Common Pleas Court Judges

COVID-19 Update:

In accordance with the Ohio Supreme Court's Administrative Actions issued on March 27, 2020, (The Order) (http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-1166.pdf) all time requirements are tolled.

Due to the potential effects of COVID-19 regarding a party’s civil litigation, any party may request a Telephone Conference with the Court to discuss any issues and/or the current Case Management Schedule.  To request the Telephone Conference, the party should call Judge Turner’s Staff Attorney David Oakley at (216) 443-8602.

Parties may continue to file motions with the Court while recognizing response deadlines are tolled by this Order. If a party files a Motion and the opposing party responds, the Court shall make a ruling after the matter is fully briefed.  However, if the opposing party does not respond in electing to have the matter tolled, then the Court shall hold the Motion in abeyance until the tolling period has expired and the opposing party’s response time has expired. 

The Court encourages the continuation of settlement efforts of civil cases during the pendency of The Order.  The Court is available to conduct settlement conferences via Zoom at the request of the parties.  To request a Zoom conference with the Court, contact staff attorney David Oakley at 216-443-8602 or doakley@cuyahogacounty.us.

Answers/Motions for Default: For cases especially involving pro se Defendants, the Court notes that any Answer that was/is due after 03/09/2020 through the duration of the Order is tolled.  If a Plaintiff proceeds forward in filing a Motion for Default Judgment in a case in which the Defendant’s Answer was due prior to 03/09/2020, the Court shall hold its ruling in abeyance pending any response to the Motion by Defendant or until the tolling period has expired and the Defendant’s response time has expired.

The courtroom is a place of respect. All individuals appearing in Court are to treat all other individuals in Court with respect without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic status. 

CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES

Case management conferences for most civil cases will be set for a telephone conference, but can be changed to an in person conference upon agreement of the parties.  Counsel appearing at a case management conference must be prepared to set discovery and trial dates.

The parties should not wait for the case management conference before beginning to conduct discovery.  Initial paper discovery including interrogatories and requests for production of documents should be served prior to the case management conference.

MEDIATION

The parties may be referred to the Court’s alternative dispute resolution/mediation program upon request.  This referral may be made at the Case Management Conference, or at a later date upon motion by the parties.

Parties are required to deliver a hard copy of all motions which exceed twenty (20) pages to the Court.  Exhibits are included in the page count.   Hard copies may be delivered to the staff attorney on the 11^th floor of the Justice Center, or to the bailiff in Courtroom 20-D.

The parties are encouraged to work together to resolve all discovery disputes.  If discovery disputes remain, the parties are to contact the staff attorney at (216) 443-8602 prior to filing any motions to compel.

If a party objects to the production of discovery on grounds of privilege, over breadth, undue burden, or any other basis that does not encompass all the requested information, the party opposing discovery shall produce all discoverable information not subject to the objection.

FINAL PRETRIAL OR SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Parties to serve and file pretrial statement no less than one week prior to the final pretrial.  The final pretrial statement should provide the Court with a brief synopsis of the case, the status of any settlement negotiations, the expected length of trial including the number of potential witnesses, and any special issues or trial needs anticipated.

All parties and chosen representatives must be present at the final pretrial with full, final, and immediate settlement authority. If the real party in interest is an insurance company, corporation, common carrier, or other artificial entity, then the chosen representative must be the person with full, final, and immediate authority to negotiate and enter into a binding settlement agreement as to all claims.

The Court will schedule a settlement conference or pretrial conference upon the request of the parties.

All requests for continuances or extensions of time must be made in writing.  Counsel are encouraged to contact opposing counsel prior to filing the motion so that they can see if the motion will be opposed.  When requesting a continuance, parties should provide the Court with a specific date for the continuance, preferably with the concurrence of opposing counsel.

JURY TRIALS

Parties shall submit trial briefs, motions in limine, jury interrogatories and jury instructions, no later than fourteen (14) days before trial.  Trial briefs are to include:  a statement of the facts; a discussion of the controlling law; any stipulations; witness list along with a brief description of the subject matter of the testimony of each witness; exhibit list containing a brief description of each exhibit. Witnesses or exhibits not listed in the trial brief shall not testify or be introduced at trial absent a showing of good cause.  Opposing briefs to motions in limine shall be filed no later than seven (7) days before trial. 

Counsel for the parties are required to confer with one another with respect to the proposed jury interrogatories/instructions, with a view to reaching agreement on interrogatories/instructions to be requested.  The interrogatories/instructions agreed upon by all counsel shall be identified.  Disputed interrogatories/instructions shall likewise be identified along with separate citation to legal authority for each.  Counsel for the plaintiff shall be responsible for ensuring that a copy of the proposed jury instructions, interrogatories and verdict forms are emailed in word format to the staff attorney at doakley@cuyahogacounty.us at least fourteen (14) days before the scheduled trial date.  

Parties in civil cases are required to confer with one another and provide the Court with a brief statement of the case to be read to the jury by the Court prior to opening statements.  The statement should be brief and informative and not adversarial in nature.

Exhibits shall be bound and marked before trial and submitted to the court prior to trial.  Each party shall include as one of their exhibits the curriculum vitae of any expert(s) that may be called to present evidence or testimony at trial for the use of the court.

All possible stipulations are to be made prior to trial. Parties shall prepare a stipulated statement of the case for the court to read to the jury pursuant to Civ. R. 47(a).

BENCH TRIALS

Parties shall submit trial briefs, motions in limine, no later than fourteen (14) days before trial.  Trial briefs are to include:  a statement of the facts; a discussion of the controlling law; any stipulations; witness list along with a brief description of the subject matter of the testimony of each witness; exhibit list containing a brief description of each exhibit. Witnesses or exhibits not listed in the trial brief shall not testify or be introduced at trial absent a showing of good cause.  Opposing briefs to motions in limine shall be filed no later than seven (7) days before trial. 

Exhibits shall be bound and marked before trial and submitted to the court prior to trial.  Each party shall include as one of their exhibits the curriculum vitae of any expert(s) that may be called to present evidence or testimony at trial for the use of the court.