Don’t forget to confer before filing a motion in Oregon state court

While it can be easy to overlook the conferral requirement in Uniform Trial Court Rule (UTCR) 5.010, a recent opinion by the Oregon Court of Appeals underscores the importance of communicating with opposing counsel before filing a motion.  UTCR 5.010 requires attorneys to make a good faith effort to confer with the other party before filing most motions under ORCP 21, 23 and 36-46.  In Anderson v. State Farm Mutual Company, the Oregon Court of Appeals made it clear that this requirement is not to be taken lightly.  The defendant in Anderson successfully moved to dismiss an action under ORCP 21 A(3). On appeal, the court held that the requirements of UTCR 5.010 were mandatory, and overturned the trial court’s dismissal because the defendant had failed to confer. The court also held that futility was not an excuse—a party is required to make a good faith effort to confer with the other side even if that party believes that doing so would be futile.