RULE 3:

CASE MANAGEMENT

(A) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Pursuant to Rule 5(B)(1) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio, this rule is promulgated to establish a domestic relations case management system which will provide for the prompt, fair, and timely disposal of all cases and motions before the court.

When litigation is filed in this Court, it is important that the Court supervise the progress of all cases from filing to termination in a process that is fundamentally fair, but not too deliberate or too hasty. Within the bounds of applicable constitutional provisions, statutes, case law, and rules governing the courts of Ohio, the Court shall manage the sequence of events in litigation to insure the timely disposition of all matters by trial, submission for decision on legal arguments, negotiated settlement, arbitration, mediation, or other means of appropriate dispute resolution.

It is therefore incumbent upon the judges/magistrates to articulate orders in each case for the uniform enforcement of procedural requirements, other rules, and time deadlines applicable in any particular case or type of case. Counsel in each case has a corresponding duty to know these rules and meet these deadlines and to inform the Court of extraordinary circumstances, which would cause the standard deadlines to work a substantive injustice to their clients. In order to comply with the Case Schedule it will be necessary for attorneys and parties to pursue their cases vigorously from the day the cases are filed.

(B) CASE FLOW MANAGEMENT

The deadlines set by the Ohio Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Common Pleas Domestic Division shall be construed as maximums and shall not preclude the more rapid resolution of cases under these rules. Cases should be resolved within the absolute time limits as set by the Ohio Rules of Superintendence for the Court of Common Pleas Domestic Divisions.

(C) CASE SCHEDULES

When an Answer is filed in a Divorce proceeding, the Clerk of Courts shall prepare and file a paper entitled "Case Schedule." The Clerk shall serve a copy of the Case Schedule on all named parties.

(D) SERVICE ON ADDITIONAL PARTIES UPON JOINDER OR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN AD LITEM

A party who joins an additional party(s)or requests and is granted the appointment of a Guardian ad litem shall be responsible for serving the additional party(s) with the current Case Schedule.

(E) CASE MANAGEMENT HEARING/AMENDED CASE SCHEDULE

1. The Trial Judge, either on motion of a party or sua sponte, may modify any date in the Case Schedule for good cause and on terms as are just, except that the trial date may not be changed to a date beyond the deadlines set by the Ohio Rules of Superintendence for Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Division. A modification may extend or reduce the time for any event or the entire track. If the Case Schedule is modified upon the motion of a party, that party shall prepare an amended case schedule and present it to the Trial Judge for signature. The amended case schedule shall be promptly filed and served on all other parties. If the Case Schedule is modified on the Trial Judge’s own motion, the Court shall prepare, file and promptly serve the “Amended Case Schedule” to all parties.

2. When a case is stayed, the original case schedule shall be stayed. When the stay is lifted, trial counsel shall schedule a case management hearing and submit a proposed amended case schedule extending the deadlines by the length of the stay and the final trial date shall be determined by the Court.

3. Time Limits

CLERK’S ORIGINAL CASE SCHEDULE
(Divorce without children)

CLERK’S ORIGINAL CASE SCHEDULE
(Divorce with children)

*Bold denotes actual hearing date

The parties must strictly adhere to the requirements of this Case Management Schedule unless modified by the Court or written agreement of the parties. No continuance of any scheduled Case Management proceeding/hearing will be granted without prior approval by the Court.

The parties may mutually schedule an uncontested hearing date at any time prior to the final hearing date. Additional pre-trial(s)/status conference(s) may be scheduled by either or both parties as needed. Any party filing a motion requesting or requiring a hearing date other than those set forth above is required to contact all parties or their counsel and obtain an agreed date for said hearing. Otherwise, the Motion will be set for hearing on the next date set forth in this Scheduling Order.

NOTICE

The attached Order schedules dates on which you are to provide certain information to the other party involved in this court action.

If you do not do what the order requires, you can be held in contempt of court. Failure to comply with this Order may result in:

1. The Court may rule against you about the issues raised in the pending matter. Among other things the court can order any or all of the following:

a) Designate that certain facts be established in accord with the opposing side’s claim.
b) Refuse to allow you to support or oppose claims or defenses, and prohibit you from introducing matters into evidence;
c) Strike your pleadings, stay proceedings, dismiss the action, or render a default judgment against you;
d) Order you to pay reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, for the opposing side.

