Athens County Municipal Court, Ohio Filing Timing and Cure Windows

CRITICAL

Documents filed after 11:59 p.m. in the applicable Eastern time zone are deemed filed at 8:00 a.m. on the next Court business day.

Any document filed after 11:59 p.m. in the time zone then applicable to the court (either Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Savings Time) shall be deemed to have been filed at 8:00 a.m. on the next Court business day.

CRITICAL

The Clerk will notify filers of acceptance or rejection; accepted filings receive a stamp showing transmission date and time, while rejected or unprocessed filings receive no file stamp.

The Clerk will notify the filer when a filing has been accepted or rejected for docketing and filing in the court’s case management system. Each document filed will receive an electronic stamp containing the date and time the filer transmitted the document to the court’s authorized electronic filing system. If the Clerk rejects or otherwise cannot successfully process a filing, it will not receive a file stamp.

CRITICAL

A document filed on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday is deemed filed at 8:00 a.m. on the next Court business day.

Any document filed on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday shall be deemed to have been filed at 8:00 a.m. on the next Court business day.

CRITICAL

The Clerk must reject filings that are unsigned, use an unapproved digitized format, lack a required payment, or fail the Word-document and signature-token requirements for a judge’s signature.

The Clerk shall reject any filing that: (a) is not signed by the party; (b) is not in a digitized format approved by the clerk; (c) is not accompanied by a required payment; or (d) requires a judge’s signature and is not submitted as a word document or without the necessary signature token.

CRITICAL

An electronically filed document is considered filed when transmission to the Court’s authorized e-filing system is complete.

Any document filed electronically shall be considered as filed with the Court when the transmission to the Court’s authorized electronic filing system is complete.

WARNING

For a document not accepted because of a transmission error, the Court may, upon satisfactory proof, permit filing nunc pro tunc to the date it was sent electronically.

If a party attempts to file a document electronically and the document is not accepted for docketing and filing in the Court’s case management system because of an error in the transmission of the document to the electronic filing system, the Court may, upon satisfactory proof, enter an order permitting the document to be filed nunc pro tunc to the date it was sent electronically.

INFO

Settlement entries may be filed at any time.

Entries of settlement may be filed at any time.

INFO

Electronic filings may be submitted to the Clerk at any time, every day of the week.

An electronic filing may be submitted to the Clerk twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.

CRITICAL

After notice that a case will be dismissed for failure to obtain service, counsel has ten days before dismissal unless good cause is shown.

If counsel fails to obtain service of summons within six months from the date the cause of action has been filed, then the Clerks shall notify counsel that the case will be dismissed in ten days after notice to counsel unless good cause is shown to the contrary.

CRITICAL

The jury deposit is due within ten days of the demand or by the business day before a merits hearing on a jury-triable issue, whichever occurs first.

That deposit shall be made within ten days of the demand for jury trial or the business day before any issue triable by jury is scheduled for a merits hearing, whichever is earlier.

CRITICAL

Opposing counsel must approve or reject the journal entry within five days.

Opposing counsel shall approve or reject that entry within five days.

CRITICAL

The defendant must complete the program within three months after entering it.

Defendant is given three months from the date of entry into the program by which to complete the program.

CRITICAL

A party who has not answered and expresses a desire to contest at the default hearing must file an answer within fourteen days or the matter proceeds to default.

If a party who has not answered appears at the Default Judgment hearing and expresses a desire to contest the matter, they shall file an answer within fourteen days or the matter will proceed to default.

CRITICAL

Deadline

5 court days

A transfer to the regular docket must be requested at least five court days before the small claims hearing.

No transfer shall be allowed unless the transfer is requested at least five court days prior to the date of the small claims hearing.

CRITICAL

Settlement entries may generally be filed at any time, but when settlement avoids a trial date with all parties’ and the Court’s consent, an entry must be filed by the thirtieth day after the trial date or the case will be dismissed without prior notice.

3. Entries of Settlement may be filed at any time. With the consent of all parties and the Court, the avoidance of a trial date by settlement shall be allowed without the filing of an entry, but such entry shall be filed by the thirtieth day following trial date, or the case will be dismissed, without prior notice to counsel.

CRITICAL

Within 15 days of the decision, prevailing counsel must inform the judge whether the parties agree or disagree about the entry.

Within fifteen days of the decision, prevailing counsel shall inform the judge of the agreement or the disagreement of the parties.

