in-deadlines

Indiana Case Deadlines

This skill computes every deadline in Indiana civil practice using Trial Rule 6 time-computation rules and IC 1-1-9-1 state holidays. It is invoked anytime a deadline must be calculated — whether from a service date, a hearing date, a judgment entry date, or a statutory accrual.

The bundled scripts/case-calendar.py is the computational counterpart; it encodes all named Indiana deadline rules and returns the exact next-business-day adjustment. Use it for every non-trivial deadline.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Generated content is a drafting aid; deadlines in Indiana are jurisdictional in many contexts. Verify every computed deadline against the rule text and the venue court's local rules before relying on it.

Trial Rule 6 — Time Computation

T.R. 6(A) sets the standard time-computation rules:

"In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of the court, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included unless it is: (1) a Saturday, (2) a Sunday, (3) a legal holiday as defined by state statute, or (4) a day the office in which the act is to be done is closed during regular business hours. ..."

Key rules:

1. Exclude Day 0 (the triggering event)
2. Include the last day UNLESS it is a weekend or IC 1-1-9-1 legal holiday — in which case extend to the next non-holiday weekday
3. For periods of less than 7 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are EXCLUDED from the count (T.R. 6(A))
4. For periods of 7 days or more, intermediate Saturdays / Sundays / holidays are INCLUDED in the count

Examples:

• 20-day answer due (T.R. 6(C)): Served on Monday March 3, 2025. Day 1 = Tuesday March 4. Day 20 = Sunday March 23. Last day Saturday/Sunday → extend to Monday March 24, 2025.
• 5-day notice of deposition (T.R. 30(B)(1)): less than 7 days, so intermediate weekends are excluded. Notice served Wednesday April 2, 2025 → 5 court days = following Wednesday April 9 (skipping Saturday April 5 and Sunday April 6).

Service-by-mail — no extension under Indiana practice

Important Indiana quirk: T.R. 6(E) was abolished in 2009. Indiana no longer adds 3 days for service by mail; the deadline runs from the date of service regardless of method. This differs from federal practice (FRCP 6(d) still adds 3 days for mail service) and from Oregon (ORCP 10 C adds 3 days for mail).

Practical impact: when a Summons is served by certified mail, the 20-day answer clock starts on the date the green card is signed by the defendant. The plaintiff cannot rely on extra mail days.

Indiana legal holidays — IC 1-1-9-1

The statewide legal holidays (the days a court office is "closed during regular business hours" under T.R. 6(A)):

Holiday	Date	Notes
New Year's Day	January 1	Saturday → Friday; Sunday → Monday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day	3rd Monday of January
Lincoln's Birthday	February 12	Observed but courts open
Washington's Birthday / Presidents' Day	3rd Monday of February
Good Friday	Friday before Easter	Indiana-specific; most states don't observe
Primary Election Day	1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in May, even years	Indiana-specific; courts closed in even-year primary years
Memorial Day	Last Monday of May
Independence Day	July 4	Saturday → Friday; Sunday → Monday
Labor Day	1st Monday of September
Columbus Day	2nd Monday of October	Most state courts closed
General Election Day	1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in November, even years	Indiana-specific; courts closed in even-year general election years
Veterans Day	November 11	Saturday → Friday; Sunday → Monday
Thanksgiving	4th Thursday of November
Day after Thanksgiving	Friday after Thanksgiving	By Governor's proclamation most years; verify
Christmas Day	December 25	Saturday → Friday; Sunday → Monday

The bundled scripts/case-calendar.py encodes these holidays including the even-year election quirks.

Named deadline rules

Use these via case-calendar.py --rule <name>:

Initial response

• answer-due — 20 days (T.R. 6(C))
• answer-due-extension — 20 + 30 days by stipulation (T.R. 6(B))

Discovery

• rfp-response — 30 days from service (T.R. 34(B))
• interrogatory-response — 30 days from service (T.R. 33(C))
• rfa-response — 30 days from service (T.R. 36(A)); failure deems admitted
• deposition-notice — 10 days minimum (T.R. 30(B)(1))

Motion practice

• summary-judgment-response — 30 days (T.R. 56(C))
• summary-judgment-reply — Indiana T.R. 56(C) gives the movant reasonable time; Marion CPC suggests 10-15 days
• motion-response-typical — 15 days (Marion CPC default)

