Series 14260

DESCRIPTION: The Civil Case Index records the names of plaintiffs and defendants involved in civil actions and provides assigned case numbers, facilitating clerical management of and access to the civil case files.

Information about most cases is limited to the name of the plaintiff, the name of the defendant, and the case number. The cause of action is mentioned in only a handful of cases preceded by the notation "In the matter of . . ." which are grouped together in a section under the letters IN.

While sitting in Salt Lake City, the Third District Court is restricted to adjudication of civil actions involving real property located within Salt Lake County, those in which the defendant resides in Salt Lake County, and those involving incidents occurring in Salt Lake County.

ARRANGEMENT: Index entries are arranged alphabetically by party name according to the letter-by-letter mode. Party names include individual surnames and corporate names of both plaintiffs and defendants. The letter-by-letter mode of alphabetization results in distinctive treatment of businesses whose names begin with (or are preceded by) blank spaces, letters, symbols, or numerals. Twelve cases where no plaintiff or defendant is identified and business names beginning with symbols (i.e., [#], ['], or ["]) and letters (i.e., A and A Concrete) precede those with letters only (i.e., Anderson Auto). Numbers have not been alphabetized as though spelled out. Those names beginning with numbers (i.e., 10-Minute Lube, 47 Samurai, 49th Street Galleria, 60-Minute Eyewear, 7-Eleven, 7-Up, etc.) are grouped together at the end of the index. Also included are partnerships identified by address (i.e., 1085 Vine Street) and dates of automobiles (i.e., 1969 Ford Pickup).

RESEARCH NOTE: The case number assigned by the court is essential to locate the desired case file. Researchers should first consult the indices to plaintiffs and defendants to find the unique case number corresponding to the appropriate case file. Entries for a party may be inconsistent. Watch for variations in spelling, acronym use, abbreviation, punctuation, form, etc. Variations for Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) include: Zion, Zions; Zion's; ZCMI Department Store; ZCMI Dept. Store; ZCMI Inc.; ZCMI, Inc; ZCMI; Z.C.M.I.; Z C M I; Cooperative; Co-operative; Co-op; Mercantile; Merchantile; Institut; Instit; Inst.; Inst; Ins; Ist; etc.

RELATED RECORDS: Records from 1969 in the CIVIL CASE FILES (1896–1969), series 1622, as well as the CIVIL CASE FILES (SEALED) (1957–1969), series 12628, are indexed by this series. A computer index maintained by the court for cases filed since 1989 is available in the office of the court clerk. Civil case numbers are also included in the CIVIL JUDGMENT DOCKETS (1871–1947), series 1671, which provides an alternate way to find a desired case number via the internal surname index.

FINDING AIDS: A research guide entitled "Using Court Records" is available for patron use.

CUSTODY HISTORY: The CIVIL CASE INDEX was created and maintained by the Salt Lake County Clerk, who was constitutionally designated as ex-officioclerk of the Third District Court in and for Salt Lake County.

PROCESSING NOTE: Indexes were designated as a permanent record by Records Disposition Request 1968-3, which also authorized microfilming and destruction of the original documents. The records retention policy of the Utah Judicial Council reprinted in the 1983 state retention schedule first specified a nine-year retention before microfilming. The CIVIL CASE INDEX was microfilmed circa 1988. These records were archivally processed by W. Glen Fairclough, Jr., in October 1994.

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