Wood County Law Library
Common Pleas Court of
Wood County Rules
Wood County Law Library: One Courthouse Square | Bowling Green, Ohio | (419) 353-3921 | jgill@co.wood.oh.us
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Chapter 3
Filing Procedures
Rule 3.01
Files and Filing Procedure
A. Form of Filings, Unless Directed Otherwise By a Judge:
1. In addition to the requirements of Civ. R. 10, all papers filed with the Clerk as pleadings, motions, applications, judgments and orders shall be on 8 1/2 by 11 inch white paper, typewritten, or printed in a neat and legible manner, securely fastened together and page numbered if consisting of more than a single sheet.
2. Each paper filed by each party shall designate on the first page thereof the parties, the case number, the name of the judge, the identification of the filing, the name, address, Ohio Supreme Court registration number, telephone number, and fax number, if any, of the counsel filing the paper or; if there is no counsel, then the party filing the paper.
3. All papers shall have a blank space of at least two and one-half (2-1/2) inches at the top of the first page for file marks by the Clerk. If such a space is not provided, the Clerk shall recopy the first page of the filing so that it has a 2-1/2 inch top margin and charge $5.00 to the filing party.
4. All pleadings, motions or other papers of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney of record. A party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign the pleading, motion or other paper. The Clerk shall reject any unsigned filing.
B. Jury Demand
If a jury demand, pursuant to Rule 38 of the Ohio Civil Rules of Procedure, is endorsed upon a pleading, the caption of the pleading shall state, "Jury demand endorsed hereon." Failure to comply with Ohio Civil Rule 38 shall result in the case being tried to the Court and failure to include this statement on the caption shall be a waiver of jury trial, regardless of a demand for jury in the body of the pleading. (See also, Local Rule 3.02(B)(14)).
C. Case Designation Form
At the time a complaint is filed in a civil case or a domestic relations case, the Plaintiff or Plaintiff's counsel shall provide the Court with the classification of case as required by the Supreme Court of Ohio in addition to information on any previously filed cases, whether pending or terminated, which may be related to the case being filed. A case designation form will be provided by the Clerk of Courts for this purpose. If a party fails to file the case designation form pursuant to this rule, the Clerk may reject the filing and return the pleadings to the submitting party.
"A related civil case" is a prior or pending case that involves one or more of the same parties and which arises out of the same acts, incident, occurrence or transaction.
D. Number of Copies To Be Filed
Upon the filing of a complaint or any other pleading or motion for which the service of summons by the Clerk of Courts is required, sufficient copies shall be filed so that one copy thereof may be provided to each party and one additional copy of a pleading, motion or other filing shall be provided for the judge.
In all cases of aggravated murder where the indictment contains a specification permitting the imposition of the death penalty, all filings with the Clerk of Courts shall contain one original and two copies.
E. File Shall Remain in Clerk's Office
All papers filed with the Clerk in any action or proceeding shall remain in the Clerk's office except when required by the Court. No case file shall be removed from the Clerk's office by any party or any attorney.
F. Amending a Pleading or Motion
Pleadings and motions may be amended at such time and in a manner provided by Civ. R. 15. However, no pleading or motion shall be amended by interlineation or obliteration, except upon leave of court.
G. Filing Video Depositions
The filing of video deposition shall conform to Sup. R. 13, and in addition, a typed certified copy of the transcript and a list of objections shall be filed along with the video deposition. See also, Local Rule 4.12.
H. Signature Line
All magistrate's decisions and all orders of the magistrates and judges shall have the name of the respective magistrate or judge printed or typed below their respective signature line.
Rule 3.02
Facsimile Filing
The provisions of this local rule are adopted under [Civ.R. 5(E)] [Civ.R. 73(J)] [Crim.R.12(B)] [Juv.R. 8] [App.R. 13(A)].
Pleadings and other papers may be filed with the Clerk of Courts by facsimile transmission to 419-354-9241 subject to the following conditions:
A. Applicability
1. These rules apply to civil, criminal, appellate and domestic relations, proceedings in the Wood County Common Pleas Court.
2. The following documents will not be accepted for fax filing:
- Original complaint and accompanying paperwork for a new domestic or civil case action.
