Union County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Document Filing Requirements

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading requiring certification or signature

Must include

signature block

Required certifications and signatures must be signed by an attorney who has appeared in the case; otherwise the pleading will not be filed.

In all cases where certifications or signatures are required, the attorney who has entered an appearance in the case must sign. No signatures of attorneys who have not entered an appearance, paralegals, secretaries, etc. will be allowed and the pleading will not be filed without compliance.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Civil complaint, domestic relations complaint or petition, or reopen motion

Civil complaints, domestic relations complaints and petitions, and reopen motions must include a completed Classification Form, with the general issues specified if “Other” is selected.

The Complaint in any civil case, including domestic relations Complaints and Petitions, and reopen Motions, shall be accompanied by a completed Classification Form. (See attached "Exhibit A"). In the event the Classification Form is marked "Other" the person filing the Complaint, Petition or Motion shall specify and denote what general issues are involved in the case.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Case document

Litigants must omit personal identifiers from all case documents in accordance with Ohio Superintendence Rule 45.

All case documents shall omit personal identifiers in accordance with Rule 45 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence. It is the responsibility of litigants to ensure compliance, not the Court or Clerk of Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

Each motion must state its grounds with particularity, identify the relief sought, and identify any prior order at issue.

All motions shall state with particularity the grounds therefore, the relief or order sought and shall identify any prior Order(s) at issue.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Civil complaint, domestic-relations complaint or petition, or reopen motion

A completed Classification Form must accompany civil complaints, domestic-relations complaints and petitions, and reopen motions.

The Complaint in any civil case, including domestic relations Complaints and Petitions, and reopen Motions, shall be accompanied by a completed Classification Form. (See attached "Exhibit A").

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion seeking default

Must include

proposed order

A motion for default must include a proposed entry granting the motion.

Each Motion seeking default shall be accompanied by a proposed Entry granting same. See Loc. R. 14.05.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion for default judgment

Must include

proposed order

A default-judgment motion must be submitted with a proposed judgment entry, or the motion will be dismissed.

Having complied with all of the requirements above, the party moving for default judgment shall submit to the Court, at the time of submission of the Motion for Default, a proposed Judgment Entry. Failure to provide a proposed entry will result in the Motion being dismissed.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pretrial statement

Pretrial statements must be filed at least seven days before pretrial or, if none is scheduled, 14 days before trial and contain the listed facts, issues, authorities, witnesses, exhibits, jury position, settlement position where applicable, and trial-time estimate.

Pretrial statements by all parties shall be filed with the Court at least seven (7) days before date of pretrial or, in the event no pretrial is scheduled by the Court, fourteen (14) days before the first day of trial. They shall include: a. Your version of facts giving rise to the claim for relief. b. Your analysis of issues. c. Your propositions of law with two (2) or three (3) authorities cited. d. List of your witnesses. e. Exhibits you will offer, together with the number or letter of the exhibit. Plaintiff shall use numerals, Defendant shall use letters, and Joint Exhibits shall use numerals preceded by the words, "Joint Exhibit___." f. Whether jury will be waived. g. Your demand or offer for settlement (except in non-jury cases). h. Your estimate of trial time.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion seeking default

Must include

proposed order

A motion seeking default must be accompanied by a proposed entry granting it.

Each Motion seeking default shall be accompanied by a proposed Entry granting same.

WARNING

Applies to

Pleading

Must include

caption

The caption must identify the court, county, state, and each party’s name and address.

The caption, at the top thereof, in addition to stating the name of the Court, County and State, shall state the name and address of all the parties.

WARNING

Applies to

Complaint in a case involving the Child Support Enforcement Agency

Must include

caption

CSEA complaints must include the parties’ and children’s birth dates in the caption and furnish their Social Security numbers to CSEA within three days after filing.

In cases involving the Child Support Enforcement Agency, the dates of birth of the parties and issue (children) shall also be included under the names of the parties in the caption of the complaint. The Social Security numbers of the parties and issue shall be furnished to the CSEA within three days of filing the Complaint.

WARNING

Applies to

Pleading, motion, or application filed after the complaint

Later pleadings, motions, and applications must identify the case and first parties and include specified contact and registration information for counsel or the filer.

Pleadings filed subsequent to the Complaint, including Motions and Applications, shall state the number of the cause, the name of the first-party plaintiff and the first-party defendant on each side. Each Pleading, Motion or Application shall bear the name, office address, the attorney registration number issued by the Supreme Court of Ohio, telephone and fax numbers of the responsible attorney. Otherwise, the pleadings shall bear the name, address, telephone number and a fax number where 24 hour notices may be sent, of the party filing the same.

WARNING

Applies to

Domestic-relations complaint, petition, answer, counterclaim, or decree

Must include

caption

Domestic-relations complaints, petitions, answers, counterclaims, and decrees must state both parties’ names and addresses and omit personal identifiers and children’s identifying information from captions.

All Complaints, Petitions, Answers, Counterclaims, and Decrees shall state the names and addresses of both parties. Personal identification information such as social security numbers and the identification of children shall not be included in any captions.

WARNING

Applies to

Domestic-relations pleading, motion, or order

Domestic-relations pleadings, motions, and orders must include the attorney’s name, firm if any, contact details, and Ohio Supreme Court number.

All Pleadings, Motions and Orders shall include the name of the attorney, the firm name, if any, office address, office telephone number, fax number, if any, e-mail address if any, and the attorney’s Ohio Supreme Court Number.

WARNING

Applies to

Separation agreement or shared parenting plan

Separation agreements and shared parenting plans must be filed as separate, appropriately titled documents rather than embedded in pleadings.

All Separation Agreements and Shared Parenting Plans filed with the Court must be submitted as a separate document styled as a "Separation Agreement" or "Shared Parenting Plan" and not included in the body of the pleadings.

WARNING

Applies to

Continuance entry

An order granting a continuance must specify a definite new date and time that accommodates all parties and is approved by the Assignment Commissioner.

All entries granting continuances shall have embodied therein a date and time certain, to which the case will be continued, said date and time to satisfy the schedules of all parties to the action and which shall have been approved by the Assignment Commissioner of this Court.

WARNING

Applies to

Exhibits

A party intending to introduce more than 20 exhibits must notify the Court’s Bailiff 60 days before trial.

In the event either party intends on introducing more than twenty (20) exhibits, then sixty (60) days prior to the scheduled trial date, they shall notify the Court’s Bailiff.