CRITICAL

If a case has had no activity for six months and is not set for trial, the Court will give notice that it will be dismissed within ten days unless good cause is shown.

If no action has been taken on a file for a six month period and the case is not set for trial, then the Court shall notify the party that the matter will be dismissed within ten days after notification of counsel unless good cause is shown.

CRITICAL

A period measured from the filing of an electronic document runs from the date the document is deemed filed.

Whenever a time period is measured from the time after a document is filed, the time will be measured from the date the electronically filed document is deemed to have been filed.

CRITICAL

Amendments are not permitted after the final pretrial.

No amendments will be permitted after the final pretrial.

CRITICAL

Opposing counsel must approve or reject the journal entry within five days.

Opposing counsel shall approve or reject the entry within five days.

CRITICAL

If a settlement entry has not arrived within thirty days after the file is marked “settlement entry to come,” the Clerk will notify the party that the case will be dismissed unless the entry arrives within ten days.

When a file has been marked “settlement entry to come” and the entry has not been received within thirty days, then the Clerk shall notify the party that the cause will be dismissed unless the entry is received within ten days.

CRITICAL

After default judgment, an entry should be submitted within fifteen days of judgment or the case may be dismissed.

Where a default judgment is granted, a failure to submit an entry within fifteen days from the date judgment was rendered may result in the case being dismissed.

CRITICAL

A party seeking a jury view must submit a written request at least fourteen days before trial.

If either party desires that the jury view a scene, that request shall be in writing submitted at least fourteen days prior to the day of trial.

CRITICAL

Completed appointed-counsel applications or financial affidavits must be submitted to the Clerk the same day they are signed.

shall cause those completed applications/affidavits to be submitted to the Clerk the same day as signed.

CRITICAL

After the Clerk notifies counsel that a case has defaulted, prevailing counsel must submit an application for default judgment within fifteen days or the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution.

Upon notification from the Clerk that the case has defaulted, prevailing counsel shall submit an application for default judgment within fifteen days or the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution.

CRITICAL

The referenced document must be filed within fifteen days after the decision.

parties, or (3) prepared by the judge because of counsel’s failure to act, shall be filed within fifteen days after the decision.

CRITICAL

Bond agents and surety companies must register and file required credentials by August 1 of each odd-numbered year; later registration requires court approval.

All bond agents and surety companies seeking to do business in Athens County Municipal Court shall register and file their required credentials by the first day of August of each odd numbered year in accordance with O.R.C. 3905.87. Registration after this date will require Court approval to be added to the approved list.

CRITICAL

A settlement may avoid trial without an entry, but if an entry is to be filed it must be filed within the stated time or the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution.

The avoidance of trial by settlement shall be allowed without the filing of an entry, but such entry shall be filed within the time stated or the case shall be dismissed for want of prosecution.

CRITICAL

A motion response must be filed no later than the fourteenth day following service of the motion on the responding party.

All parties wishing to respond to such motion shall do so in writing not later than the fourteenth day following service of the motion upon the responding party.

CRITICAL

The letter or notice of appearance must be filed before the date of the initial appearance.

filing a letter or notice of appearance with the court prior to the date of the initial appearance

WARNING

Cases generally must be completed within one year after the complaint is filed.

All cases must be completed within one year from the date of filing the complaint

WARNING

The submitting party must pay the account charge for service copies within 30 days.

Filings submitted electronically will have the cost of copies required for service added to the submitting party’s account, to be paid within 30 days.

WARNING

After a prosecutor’s pretrial conference with defense counsel, the defendant may enter the program within 30 days of arraignment.

Entry into the program can also occur following a prosecutor’s pre-trial conference with defense counsel, so long as Defendant enters the program within 30 days of Arraignment.

WARNING

Small Claims cases must be completed within six months after the complaint is filed.

and Small Claims cases that must be completed within six months.

WARNING

A motion submitted on memoranda is considered submitted at the end of the fourteen-day period unless the Court extends the time.

All motions will be considered submitted at the end of said fourteen day period unless time is extended by the court.

WARNING

Personal injury and property damage cases must be completed within two years after the complaint is filed.

except personal injury and property damage cases that must be completed within two years

WARNING

Deadline

1 business days

To the extent possible, the arresting agency should deliver charges to the Clerk of Court at least one business day before arraignment.

D. To the extent possible, the arresting agency will deliver charges to the Clerk of Court no later than one business day before arraignment.