Multnomah County Circuit Court Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

Required

Always

In expedited civil jury trials, parties may not file pretrial motions without specific court permission.

Parties shall not file pretrial motions, unless specific permission is granted by the court.

A scheduling conference is required before postponing a trial, whether contested or stipulated.

A scheduling conference is required for both contested and stipulated postponements.

Contested motions to abate the case are heard at scheduling conferences.

The presiding judge will also hear contested motions to abate the case pursuant to SLR 7.055(7).

Complex case designation requests are heard at scheduling conferences, and all attorneys or self-represented litigants must appear.

Complex case designation requests are also heard at scheduling conferences, even if uncontested. The presiding judge requires all attorneys or self-represented litigants to appear at the hearing.

Writs of review and petitions for judicial review require a scheduling conference to create a plan and timeline.

These two types of civil cases do not follow the common case tracks for resolution. As such, a scheduling conference is necessary to create a plan and timeline for moving the case forward.

Certain motions must be heard by the motions judge assigned to the case.

The following motions must be heard by the motions judge assigned to the case.

Attorneys must announce a motion for change of judge at call immediately to be timely.

At the time of assignment at call, attorneys who wish to file a motion for change of judge must announce to the presiding judge their intention to do so immediately, and then follow the procedures described in ORS 14.260, 14.270, and SLR 7.045 for the motion to be considered timely.

Required

Always

Parties must have a conference with the presiding judge to obtain complex case designation.

To obtain designation of their case as a complex case, the parties must have a conference with the presiding judge.