law References — General Civil Practice This skill is a matter-neutral reference index — a pointer to the statutes, rules, and doctrines most often invoked in Oregon civil practice *across any subject matter*. The body below summarizes each source. Detailed sections, elements, and citation examples live in `references/`. > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** These notes are drafting aids, not legal > advice. Every citation should be verified against the current > ORS, current court rule, or current case law before it goes > into a filing. Use `or-fact-check` before any packet is filed. ## How to use this skill Ask: *what is the user trying to establish procedurally?* - **A procedural motion** (compel, dismiss, strike, default, SJ, vacate) → start with `references/civil-rules.md` - **An evidentiary objection** (hearsay, authentication, best evidence, foundation) → start with `references/evidence-rules.md` - **A fee-and-cost request or objection** → start with `references/fees-and-costs.md` - **A local-rule question** (Multnomah SLR; Washington Co SLR) → start with `references/local-rules.md` - **Citation format** → `references/citation-format.md` - **Canonical URL or citation verification** → start with `references/online-sources.md` and hand off to `or-fact-check` for per-filing verification - **Programmatic / structured lookup** (ORS XML, USC XML, eCFR API, CourtListener for cite-checking, bulk extraction, change detection) → `references/legal-data-apis.md`. Prefer the APIs listed there over HTML scraping when the result will be parsed - **A general civil case** (SJ standard, lodestar, default- vacation) → start with `references/key-cases.md` - **Subject-matter law** (FDCPA, Reg F, consumer protection under UTPA, landlord-tenant, family, PI, criminal) → use the relevant subject-matter skill (e.g., `or-consumer-debt` for debt collection) ## Oregon civil rules A **single** set of rules — there is no Oregon analog to Washington's CR / CRLJ split, because Oregon consolidated its trial courts in 1998. - **ORCP** — Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (adopted by the Council on Court Procedures under ORS 1.735, with legislative approval / non-disapproval) Key rules: - **ORCP 1** — applicability; ORCP 1 E permits declarations "under penalty of perjury" in lieu of notarized affidavits - **ORCP 7** — service of summons and complaint; 63-day deadline for Return of Service (ORCP 7 D(3)) - **ORCP 9** — service of subsequent papers; ORCP 9 C: 3-day mail rule; ORCP 9 G: Certificate of Service - **ORCP 10** — time computation; defines court days vs. calendar days - **ORCP 15** — pleadings allowed; 30 days to answer (ORCP 7 C(2)) - **ORCP 17** — signing of pleadings; sanctions for unfounded filings - **ORCP 21** — motions to dismiss / defenses asserted as motions; ORCP 21 A(8) = failure to state ultimate facts (the Oregon analog to FRCP 12(b)(6)) - **ORCP 23** — amendment of pleadings; "leave shall be freely given" - **ORCP 36** — general scope of discovery; ORCP 36 B(1) = relevance + proportionality - **ORCP 39** — depositions - **ORCP 43** — requests for production - **ORCP 44** — physical/mental examination - **ORCP 45** — requests for admission - **ORCP 46** — motion to compel; **ORCP 46 A(4)(a)** = mandatory fee-shifting on a successful motion to compel - **ORCP 47** — summary judgment; ORCP 47 C governs filing / response / reply schedule - **ORCP 54** — dismissal; ORCP 54 B = failure to prosecute - **ORCP 67** — judgments - **ORCP 68** — costs; **ORCP 68 C(2)–(4)** = statement of costs and fees procedure - **ORCP 69** — default - **ORCP 71** — relief from judgment or order; the Oregon analog to FRCP 60(b) - **ORCP 81** — interpretation **Note**: Oregon does **NOT have written interrogatories** under ORCP as a matter of right. Discovery tools available are: depositions (ORCP 39), requests for production (ORCP 43), physical/mental exams (ORCP 44), and requests for admission (ORCP 45). Some court-annexed arbitration programs allow interrogatories under arbitrator's discretion. This is a major distinction from Washington (which has CR 33 interrogatories) and from the FRCP (which has FRCP 33). See `references/civil-rules.md` for rule-by-rule coverage. ## Oregon Evidence Code (OEC) The OEC is codified in **ORS 40.010–40.585**. Numbering parallels the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) at the section level (OEC 401 = relevance; OEC 801 = hearsay definition; OEC 901 = authentication), but the substantive rules sometimes diverge. Key sections for civil practice: - **OEC 401** — relevance - **OEC 403** — exclusion for prejudice / confusion - **OEC 602** — personal knowledge - **OEC 801–803** — hearsay; **OEC 803(6)** = business records - **OEC 901–902** — authentication; **OEC 902** = self-authentication - **OEC 1001–1008** — best evidence; **OEC 1002** = original document rule See `references/evidence-rules.md` for rule-by-rule coverage and the business-records / authentication patterns most common in civil practice. ## Fees and costs **ORS Ch. 20** — the costs and fees chapter. Recovery