Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Filing Rules

An entry appointing new counsel during a case is required.

For an unopposed continuance or case-schedule change, counsel should submit the time-stamped motion and an agreed entry approved by every party for immediate determination.

A conformed signature submitted with the filer’s unique username and password is deemed a legal signature for purposes of the cited procedural requirements.

When requested under Local Rule 16, counsel must file a joint pretrial statement by the final pretrial conference date.

Discovery-related motions must comply with Civil Rule 37 and specifically state the efforts made before involving the Court.

The notice of appeal, and a demand for the record if required, must be filed at week 0 of the administrative appeal schedule.

Incorrect, corrupt, or unreadable e-filing submissions are rejected, and the filer is notified to resubmit.

The pretrial statement must be filed three days before the final pretrial conference.

A filing submitted to the Clerk's Office may take as long as three days to reach Chambers.

Motions in limine must be filed at least 14 days before trial unless extraordinary circumstances are shown.

Copies of a motion in limine should be emailed to the Court after calling chambers for the appropriate address.

Relevant trial forms must be emailed to the staff attorney one day before trial.

If a delayed decision impedes discovery or settlement discussions, parties should notify the 5A Staff Attorney by email.

Email is the preferred way to communicate with the staff attorney, who may also be reached by phone at 614.525.4513.

The secretary may be contacted by phone or email for general court information.

A subpoena served by a sheriff requires a $10.00 fee.

Realauction.com charges $220, or $215 before March 1, 2019, and will not refund the fee.

Deposition transcripts reasonably believed to be needed as evidence must be filed electronically.

Every CQE application must first be submitted through the ODRC electronic database.

Electronic motions for continuance are not accepted.

Electronic motions for continuance are not accepted in criminal cases.

Electronic motions for continuance are not accepted.

The appellant must serve copies of the notice of appeal and affidavit on all parties or their counsel and on the Arbitration Clerk.

After the Court approves and e-files a proposed order or entry, the submitting party must print and mail it to all non-registered parties.

After filing a motion in limine or response, the filing party should email a copy to the 5A Staff Attorney.

After filing a restraining-order motion, counsel must notify the opposing parties, and known attorneys, of the hearing date and time.

Proposed agreed jury instructions must be sent to the Staff Attorney two weeks before trial.

When ordered by the court, deposition transcripts must also be filed on paper in condensed Min-U-Script format with two-sided copying.

All documents filed with the court must have margins of at least one inch on every side.

Exhibits must be attached, correctly labeled, and complete; inaccurate or omitted exhibit citations will be disregarded, and the Court will not independently locate missing evidence or correct citations.

Trial exhibits must be pre-marked, adequately copied, placed in proper binders, and exchanged before opening statements.

For disputed exhibits, counsel must create and deliver a separate hard-copy binder for each party to the staff attorney one day before trial.

The hearing cannot proceed without the assigned chairperson unless a conflict-free substitute is found; if none is found, it must be continued to a mutually agreeable date and time.

Leave of court is required before filing a motion or memorandum outside the rule or beyond the Case Schedule deadline.

A timely motion to extend an unpassed deadline need only show cause, with good cause generally presumed.

Continuance requests should be made as soon as possible and will be granted only for good cause.

A continuance motion must state specific supporting reasons and, when applicable, an amended case schedule.

Counsel seeking to amend the case schedule should consider the applicable presumptive trial deadlines, comply to the best of their ability, and consult other counsel about conflicts before approaching the Court.

If the parties remain unresolved after a discovery status conference, the Court will set a briefing schedule for a future discovery motion.

Before filing a discovery motion, counsel must make reasonable efforts to resolve the dispute, and a single email is insufficient.

Motions in limine will be heard orally on the morning of trial unless counsel requests an advance ruling.

Parties are encouraged, but not required, to contact the Staff Attorney and request a status conference before pursuing discovery-related motion practice.

Supporting or opposing memoranda and briefs, including administrative appeals, may not exceed 15 pages exclusive of supporting documents, and an over-limit filing will not be considered without prior leave of the Court.

Counsel ordinarily should edit tightly and remain within the Local Rule 12 page limits.

Supporting and opposing memoranda or briefs, including administrative appeals, may not exceed 15 pages excluding supporting documents unless the Court grants prior leave.

Counsel ordinarily should edit tightly and keep filings within applicable Local Rule page limits.

The Court may disregard memorandum pages exceeding the Local Rules limits unless it granted prior leave to file a longer document.

A courthouse or courtroom body-worn-camera recording may not be released externally without advance review by the Administrative Judge or designee, and any recording containing confidential, exempt, or privileged material requires that official's consent for release.

When documents are ordered unsealed for the case record, the Clerk must remove the electronic restriction while preserving the original filing date.

The Court strongly encourages parties to identify and prepare joint exhibits.

Permitted evidentiary material supporting or opposing summary judgment must be filed with the original motion or responsive memorandum.

Multiple versions of the same document may not be filed, and the Court’s staff attorney should be emailed if a filing needs attention.

Exhibits should, to the extent possible, be bundled with the motion or brief to which they apply.

A duplicate of the receivership plan and report must be submitted to chambers.

Pertinent deposition transcripts must be filed with the Clerk's Office and a courtesy copy delivered to the court at least 14 days before trial.

Counsel must present the original paper cognovit note to chambers for review before the judge signs the proposed judgment entry.