Objecting to a Commissioner's Recommendation

If a party in a case disagrees with a commissioner's recommendation they can file an Objection to Commissioner's Recommendation under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 108.

Either party can file the objection, but they must do so within 14 days of the commissioner's recommendation. 

Commissioners

In Judicial Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4, commissioners hear most matters in divorce, custody and other kinds of family law cases. A commissioner is a judicial officer who has the authority to review paperwork, hold hearings, gather evidence, and conduct settlement and pretrial conferences. They can also make recommendations to a judge, recommend sanctions and enter orders.

A commissioner's recommendation is the order of the court unless or until it is modified by a judge. Even if a judge has already counter-signed the commissioner's recommendation, you still have 14 days to file your objection under Rule 108.

Sometimes a commissioner will read aloud their recommendation at a hearing (in "open court"). Sometimes a commissioner may "take the matter under advisement" and issue a recommendation later.

Deadlines and process

There are deadlines for filing the objection.

The written objection should:

• Clearly and briefly identify which part of the commissioner's recommendation the party disagrees with,
• Explain why the recommendation should be changed, and
• State what the party would like the recommendation to say instead.

The objection works like a motion, which means:

• Some of the forms your or the other party use will say "motion," instead of "objection."
• The objection is decided by a judge, not the commissioner.
• The judge will not rule on the objection unless one of the parties files a Request to Submit for Decision. 
• The earliest you or the other person can file the Request to Submit for Decision is 14 days after the objection was filed (unless both of you agree on the objection).

This process is described in the Motions Decided by a Judge / Moving Party section of the Motions web page

Responding to an objection

If the other party wants to respond to the Objection to Commissioner's Recommendation, they must file a Memorandum Opposing the Objection within 14 days after the objection is filed.

The process and timelines are described in the Opposing party section of the Motions web page.  

Substantial change of circumstances (new evidence)

The judge will only look at the evidence that was already given to the commissioner.

The judge will not look at new evidence unless there has been a substantial change of circumstances (a major change in your situation that happened after the commissioner made the recommendation).

Asking for a hearing

Either party can ask for a hearing on the objection. If the hearing is about:

• a protective order,
• a motion to enforce order,
• custody or parent-time issues, or
• Utah Code section 26B-5-3 et seq. (Utah State Hospital and Other Mental Health Facilities),

either party may ask to present testimony and other evidence on the disputed issues.

If the hearing is about other issues (such as child support, alimony, or dividing property), the judge may allow testimony, but does not have to.

If neither party asks for a hearing, the judge can still choose to hold one, or they can make a decision without a hearing. The judge will make a decision by reviewing what was given to the commissioner, including witness testimony, documents, and proffers (when a person or lawyer summarizes facts for the court instead of calling a witness).

Forms

The forms you need depend on your case. What is your case about?