RULE 22 - CASE MANAGEMENT

 RULE 22.1 - CASE MANAGEMENT IN CRIMINAL CASES

 The purpose of this rule is to establish pursuant to the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio Rule 18, a system for criminal case management which will provide the 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 Justice System.

 A. Scheduling of Events

 The scheduling begins after arraignment. Thereafter the case is managed in four (4) judicial steps.

 1. Pretrial: After arraignment, all misdemeanors other than minor misdemeanors shall be set for pretrial within thirty (30) days. All minor misdemeanors shall be set for trial unless the Judge orders a pretrial in said case. The Pretrial shall be conducted in accordance with Criminal Rule 18.1 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure and a memorandum of the matters agreed upon should be filed in said case. Any attorney who fails to appear for pretrial without just cause being shown may be punished for contempt of Court. If the parties cannot resolve the case, then the case shall be set for trial to Court unless a jury is demanded.

 2. Motions: All motions shall be made in writing and accompanied by a written memorandum containing the arguments of counsel. Motions must be filed within the time limits established by the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure. All motions shall be set for oral hearing, unless waived in writing.

 3. Trials: Each case not resolved at pretrial shall be set for trial to the Court. If a jury demand is timely filed, then the case will be moved to the jury trial schedule.

 4. Sentencing: Sentencing hearings shall be set within seven days from trial if no pre-sentence report is requested, unless the party is sentenced immediately after the completion of the trial. After the Court receives the probation report, the Court will set the hearing for sentencing within seven (7) days.

 RULE 22.2 - CASE MANAGEMENT IN CIVIL CASES

 The purpose of this Rule is to establish, pursuant to Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio Rule 18, a system for civil case management which will achieve the prompt and fair disposal of civil cases.

 A. Scheduling of Events: The scheduling of a case begins when a civil case is filed. Thereafter, the case is managed in five (5) clerical steps and five (5) judicial steps.

 1. Clerical Steps

  a. Summons shall be served in accordance with the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. If Counsel fails to obtain service of summons within six (6) months from the date the cause of action has been filed, the case may be dismissed in ten (10) days after notice is provided the party, unless good cause is shown to the contrary.

  b. After any responsive pleading is filed, the Clerk shall immediately forward said pleading and file to a judge so the matter may be set for hearing.

  c. If no action has been taken on a file for a six (6) month period and the case is not set for trial, the Court may send notice to Plaintiff notifying that the case may be dismissed within one (1) week unless good cause is shown.

  d. When a file has been marked "settlement entry to come" and the entry has not been received within thirty (30) days, the case may be dismissed unless the entry is received.

 2. Judicial Steps

  a. Status Hearing: After a responsive pleading is filed the case will be assigned to a Judge and the Clerk will forward the file to said Judge. The Court will then set an attorneys conference which may be heard in Court or by phone. The purpose of the attorneys conference is to set discovery and motion deadlines so a formal pretrial can be set.

  b. All motions must be in writing and accompanied by a written memorandum containing citations or the arguments of counsel. Opposing counsel shall answer in like manner within fourteen (14) days thereafter. All motions will be considered submitted at the end of fourteen (14) day period unless time is extended by the Court. There will be no oral hearings granted, unless the parties request an oral hearing in writing and the Court deems it necessary.

  c. Pretrial: For the purpose of this rule, "Pretrial" shall mean a court supervised conference chiefly designed to produce an amicable settlement. The term "party" or "parties" used hereinafter shall mean the party or parties to the action, and/or, his, hers, or their attorney of record. Any attorney for a party to the action who fails to attend a scheduled pretrial conference without just cause being shown, may be punished as and for contempt.

  Notice of pretrial conference shall be given to all counsel of record by mail and/or by telephone from an assignment commissioner not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the conference. Any application for continuance of the conference shall be addressed to the Judge or Magistrate to whom the case has been assigned, and signed by the party represented as well as by counsel. Counsel attending the pretrial conference must have complete authority to stipulate on items of evidence and must have full settlement authority. The primary purpose of the pretrial conference shall be to achieve an amicable settlement of the controversy in suit. The Court shall attempt to narrow legal issues, to reach stipulations as to facts in controversy and, in general, to shorten the time and expense of trial. The Court may file a pretrial statement to be become part of the record and the case embracing all stipulations, admissions, and other matters which have come before it in the pretrial. The Court shall, at that time, determine whether or not trial briefs should be submitted and shall fix a date when they are to be filed. Any judge presiding at a pretrial conference shall have the authority to dismiss the action for want of prosecution on motion of any party upon failure of plaintiff, and/or plaintiff's counsel to appear in person at any pretrial conference without prior permission of the Court; to order the plaintiff to proceed with the case and to decide and determine all matters ex-parte upon failure of the defendant to appear in person or by counsel at any pretrial conference as required; to make such other order as the Court may deem appropriate under all the circumstances. If the case cannot be settled at pretrial, then the case shall be set for trial.