2. The Court may actually begin proceedings against you for contempt in violating this order.

The potential sentence(s) that may be imposed on you if it is found that you in contempt of Court are:

a) First offense: $250.00 fine and/or thirty (30) days in jail
b) Second offense: $500.00 fine and/or sixty (60) days in jail.
c) Third offense: $1,000 fine and/or ninety (90) days in jail.

If you are found in contempt for failure to perform an act required by law, and which the court finds you can yet perform, you may be imprisoned until you perform the act. (ORC §2705.06)

For any party pursuing attorney fees, Counsel are expected to provide all relevant evidence and evidence demonstrating the date upon which settlement proposals were submitted to opposing counsel.

(F) FINAL SETTLEMENT/STATUS CONFERENCE

All attorneys of record including the guardian ad litem, and all parties except minor children, shall be present for the final status conference. At the final status conference attorneys and parties shall prepare written stipulations regarding all issues not in controversy. Unless waived or otherwise ordered by the court, parties and counsel shall exchange trial notebooks no less than seven days in advance of trial. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, each counsel shall submit two (2) trial notebooks to the court which shall be bound and contain:

1. Copies of all exhibits that party intends to introduce at court, complete with an index;

2. Copies of all joint exhibits the parties intend to introduce;

3. Copies of reports from all experts that party intends to call as a witness, including but not limited to valuations, appraisals, medical and psychological reports, and vocational evaluations;

4. A list of all witnesses that party intends to call to testify;

5. A spreadsheet identifying separate and marital assets and liabilities accompanied by a proposed distribution of said assets and liabilities; and

6. Proposed child support guideline worksheets, withholding orders and instructions for service;

At the final status conference all original exhibits shall be marked for trial but retained by counsel. Plaintiff’s exhibits shall be marked with numbers and defendant’s exhibits shall be marked with letters.

(G) DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS

All motions, including but not limited to summary judgment, judgment on the pleadings, and to dismiss, which seek to determine the merits of any claim or defense as to any or all parties shall be considered a dispositive motion. A voluntary dismissal under Civ. R. 41 is not a dispositive motion. All dispositive motions shall be filed no later than the date specified in the Case Schedule. Pursuant to Civ. R. 56(A), leave is hereby granted in all domestic cases to file summary judgment motions between the time of filing and the dispositive motion date, unless the Trial Judge decides otherwise by setting a different date. Counsel shall file their summary judgment motions at the earliest practical date in the course of litigation

(H) SANCTIONS

For purposes of these local rules, the Trial Judge shall have the power, coextensive with the inherent powers of the Court and the enumerated powers in the Revised Code and the Civil Rules, to impose sanctions on attorneys, parties, or both. Sanctions can be monetary, non-monetary, or a combination of monetary and non-monetary. No sanction shall be imposed without the offending party and/or attorney being given an opportunity to be heard, unless the conduct giving rise to the sanction amounts to a direct contempt.

i. "Monetary Sanction" means a monetary cost imposed upon a party and/or an attorney by the Trial Judge for violation of the local rules and/or a case schedule and/or the Civil Rules. "Monetary sanction" includes, but is not limited to, a specific dollar amount payable to another party or parties or to the Court, actual costs of discovery, extra attorney's fees incurred, court costs, or other liquidated sum.

ii. "Non-monetary sanction" means a legal ruling contrary to the interest of a party and/or an attorney imposed by the Trial Judge for violation of the local rule and/or a case schedule and/or the Civil Rules. "Non-monetary sanction" includes, but is not limited to, dismissal with or without prejudice of the case or any claim or counterclaim, or any part of the case or claim, default judgment, exclusion of evidence, issues, or testimony, an order that certain issues or facts be taken as established for the balance of the case, an order striking pleadings or parts of pleadings, and a stay pending compliance with a court order.

(I) ENFORCEMENT AND MONITORING

The Trial Judge, upon motion of a party or sua sponte, may impose sanctions for failure to comply with the local rules and/or a case schedule and/or the Civil Rules. If the Trial Judge finds that a party or attorney has failed to comply with the local rules and/or a case schedule and/or the Civil Rules without reasonable excuse or legal justification, the Trial Judge may impose sanctions proportional to the extent or frequency of the violation(s). The Trial Judge and bailiff will monitor cases on an ongoing basis to determine compliance with the case schedule and these local rules.

(Amended, eff 7/1/85, eff 8/2/90, eff 7/1/93, 7/1/99; 8/1/04; 1/25/10; 01/24/2011)

	CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE STATUS CONFERENCE ORDER
	CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRETRIAL STATEMENT