Stark County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Filing Rules

Every CQE petition submitted through the DRC must include electronic access to the DRC CQE Summary.

One copy of all proposed trial exhibits and an exhibit index with brief descriptions must be furnished to the court no later than two working days before trial.

A deposition submitted for a court ruling must be provided one week before trial, reference the objections and reasons for them, and flag each objection for easy location.

Counsel must submit proposed OJI instructions, proposed language and legal citations for non-OJI instructions, and interrogatories one week before trial.

Trial briefs must include a statement of facts, controlling-law discussion, proposed-witness list and testimony descriptions, a proposed-exhibit index with descriptions, and anticipated evidentiary-issue discussion.

The Clerk accepts fax transmissions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays, but fax availability does not accelerate filing deadlines.

Motion responses are due under Ohio Civil Rule 6 unless the Court orders otherwise.

The court will hold a non-oral motion hearing on or after the day following filing of the reply brief unless the court orders otherwise.

Trial briefs must be filed at least one week before the scheduled trial date.

A proposed Stipulated Protective Order should be filed within 30 days after issuance of the Court's Case Management Order.

Notice of a continuance motion must be served on opposing counsel, who may promptly file an opposing affidavit.

The certificate of service must state that copies of the request were sent to all necessary parties, including counsel of record and any potentially affected party.

All parties must comply with Ohio Civil Rule 12(A)'s service deadlines for answers and replies.

Dispositive motions, responses, and replies must be served on opposing counsel by email.

A signed source document may be faxed with the signature or, if in the filer's possession or control, with an /s/ notation followed by the signer's name.

In all jury cases, proposed jury instructions, interrogatories, and verdict forms must be emailed to Magistrate Stephan Babik in Microsoft Word format at least one week before trial.

If the defendant has more than 26 exhibits, double-letter exhibit designations must be used.

Plaintiff must number exhibits, defendant must letter exhibits, multiple-party exhibits must also include the party’s last name, and counsel must share marked exhibits at least two working days before trial.

Exhibits must be marked before trial with official stickers, using party-specific numbers or letters and double letters when the defendant has more than 26 exhibits.

An initial stipulated extension does not require submission to the Court.

Motions for continuance based on trial date conflicts must comply with and will be considered under Ohio Rules of Superintendence Rule 41(B).

Continuances for the trial date will not normally be granted.

An extension of time for filing a responsive pleading or brief or completing discovery requires a written motion and a particularized showing of good cause, optionally supported by a party stipulation.

Pleadings and other papers may be filed with the clerk by facsimile transmission subject to the rule’s conditions.

Proposed jury instructions and jury interrogatories must be sent electronically by email to Magistrate Lori Flowers at the stated email address.

A voluntarily dismissed case that is refiled is assessed a fee, and an additional fee applies if counsel does not designate the refiling when filing the complaint.

Required court cost deposits must be paid within five days after the order's entry.

Required court-cost deposits must be paid within five days of the order, with dismissal or striking of a jury demand possible for nonpayment.

Required court cost deposits must be paid within five days of the order's entry date.

Counsel must advise Magistrate Babik of objections to the proposed jury instructions.

Attorneys are encouraged to use available courtroom technology and may contact Bailiff Scott Zehnder at (330) 451-7713 to arrange equipment familiarization.

A courtesy copy of the proposed jury-instruction materials should be emailed to the assigned magistrate.

One copy of all proposed trial exhibits and a descriptive exhibit index must be furnished to the court no later than two working days before trial.

Copies of the required trial documents must be delivered to chambers.

Dispositive motions, responses, and replies must be emailed to opposing counsel, with courtesy copies emailed to the court contact.

A facsimile filing, including attachments, may not exceed ten pages, excluding the cover page.

Support and responsive briefs are limited to 20 pages excluding appendices and tables of cases, reply briefs are limited to 12 pages, and the Court may grant a page increase on a showing of good cause.

A dispositive motion is ordinarily set for a non-oral hearing the day after the responsive brief is filed, unless the court orders otherwise.

Social security numbers and other information that must be excluded from public records must be redacted under the court’s rules and the Rules of Superintendence.

Each fax cover page may cover only one pleading, and every pleading requires a separate cover sheet.