  d. Continuances: No party shall be granted a continuance of a trial or hearing without a written motion from the party or his/her counsel stating the reason for the continuance and signed by the party represented. When a continuance is requested for the reason that counsel is scheduled to appear in another case assigned for trial on the same date in the same or another trial court of this state, the case which was first set for trial shall have priority and shall be tried on the date assigned. Criminal cases assigned for trial have priority over civil cases assigned for trial. The granting of any request for continuance of a scheduled trial is a matter within the discretion of the trial Court. If a designated trial attorney has such a number of cases assigned for trial in courts of this state so as to cause undue delay in the disposition of such cases, the Administrative Judge may require the trial attorney to provide a substitute trial attorney. If the trial attorney was appointed by the Court, the Court shall appoint a substitute trial attorney.

  e. Judgment Entries: Counsel for the party in whose favor an order or judgment is rendered shall prepare a journal entry. That entry shall be submitted to opposing counsel within five (5) days of the decision. Opposing counsel shall approve or reject the entry within five (5) days of the date it was submitted. Within fifteen (15) days of the decision, the journal entry shall be submitted to the Judge, or thereafter, the Court will prepare the journal entry. Entries of settlement may be filed at any time. The avoidance of trial by settlement shall be allowed without the filing of an entry, but such entry shall be filed within thirty (30) days or the case may be dismissed for want of prosecution. The journal entry shall state within it which party shall pay court costs.

 RULE 22.3.1 - CASE MANAGEMENT IN SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS

 A. Purpose: The purpose of this rule is to establish, pursuant to Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio Rule 18, a case management system for special proceedings to achieve a prompt and fair disposition of these matters. The following civil matters are considered special proceedings and may be heard by a judge or magistrate, to wit: small claims, forcible entry and detainer, default hearings, rent escrow hearings, replevins, garnishment hearings, debtor's exams, and citations in contempt. The following criminal matters are considered special proceedings: criminal initial appearances, preliminary hearings, bureau of motor vehicle appellate hearings, and extradition hearings.

 B. Scheduling of Events: Cases that have time limits established by the Ohio Revised Code shall be set within those time limits for hearing. In all other special proceedings that do not have established time limits, the case shall be set for hearing within a reasonable time not to exceed ninety (90) days.

 C. After a responsive pleading is filed, the Clerk shall immediately forward the pleading and the case file to judge or magistrate so the matter may be set for hearing.

 D. If no action has been taken in a case for a six (6) month period and the case is not set for trial, the matter may be dismissed within one (1) week after notice is given, unless good cause is shown.

 E. When a case file has been marked settled, and the agreed judgment entry or dismissal entry has not been approved and filed within thirty (30) days, then the case may be dismissed.

 RULE 22.3.2 - CASE MANAGEMENT FOR FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER

 A. All forcible entry and detainer cases shall be set for hearing before the Court or magistrate, pursuant to the time limit set forth in the Ohio Revised Code. Trial by jury will be waived unless demand is filed on or before the appearance date. If the defendant (tenant) presents a prima facie defense on appearance, the case shall be ordered set for trial before the magistrate.

 B. The time for serving a responsive pleading to any claim for relief in addition to the possessory action shall be governed by the Ohio Civil Rules of Procedure.

 C. Service of summons upon the defendant shall be in accordance with ORC 1923.04 (A) and the Ohio Civil Rules.

 D.  At the time set for the appearance call, plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney of record shall be present in court. Failure to comply with this rule shall result in a dismissal of the case without prejudice.

 E. In the event that the defendant fails to appear at the restitution hearing, no default judgment shall be ordered unless testimony is taken from the plaintiff regarding the proper form and service of the required notice under ORC 1923.04, the tenant's failure to pay rent when due or other reason why restitution of the property is being sought, and the ownership of the property.

