Rule 3 Civil Housing

Civil Housing

(A) Civil Case Assignment

1. All forcible entry and detainer (FED) cases, rent escrow, security deposit claims, receivership cases, landlord-tenant cases, land contract, quiet title, City of Toledo Municipal Code nuisance violations, sign code violations, small claims cases involving housing disputes, and all other actions brought in the Toledo Municipal Court under ORC Chapters 1923, 3733, and 5321 shall be assigned to the Housing Division for adjudication.

(B) Facts Needed For FED Established By Plaintiff Certification Or Judicial Notice

1. The following requirements for evidence in sections (C), (D), and (F) are justified by ORC §1923.07, which requires a plaintiff to prove the requirements of eviction even if the defendant fails to appear.

2. In addition to these requirements, the judge or magistrate may take judicial notice of facts that can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned, such as the Lucas County Auditor’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office.

(C) Evidence Of Current Lucas County Residential Rental Registration Status To Be Filed With Complaint

1. When filing a FED complaint, plaintiff must attach proof of documentary evidence from the Lucas County Auditor’s Office verifying the active registration of the premises with the county’s rental registration program. See ORC 5323.99.

   1. If the property is not registered with the rental registration program, the filer shall file an affidavit of non-compliance in lieu of the verification.

2. Failure to include sufficient documentation may result in sanctions, up to the dismissal of the complaint without prejudice.

(D) Evidence Of Current Ownership To Be Filed With Complaint

1. When filing a FED complaint, plaintiff must attach proof of current ownership of the premises that is the subject of a FED action. Proof of current ownership may include but is not limited to, a print-out of the "General Information" tab for the premises from the Lucas County Auditor’s ("Auditor") website.

2. All plaintiffs must include the name, email address, and phone number of an individual to be the point of contact for all communications with the court.

3. Failure to include sufficient documentation may result in sanctions, up to the dismissal of the complaint without prejudice.

(E) Certification Regarding Plaintiff's Criminal Housing Cases

1. When filing a FED complaint, all plaintiffs filing cases in the Toledo Housing Court must certify at filing that there are no criminal housing cases in this Court in which they are the defendant and have (a) failed to appear for a scheduled hearing (and have not corrected that failure) OR (b) failed to make payments within the time required in the criminal case. All such failures are to be resolved prior to filing.

2. The criminal certification shall be made, conspicuously, on the face of the FED complaint. Certification should conform to the following language:

   1. “By filing this complaint with the Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court, I hereby certify that the plaintiff, or any of the plaintiff’s representatives or affiliates, are not the named defendant in any pending criminal cases with the Toledo Housing Court where the plaintiff has failed to appear for a scheduled hearing OR failed to make payments within the time required in the criminal case. False or inaccurate certifications may result in sanctions, including, but not limited to, dismissal of the complaint, a continuance to allow plaintiff to appear for and resolve the outstanding criminal matter, or, where warranted, prosecution for perjury.”

3. In order for the court to verify the criminal certification, plaintiff must provide the

   following information on the landlord complaint:

   1. If the plaintiff is a private individual, sole proprietorship, estate, trust, or partnership, the complaint should include the date of birth for all plaintiffs.

   2. If the plaintiff is a corporation or limited liability company, the complaint should include the names of any business aliases.

4. Where a plaintiff has not resolved the failures described in (D)(1) above to the satisfaction of the Court, the Court will, pursuant to ORC §1923.06(H)(1), continue any hearing that may be scheduled on the claim for restitution of the premises until the plaintiff resolves the failures to the satisfaction of the Court.

5. False or inaccurate certifications may result in sanctions, including, but not limited to, dismissal of the complaint, a continuance to allow plaintiff to appear for and resolve the outstanding criminal matter, or, where warranted, prosecution for perjury.

