Rules of Court · Part 5 · New Jersey
R. 5:5-8 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 5:5-8: Previous File or Record, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked
Previous File or Record
(a) Previous Action Within State. In every family action where it appears by a pleading that there has been a previous family action in this State between the parties, any party or the court shall request the clerk of the court in which it was instituted to send to the clerk of the county in which the pending action is to be tried the complete file in the previous action or a certified copy thereof. At the conclusion of the action such file shall be returned.
(b) Previous Action Outside State. If it appears that the previous action was in a foreign jurisdiction, the party whose pleading refers thereto, or the moving party if the action is uncontested, shall produce at trial so much of the record in said action as is necessary to enable the court to determine the effect, if any, of the previous action upon the issue before it.
Note: Source - R. (1969) 4:79-6(a) (b). Adopted as R. 5:5-6 December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; redesignated as R. 5:5-7 November 5, 1986 to be effective January 1, 1987; redesignated as R. 5:5-8 July 27, 2006 to be effective September 1, 2006.
Verbatim rule text, unmarked. Nothing here is a summary.
rule 5:5-8 "Previous File or Record" {
(a) Previous Action Within State. In every family action where it appears by a pleading that there has been a previous family action in this State between the parties, any party or the court shall request the clerk of the court in which it was instituted to send to the clerk of the county in which the pending action is to be tried the complete file in the previous action or a certified copy thereof. At the conclusion of the action such file shall be returned.
(b) Previous Action Outside State. If it appears that the previous action was in a foreign jurisdiction, the party whose pleading refers thereto, or the moving party if the action is uncontested, shall produce at trial so much of the record in said action as is necessary to enable the court to determine the effect, if any, of the previous action upon the issue before it.
Note: Source - R. (1969) 4:79-6(a) (b). Adopted as R. 5:5-6 December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; redesignated as R. 5:5-7 November 5, 1986 to be effective January 1, 1987; redesignated as R. 5:5-8 July 27, 2006 to be effective September 1, 2006.
}
referenced_by: none
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-17; corpus harvested 2026-09-02← R. 5:5-7 · R. 5:5-9 → · chapter 5:5 · all rules
The Rules of Court are a government edict and carry no copyright; the text above is the Judiciary’s own publication, unchanged. Structure, links and highlighting are ours and carry no legal weight. Read the rule on njcourts.gov before you rely on it; amendments take effect each September 1.