General:Attorneys should be prepared to discuss settlement at the earliest opportunity. Case Management Conferences will be scheduled approximately 90 days after filing. Attorneys shall adhere to the trial schedule set during the CMC work together to move the case along efficiently. The Court expects to move its docket quickly and efficiently with the goal of disposing of cases within one year of filing with exception to complex cases. Mediation and arbitration will be used in cases where appropriate. Any questions regarding the court's litigation preferences can be directed to the court's staff attorney Tiffeny Young at (216) 443-8605 or by email at cptuy@cuyahogacounty.us.

Pre-Trials: The court's staff attorney will conduct CMCs. Attorney's may attend CMCs by phone upon agreement of parties and prior arrangement with the court's staff attorney. Plaintiff's counsel shall initiate the conference call with all other parties and contact the court's staff attorney at the appointed time. Parties must have their calendars available and be prepared to discuss service issues, discovery progress, scheduling matters and alternative dispute resolution options. Requests for mediation and arbitration shall be made at the Case Management Conference.
THE PARTIES SHOULD NOT WAIT FOR THE CMC BEFORE BEGINNING TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY.

Motion Practice: Counsel shall refer to docket regarding filing deadlines for briefs and file all motions in compliance with the local rules. Counsel is required to provide staff attorney with a copy of the motion on the 11th floor.

Discovery: Parties shall adhere to the discovery timeline as outlined during CMC and are expected to make reasonable efforts to settle discovery disputes among themselves prior to seeking the court's intervention. Attorney's must notify the court's staff attorney and schedule a telephone conference to discuss issues prior to filing a motion to compel. Discovery deadlines are generally between 60 and 90 days from the date of the CMC. Discovery deadlines of than 90 days will be granted in only complex cases. Discovery deadlines may be extended by motion if such extensions do not hinder the current scheduled trial date. Attorneys should attempt to resolve discovery disputes prior to court's intervention. Attorney's must notify the court's staff attorney and schedule a telephone conference prior to filing a motion to compel.

Settlement Conference: All parties with settlement authority must be present at the settlement conference and the final pretrial. THE COURT WILL NOT REFER CASES TO MEDIATION OR ARBITRATION AT THE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE.

Calendaring and Continuances: No party shall be granted a continuance of a trial or hearing without a written motion from the party or counsel stating the reason for the continuance endorsed in writing with the signature of the client and his or her lead counsel of record. The Court will not consider any motion for a continuance due to a conflict of trial assignment dates unless a copy of the conflicting assignment is attached thereto.

Trials: 

TRIAL BRIEFS:

Trial briefs are REQUIRED in all cases and must be filed with the Court no later than seven (7) days before the trial. Trial briefs shall include:

· statement of the facts;
· a discussion of the controlling law with particular emphasis on those legal issues which might justify a complete or partial motion under Civil Rule 50 of the Rules of Civil Procedure;
· a list of proposed witnesses along with a description of the subject matter of the testimony of each witness;
· an index of all proposed exhibits containing a brief description of each exhibit; and
· a discussion of any evidentiary issues likely to arise at trial. Copies of all documents and photo exhibits will be marked and copies provided to opposing counsel five (5) days prior to trial or face exclusion.

Motions in Limine shall be filed on the same date as the trial brief, unless the Court sets other dates. Responses to Motions in Limine shall be filed no later than three (3) days prior to the final pretrial.

In non-jury trials, proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law shall be incorporated into the trial brief. Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law shall be consecutively numbered with each stated in a separate paragraph. The proposed Findings of Fact shall cite the particular witness(es) or exhibit(s) upon which each suggested finding is based. Proposed Conclusions of Law shall cite legal authority.

In a jury case, trial briefs also shall include any proposed subjects for voir dire examination.

Counsel are required to exchange their trial briefs with opposing counsel. If a witness is not listed in the trial brief, the witness shall not testify except under extraordinary circumstances. This rule applies to lay witnesses as well as to expert witnesses. Exhibits not listed in the trial brief copies and provided to opposing counsel shall not be introduced at trial, absent a showing of good cause.

VOIR DIRE:

The Court will conduct initial voir dire of the panel and of individual panel members. The Court may thereafter allow one counsel for each party to question briefly individual panel members on issues not addressed by the Court. The Court will discontinue questioning by counsel if questioning seeks to instruct the jury on the law or accomplish anything other than to elicit information regarding the panel member’s background, biases, or suitability for service.

Any proposed questions for the Court’s questioning are to be submitted with the first trial brief.

PROPOSED JURY INSTRUCTIONS:

Counsel for the various parties are required to confer with one another in person with respect to proposed jury instructions, with a view to reaching agreement on instructions to be requested.

Proposed jury instructions shall be filed in the trial brief of the parties. The instructions agreed upon by all counsel shall be identified. Disputed instructions shall also be identified, along with separate citations to legal authority for each instruction.

No proposed jury instructions will be considered by the Court unless they has been submitted in compliance with these provisions, except that requests for instructions that could not reasonably have been anticipated may be submitted during trial.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS AND STIPULATIONS:

Counsel shall prepare a joint statement describing the case in an impartial, easily understood and concise manner for use by the Court either during voir dire or at the time the jury is impaneled. This statement will be used to set the context of the trial for the jury and must be submitted at the same time the trial brief is submitted.

Stipulations of Fact, if any, shall be submitted at the same time as part of the same document.

EXHIBITS:

One (1) copy of all exhibits shall be furnished to the Court on the day of trial. There is no need to file the exhibits with the Clerk of Courts. Counsel shall exchange copies of all exhibits no later than five (5) working days before the date on the trial notice.

Exhibits shall be marked before trial with exhibit stickers. The Court recommends that counsel place all exhibit sets in three-ring, loose-leaf binders/notebooks, with appropriately marked divider tabs and a table of contents at the front.

DEPOSITION TESTIMONY (VIDEOTAPE AND WRITTEN):

Whenever depositions (videotape and written) are intended to be used as evidence at trial, counsel proposing to use such deposition shall notify opposing counsel at least seven (7) days before the final pretrial. Any objections to portions of the deposition must be filed in writing with the Court at least three (3) days prior to the final pretrial. If a final pretrial is not scheduled, counsel shall be notified seven (7) days prior to trial and objections filed three (3) days prior to trial. If there are objections, counsel proposing to use said deposition shall file a brief in support within two (2) days after the objections are filed or indicate an agreement to delete the portion for which there is an objection. The Court must be provided with a complete written transcript of videotape depositions.

PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW IN NON-JURY TRIALS:

In all non-jury cases, counsel for each of the parties shall prepare proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, which shall be filed with the Court and served upon opposing counsel not later than ten (10) days before the date set for trial. Plaintiff’s Conclusions of Law shall include a statement of the applicable statute conferring jurisdiction upon the Court.

SETTLEMENT:

Due to the expanding docket of the Court, the parties are requested to notify the Court at the earliest possible time if a settlement is reached in the case.

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