Court Rules

(Effective 10/1/98)

 

GENERAL RULES OF COURT

RULE 1: HOURS OF COURT

Offices of the Court shall be open between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P. M., Monday through Friday. These times may be modified by special order of the Court. Holidays listed in Section 1.14 of the Ohio Revised Code will be observed.

RULE 2: COMPUTATION OF TIME

Any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules shall be computed in accordance with the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure or the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure as applicable.

RULE 3: WITHDRAWAL OF FILES

The Clerk of Court shall not permit original files of cases entered upon the docket of the Court to be taken from the custody of the Clerk except upon order of the Court.

RULE 4: PROHIBITIONS ON EMPLOYEES

  1. Assistance to parties by employees of the Court shall be limited to furnishing the necessary forms where appropriate and any explanation as to their use. No legal advice shall be given.

  2. No employee of the Court shall at anytime, whether by request or otherwise, refer or direct any person to an attorney or to a bail bondsman.

RULE 5: REFERRALS OF CASES TO OTHER COURTS

Upon the filing of any action in this Court wherein any employee of the Court is involved as a party, the case shall be transmitted immediately to the Presiding Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Cuyahoga County for assignment to another court.

RULE 6: ADDITIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO RULES

Additional rules and amendments to these rules may be promulgated from time to time and shall be effective with or without general publication when the Court is satisfied that reasonable opportunity for notice of such additional rule or amendment was provided and the additional rule or amendment has been filed with the Ohio Supreme Court in accordance with Ohio Civil Rule 83 and Ohio Criminal Rule 57.

RULE 7: PUBLICATION OF RULES OF COURT

The Clerk of Court shall order production of copies of these rules and any subsequent additions or amendments. Copies shall be made available at the cost of production.

RULE 8: JURY DEMANDS; COSTS

  1. Jury costs are $625.00. In civil cases where a jury demand has been made, a deposit of $625.00 must be made by the demanding party at least eight (8) days prior to the commencement of the jury trial. Failure to abide by this rule will be considered a withdrawal of the jury demand.

  2. Withdrawal of jury demand timely made under Ohio Civil Rule 38 or Ohio Criminal Rule 23 must be in writing. Any deposit for costs which has not been used in summoning the jury shall be returned to the depositor. Any additional costs incurred shall be assessed by the Court. The withdrawal of jury demand after 3:00 p.m. on the day before trial is untimely and the party will be accessed the full jury cost.

  3. When a panel of jurors appears for service and the trial is continued or postponed by failure of a party or counsel to appear, that party shall be assessed the full jury cost, unless failure to appear is proved to the satisfaction of the Court to be due to extreme emergency or other conditions beyond the control of the party or counsel.

  4. A demand for a jury trial on the first cause of action for forcible entry and detainer must be made in writing and must be filed with the Clerk of Court not less than three (3) days prior to the date set for trial.

RULE 9: CONTINUANCES

  1. A Motion for Continuance must be filed at least three (3) working days in advance of the court proceeding for which the continuance is sought. All motions should be supported by any relevant documentation.

  2. Motions for Continuance filed pursuant to Rule 16 (B) of the Ohio Supreme Court Rules for the Superintendence of Municipal Courts must specify the reason for the continuance and the amount of time requested. Where a continuance is requested because of a conflicting date in another court, a copy of the other court’s notice must be attached.

  3. In civil actions, there is a $5 filing fee for all Motions to Continue.

RULE 10: WITHDRAWAL OF COUNSEL

Unless otherwise ordered, any attorney designated as Trial Attorney shall not be permitted to withdraw from an action less than five (5) days before trial.

Withdrawal shall be permitted only by written motion filed with the Court. The motion must include: (1) the time and date of any pending proceedings; (2) the specific reasons for requesting withdrawal; (3) the name and address of new counsel, if any, and (4) proof of notification to the withdrawing attorney’s client and the opposing party or his attorney.

RULE 11: ELECTRONIC FILING

Pursuant to Rule 5(E) of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure this Court will allow the filing by electronic transmission, through the clerk's office, of requests for continuances, motions, and other pleadings, not in excess of seven (7) pages. THIS COURT WILL NOT ACCEPT ELECTRONIC FILING OF ANY DOCUMENT THAT MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A FEE. Except, this Court will accept continuances filed by fax in civil cases if the required fee is paid within two (2) days of filing. Failure to pay the fee within two (2) days will constitute a withdrawal of that motion.

The words "Filed by Fax" must appear on any electronically filed document. The facsimile will be accepted as the original to be filed with the Court. The sender's original and fax confirmation slip will serve as proof of filing. No filed stamped copy of an electronically transmitted document will be mailed to any party.

The Court FAX machine will be on line twenty-four (24) hours a day. A document will be considered received on the day transmitted if that transmission takes place Monday through Friday (except holidays) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. After 4:45 p.m., the next business day's filing date will be applicable.

RULE 12: COMPUTER DOCKET SEARCHES

The Court allows access by public terminal or modem to docketing information placed on its computer system. The information in available for review only. Generally the system will be available 24 hours a day with the exception of early morning hours when the system is being backed-up.