- Cognovit promissory notes
- Post decree motion
- Answer with cross complaint requiring service
- Debtor's exam
- Writ of possession
- Garnishment
- Order in Aid
- Service by publication and/or praecipe for order of sale
- Any liens
- Registration of a notary
- Evidentiary materials attached to motions that are not on 8 1/2 by 11 paper
- Making and/or filing and/or releasing of a certificate of judgement
- Request fo execution by the Sheriff
- Filing of an appeals action (can be taken by facsimile if they are in forma pauperis)
- Filing of a motion/application for sealing or expungement of a criminal record
- Any document required to be certified or authenticated
- Any document in whole or part under seal
- Written pleas of not guilty
- Written pleas of not guilty by reason or insanity
- Any pleadings for filing that require a deposit for costs for witness fee
- Any document that requres the Clerk's office to provide service
3. In order to preserve the confidentiality of all filings, documents, and reports, any document that may contain information covered by the Health Insurance Portability Accounting Act, will not be permitted to be filed with the Clerk of Courts by facsimile filing.
B. Original Filing
1. A document filed by fax shall be accepted as the effective original filing. The person making a fax filing need not file any source document with the Clerk of Court but must, however, maintain in his or her records and have available for production on request by the Court the source document filed by fax, with original signatures as otherwise required under the applicable rules, together with the source copy of the facsimile cover sheet used for the subject filing.
2. The source document filed by fax shall be maintained by the person making the filing until the case is closed and all opportunities for post judgment relief are exhausted.
C. Definitions
As used in these, rules, unless teh context requires otherwise:
1. A "facsimile transmission" means the transmission of a source document by a facsimile machine that encodes a document into optical or electrical signals, transmits and reconstructs the signals to print a duplicate of the source document at the receiving end.
2. A "facsimile machine" means a machine that can send and receive a facsimile transmission.
3. "Fax" is an abbreviation for "facsimile" and refers, as indicated by the context, to facsimile transmission or to a document so transmitted.
D. Cover Page
1. Any facsimile copy filed pursuant to this rule shall conform to the requirements of Civil Rules 10 and 11 and shall include a cover page which contains the following information: [See Appendix O-2 for sample cover page form.]
(I) The name of the court;
(II) The caption of the case;
(III) The case number;
(IV) The assigned judge;
(V) The title of the document being filed (e.g. Defendant Jones' Answer to Amended Complaint; Plaintiff Smith's Response to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss; Plaintiff Smith's Notice of Filing Exhibit "G" to Plaintiff Smith's Response to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss) ;
(VI) The date of transmission;
(VII) The transmitting fax number;
(VIII) An indication of the number of pages included in the transmission, including the cover page;
(IX) If a judge or case number has not been assigned, state that fact on the cover page;
(X) The name, address, telephone number, fax number, Supreme Cort registration number, if applicable, and e-mail address of the person filing the fax document if available; and
(XI) If applicable, a statement explaining how costs are being submitted.
2. If a document is sent by fax to the Clerk of Court without the cover page information listed above, the Clerk may, at its discretion:
(I) Enter the document in the Case Docket and file the document; or
(II) Deposit the document in a file of failed faxed documents with a notation of the reason for the failure; in this instance, the document shall not be considered filed with the Clerk of Courts. The Clerk of Courts' fax machine is available on the basis of 24 hours per day 7 days per week. The time of receipt of any document is the date and time imprinted on the document by the facsimile machine receiving the transmission.
3. The Clerk of Court is not required to send any form of notice to the sending party of a failed fax filing. However, if practicable, the Clerk of Court may inform the sending party of a failed fax filing.
4. If the attorney requires a file-stamped copy to be re¬tur¬ned to him or her and has not provid¬¬¬ed a copy for this purpose or if the attorney has not provided a copy for the judge's file, the charge for making copies will be $.25 per page for the first twenty-five pages, $.12 per page for the next seventy-five pages, and $.06 per page thereafter.
E. Signature
1. A party who wishes to file a signed source document by fax shall either:
(I) Fax a copy of the signed source document: or
(II) Fax a copy of the document without the signature but with the notation "/s/" followed by the name of the signing person where the signature appears in the signed source document.
2. A party who files a signed document by fax represents that the physically signed source document is in his/her possession or control.
F. Exhibits
1. Each exhibit to a facsimile produced document that cannot be accurately transmitted via facsimile transmission for any reason must be replaced by an insert page describing the exhibit and why it is missing. Unless the court otherwise orders, the missing exhibit shall be filed with the court, as a separate document, not later than five (5) court days following the filing of the facsimile document. Failure to file the missing exhibits as required by this paragraph may result in the court striking the document and/or exhibit.