 F. In cases based upon a tenant's failure to pay rent, all claims raised by the landlord/plaintiff shall be consolidated with any counterclaims raised by the defendant/tenant, unless otherwise provided by law. The tenant shall serve any counterclaims upon the landlord or the landlord's attorney prior to trial. The tenant shall also deposit with the Clerk of Court all rent moneys claimed by the landlord to be due and owing, unless the court waives this requirement upon the showing of good cause.

 G. If the landlord/plaintiff is successful in the eviction, the court will order that the tenant vacate the premises at any time following the granting of restitution.

 H. Upon the granting of restitution, should the tenant fail to vacate the premises or remove his property therefrom, the landlord may file a praecipe for a writ of restitution and shall post with the Clerk of Court a sum as established by the Clerk.

 I. Upon receipt of the writ of restitution, the Plaintiff/Landlord shall contact a representative of the Bailiff's Office and they shall set a specific date for the move-out of the tenant and his property. The writ of restitution will clearly identify the location of premises for which the move-out will be completed and the landlord will cooperate fully with the Bailiff's office to assist them in identifying the physical location of the premises which are covered by the writ. Failure to cooperate and comply with this requirement shall result in the Bailiff returning the writ unexecuted. It shall be the responsibility of the landlord/Plaintiff to cover the costs of the move-out.

 J. In the event the tenant vacates the premises before the scheduled move-out date, the landlord or his attorney shall immediately notify the Bailiff's office.

 K. Any items belonging to a tenant and stored by a moving and storage company on behalf of a landlord, pursuant to a court order, shall be stored at the warehouse for at least thirty (30) days after the move- out days, if arrangements are not made by the tenant to redeem said items, the items may be sold in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code.

 RULE 22.3.3 - SMALL CLAIMS COURT

 A. Pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, the Court has established a small claims division for cases for the recovery of money where the prayer does not exceed the monetary amount provided in ORC 1925.02.

 B. Cases filed in the small claims division may be heard by a magistrate appointed and assigned under Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio Rule 18.

 C. In all cases, The Judge or the Magistrate may assess the costs as provided in ORC 1925.15.

 D. The magistrate's decision is subject to a fourteen day objection period pursuant to Ohio Civil Rule 53(E)(3).

 E. The magistrate's decision shall be effective when adopted by the court, pursuant to Ohio Civil Rule 53(E)(4). Upon consideration of any objections, the Court may adopt, reject, or modify the magistrate's decision, hear additional evidence, recommit the matter to the magistrate with instructions, or hear the matter.

 F. A motion to transfer a case to the regular docket to transfer a cross-claim or counterclaim exceeding the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Division shall be referred to the Administrative Judge for assignment and handled in accordance with ORC 1925.10.

 G. Where a motion has been granted to transfer a small claims case to the regular civil docket, the party seeking the transfer shall pay the appropriate fee to the Clerk upon filing the motion. Failure to pay the fee will result in the case being retained in the small claims docket.

 H. A motion for continuance must be filed in writing not later than five (5) working days before the date of hearing.

 I. No depositions or interrogatories shall be taken except by leave of the Court. All relevant evidence shall be admitted at the discretion of the hearing officer.

 RULE 22.4 - MAGISTRATES

 A. As provided by the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio Rule 19, magistrates shall be appointed by the Court to hear the following: default proceedings under Ohio Civil Rule 55; forcible entry and detainer proceedings under Chapter 1923 of the Ohio Revised Code in which the right to trial by jury is waived or not demanded; small claims proceedings under Chapter 1925 of the Ohio Revised Code; traffic proceedings in which there is a guilty plea; and all other appropriate matters referred by the Court for the magistrate's decision which the magistrate may hear pursuant to Ohio Civil Rule 53, Ohio Traffic Rule 14 and Ohio Criminal Rule 19.

 B. Magistrates shall have the qualifications specified in the Ohio Civil Rules of Procedure, Rule 53 and Ohio Traffic Rule 14 and Ohio Criminal Rule 19. In civil matters, magistrates shall act pursuant to Civil Rule 53; in traffic matters, magistrates shall act pursuant to Traffic Rule 14; and in criminal matters, magistrates shall act pursuant to Criminal Rule 19.

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