Post-judgment

• motion-to-correct-error — 30 days from final judgment (T.R. 59(C)) — jurisdictional
• tr-59-deemed-denied — 45 days from filing (T.R. 59(B)) — if no ruling, motion is deemed denied
• tr-60-b-1-3 — 1 year from judgment for grounds (1)-(3)
• notice-of-appeal-no-tr59 — 30 days from final judgment
• notice-of-appeal-with-tr59 — 30 days from ruling on T.R. 59
• judgment-life — 20 years from entry (IC 34-55-1-2)

Garnishment / supplemental

• garnishee-answer — 20 days from Garnishee Summons service

Statutes of limitation (defenses)

• sol-written-contract-property — 10 years (IC 34-11-2-9)
• sol-written-contract-money — 6 years (IC 34-11-2-11)
• sol-open-account — 6 years (IC 34-11-2-7)
• sol-promissory-note — 6 years (IC 34-11-2-13)
• sol-personal-injury — 2 years (IC 34-11-2-4)
• sol-fraud-discovery — 6 years from discovery (IC 34-11-2-7)
• sol-fdcpa — 1 year from violation (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d))
• sol-fcra — 2 years from discovery or 5-year repose (15 U.S.C. § 1681p)
• sol-tila — 1 year (15 U.S.C. § 1640(e))
• sol-dcsa-discovery — 2 years from discovery (IC 24-5-0.5-5)

FDCPA / Reg F

• fdcpa-validation-period — 30 days for consumer dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34)

Common deadline computations

Triggering event	Period	Authority	Result
Served personally	20 days	T.R. 6(C)	Answer due
Served by certified mail (green card date)	20 days	T.R. 6(C); 4.1	Answer due
RFP served	30 days	T.R. 34(B)	RFP response
RFA served	30 days	T.R. 36(A)	RFA response; failure = admitted
Interrogatories served	30 days	T.R. 33(C)	Interrogatory response
Final judgment entered	30 days	T.R. 59(C); Ind. App. R. 9(A)	T.R. 59 motion OR Notice of Appeal
T.R. 59 motion filed	45 days	T.R. 59(B)	Deemed denied if no ruling
T.R. 59 motion denied	30 days	Ind. App. R. 9(A)	Notice of Appeal
Judgment entered	1 year	T.R. 60(B)(1)-(3)	T.R. 60(B) motion outer deadline
Judgment entered	20 years	IC 34-55-1-2	Judgment expires
Last written-contract activity (property)	10 years	IC 34-11-2-9	SOL bars action
Last open-account activity	6 years	IC 34-11-2-7	SOL bars action

Using the case-calendar.py script

# Answer due — 20 calendar days from service 2025-03-15
python3 plugins/in-court-docs/scripts/case-calendar.py \
  --from 2025-03-15 --rule answer-due

# RFP response from a March 1 service date
python3 plugins/in-court-docs/scripts/case-calendar.py \
  --from 2025-03-01 --rule rfp-response

# 6-year SOL from last payment on a credit card account
python3 plugins/in-court-docs/scripts/case-calendar.py \
  --from 2019-11-15 --rule sol-open-account

# Custom — 14 calendar days, manual override
python3 plugins/in-court-docs/scripts/case-calendar.py \
  --from 2025-04-15 --days 14 --mode calendar

# List all named rules
python3 plugins/in-court-docs/scripts/case-calendar.py --rules

The script handles end-of-period rollover to the next non-holiday business day, even-year election holidays, and Good Friday.

Composition

• in-statewide-format for the document-level format requirements
• in-law-references for the rule and statute authority
• in-marion / in-lake / in-county-courts for local-rule deadline variations (some county CMS orders impose tighter intermediate deadlines)
• in-pro-se for self-represented deadline management
• in-first-30-days for the 20-day answer window
• in-post-judgment for T.R. 59 and T.R. 60(B) windows
• in-discovery for the 30-day discovery response window

References

• references/tr6-time-computation.md — full T.R. 6(A) text with worked examples
• references/legal-holidays.md — IC 1-1-9-1 holidays with observed-day rules
• references/named-rules.md — full catalog of named deadline rules

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Generated content is a drafting aid; verify against current rules and case law before filing.