Lake County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Filing Rules
Official filing rules, court-wide sources, and procedure resources for Lake County Court of Common Pleas, General Division
For Lake County Court of Common Pleas, General Division filings, start with the official local rules and court-level instructions. Then confirm any division, department, clerk, or assigned-officer procedure that applies to the case.
Limits & Logistics
Court-wideDocument Limits
Courtesy Copies
Courtesy copies
Trial Documents, Trial Exhibits
- At Least 2 Working Days Before Trial
Adjournments
Court-wideRequest must include
- Court-level rules
The Final Judicial Report must begin from the Preliminary Judicial Report's effective date.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
Counsel must file a motion for appointment supported by a defendant-signed affidavit stating the facts of indigence when counsel has not been appointed at arraignment.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
If counsel has not been appointed by arraignment, a motion for appointment must be filed with an affidavit of indigency.
- Judge Patrick J. Condon
Counsel must submit written witness lists and exhibit descriptions no later than seven days before trial.
- Court-level rules
After electronic submission and a completeness determination, the filer must appear in the clerk’s office within 28 days to complete filing and pay the fee; failure to appear may result in dismissal for want of prosecution.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
Final jury instructions must be submitted to the court by email at least two days before final arguments.
- Judge Patrick J. Condon
Counsel must notify the court immediately when a case is settled or dismissed.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
Trial briefs must be filed with the Clerk of Courts fourteen days before the scheduled trial date.
- Court-level rules
A defendant must deliver written medical reports and the substance of unwritten reports from specified doctors who examined or consulted concerning the claimant.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
Hearing notices and non-final appealable judgment entries must be emailed to counsel.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
The attorney must serve the client with the motion to withdraw and document that service in the certificate of service.
- Judge Patrick J. Condon
Neither the written nor electronic jury instructions should be filed with the clerk unless filing is needed to preserve appellate rights.
- Court-level rules
Documents bearing third-party signatures, including unopposed motions, affidavits, and stipulations, may be filed electronically only as scanned images.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
When counsel provide copies of admitted exhibits to jurors, the exhibits should be on standard 8½-by-11-inch three-hole-punched paper.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
Word is an acceptable format for proposed jury instructions.
- Judge Patrick J. Condon
All exhibits must be marked for identification before trial, with plaintiff's exhibits numbered consecutively and defendant's exhibits lettered consecutively.
- Court-level rules
Additional extensions may be requested under the procedures established by the respective judges.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
All scheduling conflicts must be documented with the conflicting notice or a statement identifying the case number, jurisdiction, judge, and scheduling date.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
Only one 30-day extension will be permitted for an answer.
- Judge Patrick J. Condon
Date conflicts must be documented with the conflicting notice or a sworn statement stating the case number, jurisdiction, judge, and scheduling date.
- Court-level rules
A document that requires a filing security deposit or fee for valid filing must be filed and paid electronically through the same process used for other eFile documents.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
A completed status statement may be submitted to the court by email, fax, mail, or hand delivery, and all parties must be served.
- Court-level rules
The court must be called as soon as possible after a case settles.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
The court must be notified immediately by telephone when a nolle prosequi is entered or the defendant wishes to change the plea.
- Judge Patrick J. Condon
Contact the Court’s Scheduler directly by phone to request a hearing or continuance or report a settlement.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
Contact the Court’s Scheduler directly at 350-2662 to request a hearing, request a continuance, or report a settlement.
- Court-level rules
The clerk will not redact stamp-filed documents without a court order and may refuse documents containing unredacted personal information or information not submitted as required.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
Filing parties and counsel must redact personal and private information, including social security numbers and full financial account numbers, before filing; unredacted documents may be stricken.
- Court-level rules
Objections, opposition briefs, and reply briefs are each limited to 10 pages unless the court grants prior leave.
- Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple
After the initial pleadings, the body or text of any motion, brief, or memorandum is limited to 10 pages.
- Judge John P. O’Donnell
The body or text of documents is limited to ten pages, except for complaints, counterclaims, crossclaims, and third-party complaints.