The court also posts certain information regarding procedure on its WEB SITE at www.clevelandheightscourt.com.

 

RULES GOVERNING CIVIL CASES

RULE 13: COSTS OF FILING

No action or proceeding shall be accepted for filing by the Clerk of Court unless fees and deposits are paid as set forth in the schedule of court costs. Costs may be waived only upon filing of an affidavit of indigency and approval by the court.

RULE 14: SERVICE

The Clerk of Court will serve all civil complaints by certified mail in accordance with Rule 4 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. If service of process by certified mail is returned by the postal authorities with an endorsement of "Refused" or "Unclaimed," the Clerk shall employ certificate of mail service.

You may access the Court’s docket by modem to determine whether service has been successful.

RULE 15: LEAVES TO MOVE OR PLEAD

An extension of time to move or plead must be filed before the due date of a responsive pleading and may be granted by the Court or by stipulation for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days. No further leaves shall be granted except upon motion, in writing, supported by affidavit showing good cause.

RULE 16: CASE MANAGEMENT

  1. Purpose  The purpose of this rule is to establish, a system for civil case management which will provide for fair and impartial administration of civil cases. These rules shall be construed and applied to eliminate unnecessary delay and expense for all parties involved in the court system.

  2. Civil Case Designation Sheet  In all civil cases (other than small claims) a party or his counsel, upon filing a complaint, shall complete a Case Designation Sheet providing the Court with information regarding the anticipated scope of discovery, use of expert witnesses and viability of any alternative dispute resolution procedures. A Case Designation Sheet will be supplied to the defendant with the service of summons and shall be completed and filed with the answer.

  3. Case Management Conference  A case management conference will be set in each civil matter (other than small claims) within five (5) weeks of the filing of the answer. At that case management conference a binding case management schedule shall be set as well as a final pretrial date and/or trial date. In appropriate circumstances, an expert discovery schedule will be set and/or the case will be referred to alternative dispute resolution.

  4. Pretrials

  1. The primary purpose of a pretrial hearing is to achieve settlement. If settlement is unattainable, attempts shall be made to narrow the legal issues, to reach stipulations as to facts not in controversy and to shorten the time of trial.

  2. The Court may order any civil case to be set for a pretrial hearing at any time.

  3. Counsel and parties shall appear for the hearing at the time designated in the notice. If counsel appears without parties, counsel must have full settlement authority or the parties must be available by telephone.

  4. Parties and counsel may be required to produce or reveal any evidence, witnesses, documents or other matters intended to be relied upon at the trial. The Court may impose sanctions in accordance with Ohio Civil Rule 37 for failure to comply with this rule.

RULE 17: DISCOVERY

  1. Written Discovery  Discovery documents should not be filed with this Court. The Court does, however, require that any party serving discovery on another party must file a notice of service of same with this Court. Parties responding to discovery must likewise file a Notice of Service of Responses to Discovery with the Court. However, the responses themselves should not be filed.

  2. Motions to Compel  Motions to Compel Discovery will be entertained by this Court only after the party seeking responses has attempted to resolve the dispute with the other party without the assistance of the Court. If such efforts fail then a party seeking discovery may file a Motion to Compel with this Court. That motion must include a recitation of the efforts made to resolve the dispute before the motion was filed and copies of any and all written discovery and responses necessary for the Court to determine whether an order to compel is appropriate.

  3. Expert Witnesses

  1. If a party intends to call an expert to testify at trial, that party may be required to cause an expert report to be prepared and to serve a copy of same on the opposing party. Notice of Service of same (but not the report itself) shall be filed with the Court.

  2. The party with the burden of proof as to a particular issue shall be required to first submit expert reports on that issue. Thereafter, the responding party shall submit a report in accordance with the schedule set by the Court.

  3. A party may not call an expert witness unless a written report has been procured from the witness and provided to the opposing party as required by the Court. The report of the expert must reflect his opinions as to each issue upon which the expert will testify. An expert will not be permitted to testify or provide opinions on issues not raised in his report.

  4. A party may take the discovery deposition of the opposing party's expert only after a mutual exchange of expert reports has occurred. If a party chooses not to hire an expert in opposition to an issue, that party will be permitted to take the discovery deposition of the proponent's expert. Except for good cause shown, the taking of the discovery deposition of the proponent's expert constitutes a waiver on the part of the opponent to call an expert at trial on the issues raised in the proponent's report.

RULE 18: DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS

  1. When to File  A party to a civil action may file a dispositive motion at any time before a trial or pretrial has been set. After a trial or pretrial has been set a party may only file a dispositive motion with leave of Court.

  2. Failure to File Brief in Opposition  Parties shall have thirty (30) days from the date of service to file briefs in opposition to dispositive motions. Extensions of time for filing responsive briefs shall be made prior to the expiration of the time period originally designated for response. Unless otherwise provided in the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, the failure of the party against whom a motion is directed to file a brief in opposition may be construed by the Court as an admission that the motion should be granted.

