The Painesville Municipal Court hereby adopts the following Rules of Court for the handling of cases and management of the Court. These Rules are adopted pursuant to the authority of the Rules of Superintendence for Municipal and County Courts, Rule 5 and are intended to include a case management program pursuant to Rule 5B1 and Local Fax Filing Rules.

These Rules are intended to supplement and complement the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Ohio Traffic Rules, the Rules of Superintendence for Municipal and County Courts, and other controlling rules and statutes in the application and administration in proceedings in the Court.

These Rules shall be applied, construed and enforced so as to avoid inconsistency with other rules of court and statutes governing proceedings, functions and services of this Court. In their application and administration they shall be construed and employed so as to provide fairness and simplicity in procedure, to avoid technical and unjustifiable delay, and to secure just, expeditious and inexpensive determination of all actions and proceedings.

These Rules shall apply to all parties, counsel of record and subject matter of all actions, civil, criminal or traffic filed on and after the effective date hereof.

The offices of the Court shall be open between the hours of 8:00 o’clock A.M. and 4:30 o’clock P.M., Monday through Friday and 4:30 o’clock P.M. to 6:00 o’clock P.M. every Wednesday (traffic division only).* These hours may be extended or diminished by Order of the Court from time to time.

Motions for Continuance shall be submitted to the Court in writing at least seven (7) days in advance of the scheduled hearing, and must contain a brief in support setting forth the reasons requiring the continuance, along with a proposed Order for the Court’s review and approval. No continuance will be granted by phone.

When a continuance is sought for the reason that counsel is scheduled to appear in another case assigned for trial or hearing on the same date in another court in the State, the movant shall attach to his or her motion, a copy of the Notice received from the other court, along with a copy of the Notice received from this Court. Motions for Continuance sought due to a conflict in hearing or trial schedules shall be decided in accordance with Rule 41 (B) of the Rules of Superintendence for Municipal and County Courts.

Motions for Continuance submitted after the aforementioned seven (7) day period may be granted upon the showing of good cause constituting extreme hardship, unforeseen circumstances or other unavoidable conditions.

A proposed Judgment Entry must accompany all Motions for Continuance.

The schedule of filing fees in civil cases may be accessed by visiting the "Fees & Costs" section below.

In all civil cases where the defendant(s) have failed to answer or further plead ninety (90) days after the filing of the complaint, the Court shall cause to be served upon the plaintiff a Notice pursuant to Civil Rule 41 that the Court will dismiss the case for want of prosecution unless good cause is shown. If the plaintiff fails to move the Court for an Order granting judgment by default pursuant to Rule 55(A) or otherwise show good cause why it should not be dismissed, then, in that case, the Court shall dismiss the action without prejudice, for want of prosecution after six (6) months.

A. General Motion Practice:
A party filing any motion shall file therewith a brief in support containing a short concise statement of the points relied upon and the authorities supporting such contentions.

*All motions shall be accompanied by a proposed Entry for the Court’s review and consideration.

B. Motion for Summary Judgment:
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, Motions for Summary Judgment shall be heard on briefs and supporting documentation authorized by Civil Rule 56 (C) without oral hearing no less than 15 days after the service and filing of the Motion. Adverse parties shall serve and file opposing briefs and documentation within fourteen (14) days of the filing of the Motion.

C. Motions for Default Judgment:
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, Motions for Default Judgment which are accompanied by an Affidavit on personal knowledge, showing affirmatively that the Affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein and setting forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence in support of the allegations contained in plaintiff’s Complaint, shall be considered by the Court without oral hearing.

The Court will not accept affidavits of the plaintiff’s attorney in support of a Motion for Default Judgment unless the attorney is also the plaintiff.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, automatic reference shall be made pursuant to Civil Rule 53, Criminal Procedure Rule 19, Traffic Rule 14, and the Rules of Superintendence for Municipal and County Courts to a duly appointed Magistrate of the Court of the following types of cases and the reference of each such case shall be deemed to be journalized:

Corporations may use Small Claims Court with an individual representative so long as the representative does not act as an advocate and may not engage in cross-examination, arguments, or other acts of advocacy.  A corporate representative shall be limited to any bona fide officer or salaried employee.

All civil cases, except forcible entry and detainer, replevin and small claims, shall be set for a combined pre-trial and case management conference after the case is at issue.

Counsel and parties must appear before the Court at the conference. Insurance adjusters may substitute for their insured, if they have authority to settle the case on behalf of their insured.

Counsel will be encouraged at the conference by the Judge or Magistrate to review the possibility of settlement of the action, to simplify and narrow the issues for trial, to reach stipulations of fact not in controversy, to shorten the time and expense of the trial and to consider such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the action, including any appropriate and available alternative dispute resolution programs.

Counsel should be prepared at the conference to enter into a joint pre-trial statement and binding case management schedule setting forth the possibility or probability of settlement, facts which can be stipulated and those remaining in contention, special legal issues, if any, and a time-table for the amendment of pleadings, the filing of motions, the exchange of expert witness reports and medical and hospital records, the termination of discovery and the trial of the action.

At the time of the conference, the Judge or Magistrate may consider other appropriate pre-trial matters in accordance with Civil Rule 16, including the imposition of sanctions as authorized by Civil Rule 16, including the imposition of sanctions as authorized by Civil Rule 37 and other such matters as may aid in the disposition of the case.

A. In cases involving combined claims for forcible entry and detainer and claims for money damages, the Court may hear both causes at the time of the forcible entry and detainer hearing pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 1923.081.

B. In cases in which the Court has issued a writ of restitution in actions in forcible entry and detainer, it shall be the responsibility of the plaintiff or his agents to provide for the actual moving out of the defendant from the residence premises, including the post move-out storage of any personal property of the defendant. The Court’s Bailiff shall schedule the move-out and shall actually be in attendance at the time of the execution of the writ of restitution but shall not make advanced arrangements for movers or actually conduct the move-out. Nothing in this rule shall prevent a party from recovering the costs of restitution of premises as damages or court costs in an appropriate case pursuant to law.

Final Appealable Orders:
The purpose of this rule is to comply with the dictates of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio contained in Atkinson vs. Grumann Ohio Corp. (1988), 37 Ohio St. 3d 80. The obligation to distinguish between interlocutory orders and final, appealable orders, however, is with the parties and their counsel and not with the Clerk or Deputy Clerks of this Court.

In cases where there is a request for service by publication pursuant to Civil Rule 4.4, the Clerk shall cause service of Notice to be made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the County pursuant to Rule 4.4. The Clerk shall notify the publisher that the payment of the costs of the publication shall be the responsibility of the plaintiff. Payment arrangements shall be made directly by the plaintiff with the publisher without the Court assessing the publication costs as costs of suit or without the requirement of an advanced deposit by the plaintiff to the Court for payment of the publication costs. Nothing in this rule shall prevent a party from recovering the costs of publication as damages or court costs in an appropriate case pursuant to law.