Court rules

CaseFlow can compute key deadlines automatically from a trigger date and a court rule. Pick a jurisdiction, pick a rule (such as "Answer to Complaint" under FRCP), pick the trigger event, and CaseFlow calculates the resulting deadline date. When the trigger date later moves, CaseFlow offers to recompute every downstream deadline that depends on it.

This is optional. Every key deadline can still be hand-set as before. The court-rules section appears on the key deadline form for firms on the Multi-Practice plan and during the free trial.

Plan requirement

Court rules are available on the Multi-Practice plan and during the free trial.

What ships out of the box

CaseFlow includes a starter pack of rules across six jurisdictions:

• U.S. Federal Civil (FRCP)
• New York Supreme Court (CPLR)
• California Superior Court (CCP)
• Texas District Court (TRCP)
• Florida Circuit Court (Fla. R. Civ. P.)
• Delaware Chancery Court

Each jurisdiction has the most common civil-litigation and appeal deadline rules already encoded (response windows, discovery deadlines, post-trial motions, notices of appeal, and similar), 99 rules in total. There are no criminal or family court rule sets. The list is fixed; firm-defined custom rules are not yet available.

Computing a deadline from a rule

Open a matter and click the Key Deadlines tab. Click New Key Deadline. The standard deadline form opens.

Below the description field, you will see a Compute from court rule section.

Fill in the section in this order:

1. Jurisdiction: Pick the court whose rules apply (for example, U.S. Federal Civil for federal litigation in any district).
2. Rule: After picking a jurisdiction, the Rule dropdown unlocks with the rules CaseFlow has for that court. Pick the one that matches what you are computing (for example, "Answer to Complaint").
3. Trigger source: Pick how the rule's start date is set:
   • Trigger deadline: Bind to a sibling key deadline on the same matter. When that sibling moves, CaseFlow offers to recompute this one. Example: bind "Answer to Complaint" to the "Service of Complaint" deadline.
   • No trigger (hand-set): Type a specific date into the Trigger date field that appears.
4. CaseFlow computes the resulting Deadline date and shows it in a green confirmation box below the section.

Click Save to create the deadline.

If CaseFlow cannot compute the deadline (for instance, the trigger date is missing or the rule cannot be applied to the chosen inputs), an amber error box appears. Either fix the trigger inputs or fill the Deadline field by hand.

How the math works

CaseFlow computes a deadline from the trigger date the way Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(a) counts time:

• The trigger day is not counted. Every day after it is, including weekends and holidays.
• The last day is moved off a weekend or holiday. If it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, or on a U.S. federal holiday for a federal rule, the deadline moves to the next day that is not. For a period counted backward, such as a disclosure due a set number of days before trial, it moves to the day before instead.

Every rule in the starter pack counts calendar days; business-day rules and state holiday calendars are not available. CaseFlow applies the period encoded in the rule; it does not read or interpret the rule text.

What CaseFlow does not account for

Confirm each computed date against the rule before you rely on it, especially near a holiday:

• State holidays are not applied, either to state-court rules or where Rule 6(a)(6)(C) treats a state holiday as a legal holiday in federal court.
• Service add-ons are not applied. The three days Rule 6(d) adds after service by mail, and state equivalents, are not added.
• Clerk's office closures and district local rules are not accounted for.
• Deadlines computed before September 22, 2026 used an earlier method that could place a federal deadline one day late when a holiday fell inside the period, and did not move a deadline off a weekend. Recompute or check any rule-computed deadline created before that date.

Cascade recomputation

When you change a deadline that other deadlines depend on, CaseFlow shows a Recompute downstream deadlines? preview before saving.

The preview lists each downstream deadline with three columns:

• The deadline name and rule
• Its current date
• The recomputed date if you accept

You can apply the recomputation, dismiss it (keep the current dates), or close the modal and edit the trigger by hand without affecting the downstream chain.

Protected deadlines

If any downstream deadline was computed from a rule that the starter pack marks as protected (post-trial motions and notices of appeal, among others), the preview surfaces it in a separate group with a confirmation checkbox.

You cannot apply the cascade until you tick that box. This is a deliberate friction point. A shifted appeal deadline is the kind of error that ends matters; CaseFlow makes you say "yes, I looked" before the date changes.

What if my jurisdiction is not in the starter pack?

The federal set applies to federal civil cases in any district, but district local rules are not included. For a state court that is not on the list, hand-set the deadline without using a rule. Do not substitute another state's rules: periods, service add-ons and holiday calendars differ from state to state.

Firm-defined custom rules are not yet available. Email support@caseflow.law if you need a jurisdiction that is not listed.

Plan availability

Plan requirement

Court rules are available on the Multi-Practice plan. The free trial includes this feature.

Next steps

• Key deadlines - The deadline form itself, where the Compute from court rule section lives
• Calendar overview - The firm-wide calendar that displays computed deadlines