RULE 19 : NON-DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS

A party shall have ten (10) days to file briefs responsive to all non-dispositive motions. A request for an extension of time in which to respond to a non-dispositive motion shall be made in the same manner as for dispositive motions. Unless otherwise provided in the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, a party’s failure to respond to a non-dispositive motion directed against him may be construed by the court as an admission that that motion should be granted.

RULE 20: TRIAL MEMORANDUM; SANCTIONS

  1. Trial Memorandum  Where a trial memorandum is required by order of the Court, it shall be filed three (3) days before trial unless otherwise ordered by the court and shall contain the following:

    (1)  A brief itemization of any special evidentiary or other legal issues which the party intends to raise at trial;

    (2)  Copies of all authorities which the party desires the Court to read;

    (3)  A final list of witnesses and a brief description of their testimony;

    (4) Copies of all evidentiary documents to be offered; and

    (5) Discussion of any special issues raised pursuant to agreement at the pre-trial conference.

  2. Sanctions  The Court may refuse to admit into evidence the testimony of any witness and the use of any exhibit not listed in the trial memorandum where required. Unless good cause is shown, failure to comply with the requirements of this rule may be cause for entry of dismissal, default judgment, or any other sanction permitted by law.

RULE 21: JURY INSTRUCTIONS

In all civil cases that are to be tried before a jury, each party must file a full set of jury instructions on the day of trial.

 

RULE 22: NOTIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT

After a case has been set for pretrial, trial or other proceeding requiring personal appearance, a request for dismissal by the plaintiff or by agreement of the parties due to settlement or some other reason shall be submitted in writing to the Court as soon as reasonably possible. Failure to give such written notice of settlement and non-appearance of the parties shall subject the action to dismissal by the Court at the plaintiff's costs.

 

RULE 23: SATISFACTION OF JUDGMENT

  1. No person other than the Clerk of Court or a deputy clerk may enter satisfaction of judgment upon the records of the Court.

  2. No satisfaction of judgment shall be entered until all court costs have been paid. 

RULE 24: GARNISHMENTS AND BANK ATTACHMENTS

All garnishments and bank attachments shall be filed on multi-part forms carbon or NCR only.

 

RULES GOVERNING CRIMINAL CASES

RULE 25: CASE MANAGEMENT

  1. Purpose  The purpose of this rule is to establish a system for criminal case management which will provide fair and impartial administration of criminal cases. These rules shall be construed and applied to eliminate unnecessary delay and expense for all parties involved in the court system.

  2. Pretrials  After arraignment, the Court may require the prosecutor and defendant (or his counsel) to hold a pretrial conference. At the conclusion of the pretrial, the prosecutor shall report any proposed change of charge and/or plea to the Court. If the Court approves any proposed amendment of charges, dismissal and/or changes of plea, the matter will proceed accordingly. In the absence of such changes and/or the Court's approval of same, the case will be assigned a trial date.

  3. Trial Day  Trials to the bench in criminal cases shall take place on one designated day per week. Trials will be scheduled for either the morning or afternoon session. Defendants will be scheduled to check in one half hour before the session begins. With some exceptions, trials will be scheduled in the order in which the defendants check in.

  4. Sentencing  Upon a finding of guilty; either after a plea or a trial, the Court will either sentence directly from the bench or set a date for the defendant's sentencing hearing. That date will be set sufficiently far in advance to accommodate a pre-sentence investigation.

 

RULE 26: EXCEPTIONS TO MAGISTRATE’S PENALTY

Defendants who take exception to a fine or other penalty imposed by a Magistrate must make a written request for a hearing before the Judge within fourteen (14) days from the date the penalty was imposed. The defendant objecting to the penalty must serve a copy of the written request for hearing on the prosecutor.

 

RULE 27: PAYMENT OF FINES AND COSTS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

  1. Fines and costs are due upon imposition of penalty except as set forth in Rule 26 above.

  2. Defendants who are unable to pay fines and costs immediately may be granted additional time to pay as follows: the defendant shall pay twenty-five (25) percent of said fines and costs on the day imposed and the remaining seventy-five (75) percent within thirty (30) days or upon a monthly pay schedule, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Failure to adhere to an imposed payment schedule may result in a warrant for the defendant’s arrest and/or forfeiture of the defendant’s driver’s licence and registration privileges.

  3. Any suspension of costs requires a finding of indigency and is within the sound discretion of the Court.

  4. All DUI finds and costs must be paid in full before a request for occupational driving privileges will be granted.

RULE 28: COURT APPOINTED COUNSEL

In conjunction with Rule 8 of the Rules for Superintendence for The Courts of Ohio, Court appointed counsel are selected and compensated as follows:

  1. The court will make additions to the appointed counsel list based on its current needs (in terms of number), the applicant’s credentials and his or her current standing with the Ohio Supreme Court.

  2. Appointments to individual cases will be made on a rotating basis with consideration being given to areas of expertise and his or her current caseload. Appointments will be reviewed bi-annually to ensure equal distribution of same.

  3. Appointed counsel are compensated upon the filing for approval of payment.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS MUNICIPAL COURT’S RULE NO. 29 (JURY MANAGEMENT) IS AVAILABLE UNDER SEPARATE COVER.

 

JUDGE LYNN C. TOLER

 

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