mechanisms: - **ORS 20.075** — factors considered in awarding fees (when fees are authorized by statute or contract) - **ORS 20.077** — fees on a per-claim basis - **ORS 20.082** — small claims fees - **ORS 20.083** — fees as costs vs. as part of judgment - **ORS 20.096** — reciprocal fee-shifting in contract cases (when contract has one-sided fee clause, prevailing party of either side recovers) - **ORS 20.105** — fee award against party for objectively unreasonable position (rough analog to CR 11 in Washington / Rule 11 federal — but distinct standard) - **ORS 20.140** — in forma pauperis status - **ORS 20.180** — costs as taxed - **ORS 20.190** — prevailing-party fees (mandatory $200–$590 depending on case type) **ORCP-based fee-shifting**: - **ORCP 46 A(4)(a)** — mandatory fee-shifting to the prevailing party on a motion to compel, unless the opposing party's failure was "substantially justified" - **ORCP 17** — sanctions for unsigned or unfounded pleadings - **ORCP 32** — class action attorney fees - **ORCP 54 E** — fees on dismissed claims **Statutory fee-shifting** (subject-matter-specific): - **ORS 646.638(3)** — UTPA: prevailing-party fees mandatory - **15 USC § 1692k** — FDCPA: prevailing-consumer fees mandatory - **ORS 90.255** — landlord-tenant: prevailing-party fees available See `references/fees-and-costs.md` for full coverage, the lodestar method, pro-se recovery limits, and pleading templates. ## Local rules Each Oregon circuit court maintains **Supplemental Local Rules (SLR)** layered on top of the statewide UTCR and ORCP: - **Multnomah SLR** — Civil Department: motion practice through assigned JA (SLR 5.025), meet-and-confer certification (SLR 5.045), working copies over 25 pages (SLR 5.100), order submission (SLR 5.101) - **Washington County SLR (Oregon)** — Civil Division scheduling (SLR 5.025), simultaneous Notice of Hearing (SLR 5.045), meet-and-confer (SLR 5.046), working copies over 15 pages (SLR 5.100) - **Other counties' SLR** — Lane, Marion, Jackson, Deschutes, Clackamas, etc. See `references/local-rules.md` for the full coverage, inter-county variation, and the interaction with UTCR statewide formatting. ## Citation format Oregon uses the **Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual** (OACSM, also called the "Oregon Style Manual") published by the OJD. Form for an Oregon case citation: > *Smith v. Jones*, 350 Or 1, 250 P3d 100 (2010) Federal citations are non-Bluebook in Oregon style: `15 USC § 1692k(a)(1)` (no periods in "USC"). See `references/citation-format.md` for patterns for Oregon and federal citations, parallel cites, short-form references, and UTCR / Style-Manual compliance. ## Canonical online sources `references/online-sources.md` is the AI-agent-friendly catalog of canonical URLs for: - Oregon court rules (UTCR, ORCP, OEC, ORAP) — courts.oregon.gov and the Council on Court Procedures site - ORS text — oregonlegislature.gov - eCFR (for federal regulations) - Cornell LII (for U.S.C. sections) - CourtListener and Google Scholar (for case law) - Multnomah and Washington County SLRs - OJD eCourt File and Serve (for filing mechanics) The catalog is the **only approved fetch source** for verification work. Per the plugin's safety policy, **WebFetch is the only mechanism used** — no curl, wget, Python requests, or other bypasses are permitted. See `or-fact-check` for the per-filing verification workflow. ## Key general-civil cases `references/key-cases.md` catalogs the general-civil cases this plugin relies on most: - **SJ burden**: *Two Two v. Fujitec America, Inc.*, 355 Or 319, 325 P3d 707 (2014) (no genuine issue of material fact; light shifts to non-movant after movant's prima facie showing) - **SJ inferences favorable to non-movant**: *Jones v. General Motors Corp.*, 325 Or 404, 939 P2d 608 (1997) - **Reciprocal fee-shifting**: *Lemargie v. Johnson*, 212 Or App 451, 157 P3d 1284 (2007) (ORS 20.096 scope) - **Lodestar method**: *Strawn v. Farmers Ins. Co. of Oregon*, 353 Or 210, 297 P3d 439 (2013) - **American rule baseline / no-fees-without-authority**: *Domingo v. Anderson*, 325 Or 385, 938 P2d 206 (1997) - **ORCP 71 default-vacation**: *Wagar v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America*, 276 Or 827, 556 P2d 658 (1976) (excusable neglect standard; also discussed in Or App opinions on ORCP 71 B(1)) **Subject-matter cases** — FDCPA, UTPA, business-records foundation in debt cases, chain-of-title — live alongside their subject-matter bundle (e.g., `or-consumer-debt/references/ key-cases.md`). ## Notes - These references are neutral summaries. They do not tell the user whether they win or lose. - Always **verify** a case before citing — Oregon case law has evolved on several doctrines (business-records foundation, ORCP 71 grounds, fee-shifting scope, ORCP 47 inferences). - For federal law, check the most recent Ninth Circuit opinion where controlling in federal court; Oregon state courts treat Ninth Circuit federal-statute interpretations as persuasive. - **Before filing**, run `or-fact-check` against the packet to catch fabricated, misquoted, or superseded citations.