2. Any exhibit filed in this manner shall be attached to a cover sheet containing the caption of the case which sets forth the name of the court, title of the case, the case number, name of the judge and the title of the exhibit being filed (e.g., Plaintiff Smith's Notice of Filing Exhibit "G" to Plaintiff Smith's Response to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss), and shall be signed and served in conformance with the rules governing the signing and service of pleadings in this court. [See Appendix O-3 for sample exhibit cover sheet.]
G. Time of Filing
1. Subject to the provisions of these rules, all documents sent by fax and received by the Clerk shall be considered filed with the Clerk of Courts. The facsimile copy shall be filed by the Clerk when received. If any facsimile copy is received by the Clerk after 4:30 P.M. on a regular business day or anytime on a weekend or holiday, the facsimile copy may be filed on the next regular business day by the Clerk.
2. Fax filings may NOT be sent directly to the court for filing but may only be transmitted directly through the facsimile equipment operated by the Clerk of Courts.
3. The Clerk of Court may, but need not, acknowledge receipt of a facsimile transmission.
4. The risks of transmitting a document by fax to the Clerk of Courts shall be borne entirely by the sending party. Anyone using facsimile filing is urged to verify receipt of such filing by the Clerk of Court through whatever technological means are available.
H. Fees and Costs
1. The filing of pleadings, court orders or other papers subse¬quent to the original complaint not requiring a securi¬ty deposit pursuant to Local Rule 3.02, may be filed with the Clerk by telephonic facsimile transmission. No document filed by facsimile that requires a filing fee shall be accepted by the Clerk for filing until court cost and fees have been paid. Court cost and fees may be paid to the Clerk by check, cash or money order. Documents tendered to the Clerk without payment of court cost and fees, or which do not conform to applicable rules will not be filed.
2. No additional fee shall be assessed for incoming facsimile filings.
I. Length of Document
Facsimile filings shall not exceed 25 pages in length.. The filer shall not transmit service copies by facsimile. If the facsimile will exceed 25 pages in length, the filer must call the Clerk’s office at 419-354-9280 for direction.
J. Effective Date
These provisions of the facsimile filing rule shall be effective September 17, 2007 and shall govern all proceedings in actions brought after they take effect and also further proceedings in pending actions, except to the extent that, in the opinion of the court, their application in a particular action pending on the effective date would not be feasible or would work an injustice, in which event, the former procedure applies.
Rule 3.03
Costs and Security for Costs
A. No motion to proceed In Forma Pauperis shall be granted by the Court unless there is attached thereto a statement by the attorney for the party executing such affidavit that he or she has not accepted and will not accept any attorney's fees in said cause until the costs are paid or secured to be paid.
B. Unless a motion to proceed In Forma Pauperis is filed and accepted by the Court or the Court waives deposit for costs or costs, the following amounts shall be deposited with the Clerk of Courts:
1. $200 - Civil Suits, excluding Foreclosure actions and Domestic Relations actions (includes a special projects fee of $50.00 per R.C. 2303.201(E)(1)).
2. $300 - Divorces and Legal Separations
$200 - Dissolutions
a. However the Court may determine at the first hearing the party most able to make the deposit; and upon Order of the Court, that party shall deposit an amount determined by the Court; and if the Court so orders, the Clerk shall refund the original deposit to the extent the combined deposit exceeds that required.
b. Failure by the party to deposit the amount ordered may result in the party being sanctioned including the striking of any pleading or the case proceeding as in default.
3. $110 - Reopened Domestic Relations cases.
4. $40 - Consent Judgment Entries for Domestic Relations cases. No consent entry will be accepted unless accompanied by a deposit.
5. $40 - Filing of notice pursuant to provisions of Final Judgment or Statute.
6. $75 - Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Domestic Relations cases. No order will be accepted unless accompanied by a deposit.
7. $400 - Real Estate Foreclosure actions (includes a special projects fee of $50.00 per R.C. 2303.201(E)(1)). An additional deposit of $725 is required when the Praecipe for Order of Sale is filed.
8. $100 - Motion to vacate, revive, or modify judgment. Proceedings in aid of execution deposit must include estimated fees for appraisers and related costs.
9. $20 - Service of Summons or execution on each non-resident defendant when service by foreign sheriff is required.
10. $500 - Additional for any civil or domestic relations case requiring service by publication.
11. $180 - Notice of Appeal from tribunals, commissions or administrative agencies (includes a special projects fee of $50.00 per R.C. 2303.201(E)(1)).
12. $100 - Counterclaim, cross-complaint or third-party complaint.
13. $50 - Judge or Jury View, per view. The deposit must be paid 30 days before trial or the Judge or Jury view is waived.
14. $300 - Jury deposit. The deposit must be paid 30 days before trial or jury trial is waived.
15. $175 - Expungement of criminal conviction.
16. $75 – Petition for Certification of Qualification for Employment.
17. If a party is due a refund of deposit in any case, before making said refund, the Clerk of Courts may apply said refund to any court costs then owed by said party.
C. Unless a poverty affidavit is filed and accepted by the Court, the following amounts shall be paid to the Clerk of Courts:
1. $150 - Writ of possession or execution.
2. $35 - Judgment lien.
3. $50 – Foreign Judgment
4. $5 - Release of judgment lien.
5. $40 - Release of tax lien.
6. $.06 – Copy fee per page.
7. Facsimile documents
a. $2 – Usage fee of $2, plus $1 per page, payable to the Clerk of Courts for transmitting from the Clerk's electronic facsimile machine.
b. The costs associated with facsimile transmissions shall be billed immediately to the party either transmitting or requesting receipt of facsimile copies.
c. If the attorney requires a file-stamped copy to be returned to him or her and has not provided a copy for this purpose or if the attorney has not provided a copy for the judge's file, the charge for making copies will be $.06 per page. (See Local Rule 3.01(D)).
8. $5 - for recopying the first page of a document so that the
required top margin is preserved. (See Local Rule 3.01(A)(3)).
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, payments received by the Clerk of Courts in a case where more than one financial obligation exists shall be applied in the following order:
1. To any order of restitution
2. To Court costs
3. To any order to reimburse Wood County for costs of appointed counsel, incarceration, community control sanction or any further financial sanction
4. To any fines
D. If a check or other negotiable instrument for deposit for costs is dishonored for any reason, the filing may be dismissed by the Court after 10 days notice is given to the filer for failure to pay the required security for costs.
E. If at any time the deposit for costs becomes insufficient in any case, the Clerk shall require of the appropriate parties an additional deposit in an amount sufficient to secure the reasonably anticipated additional costs.
F. When a judgment entry orders payment of costs by a party who has a deposit with the Clerk, the costs shall be deducted from that party's deposit, if sufficient, and any balance shall be returned to the depositor. If, however, the deposit is insufficient or that party has no deposit, then the amount still due shall be billed to that party. If there is a failure to pay within sixty (60) days from the Clerk's cost statement by the party so ordered, the Clerk shall deduct the costs from any deposit held in that case.
G. If notice of voluntary dismissal is filed by a plaintiff or an appellant, the dismissal shall be at the cost of the dismissing party, unless otherwise ordered.
H. When an entry terminating a pending matter does not specify who is to pay the court costs, the Clerk shall:
1. In civil proceedings initiated by the Wood County Child Support Enforcement Agency, assess the costs to the Wood County Child Support Enforcement Agency IV-D contract.
2. In all other civil proceedings, deduct the costs equally from any deposits held and refund the remainder. If the deposits are insufficient to satisfy the court costs, the Clerk shall then assess the excess costs to the parties equally unless otherwise ordered. If there are no deposits, the Clerk shall assess the costs to the Plaintiff/Movant/Initiator.
I. The commission charged by the Clerk of Courts pursuant to R.C. 2303.20(V) shall be paid by the party paying or depositing money at the time of payment or deposit with the clerk unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
J. At the termination of any case, the Clerk shall not bill any party for costs less than $5.00. The Clerk shall not refund any balance remaining from a deposit that is $5.00 or less, unless a written request for the refund is made within 14 days after the termination of the case.
K. Arrangements for the payment of the costs of tran¬scripts shall be made with the Court Reporter at the time the transcript is ordered.
Rule 3.04
Electronic Return Receipts
The Clerk of Courts is authorized to use electronic return receipts from the United States Postal Service for certified mail service. Electronic proof of service for certified or express mail sent by the Court shall be deemed in compliance with the service requirements of the Civil Rules. The use of electronic return receipts is not mandatory.