(F) Civil Bailiff Department Information Sheet

1. When filing a FED complaint, the plaintiff must complete the Civil Bailiff Department information sheet and include their email address as well as a telephone number for:

   1. An on-site property manager; or

   2. Custodian; or

   3. Where there is no contact person available on the premises, the plaintiff.

(G) Court Costs

1. No pleading or motion shall be accepted for filing by the Clerk without the proper court cost, or a completed poverty affidavit, or as otherwise determined by the Court.

2. All requests to waive filing fees are subject to a hearing. Hearings may be conducted by a magistrate to review the poverty affidavit and make a determination regarding indigency.

3. The Court reserves the right to revoke a party’s indigent status. If such status is revoked, the party shall be required to pay costs as provided.

(H) Service Of Summons

1. All summonses shall be served in accordance with the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. If service of summons is not obtained within six (6) months from the date of filing, the Court or Clerk shall notify the party/counsel that the case shall be dismissed in seventeen (17) days unless good cause is shown to the contrary.

(I) Continuances

1. No party shall be granted a continuance of a trial, pretrial, or a hearing without a written motion from the party/counsel stating the reason the continuance is sought. All motions to continue shall be accompanied by the $3.00 filing fee unless otherwise waived by the Court.

2. Any request to continue a court event, should be filed at least seven (7) calendar days before such court event and contain a certification by the moving party that either the other party or parties consent(s) to the request or has/have been notified of the request via telephone, facsimile, and e-mail if such party(-ies) provided such contact information. It shall be the duty of the moving party to so notify the other party(-ies) of the court’s decision immediately upon receipt of the same in the same manner described above. Failure to do so may result in sanctions.

3. Notwithstanding the above, in FED cases, the hearing on the claim for restitution of the premises shall be continued up to eight (8) days at the request of either party orally or in writing at any time before the hearing. No continuance shall be granted longer than eight (8) days but for good cause and only in accordance with §1923.08 and §1923.061 of the ORC. An oral motion of continuance of up to eight (8) days may be granted under ORC §1923.08.

(J) Continued For Judgment Entry

1. Parties wishing to submit an agreed/consent judgment entry shall inform the Court, in writing, of the proposed deadline for submission. Parties must file a notice of settlement specifying the agreed/consent judgment entry shall be submitted in a time not to exceed thirty (30) days. If an entry has not been received by the stated date, all remaining claims cases shall be dismissed without prejudice.

(K) Partial Dismissals Of Claims

1. Pursuant to Civ. R. 41(A)(2), a party wishing to dismiss one or more but fewer than all claims against one or more parties shall either:

   1. File a written motion and proposed judgment entry with the Clerk; or

   2. Make an oral motion for partial dismissal at a scheduled hearing before the Court.

2) Any party opposing a written motion for partial dismissal must file a written response with the Clerk within seven (7) days of the filing of the motion. If a motion for partial dismissal is opposed, it may be set for a hearing before the Court.

(L) Notice Of Bankruptcy Filing; Relief From Stay

1. Most civil cases filed in Housing Court are subject to the automatic stay of the federal bankruptcy laws. Any action the Court takes while the automatic stay is in effect is unenforceable and must be vacated.

2. Where a bankruptcy petition is filed by a party to a pending case or a party against whom a judgment has been granted, a notice of the bankruptcy filing ("Notice") must be filed with the Clerk to allow a determination of whether the matter may proceed or whether the matter must be stayed due to the federal bankruptcy laws.

   1. If a Notice is filed before a first cause hearing in a FED action, the first cause may be stayed until the future court order.

   2. If a Notice is filed after a first cause hearing in a FED action, the first cause may be continued.

3. Any party in the matter may file the Notice, which may be submitted in writing to the Clerk. The Notice must include the name of the party filing bankruptcy, the bankruptcy case number, and the date when the bankruptcy was filed.

4. In the event the matter is subject to the federal bankruptcy law's automatic stay, this Court must stay further action until the bankruptcy court:

   1. Grants a discharge or confirms a Chapter 13 plan; or

   2. Dismisses the bankruptcy case; or

   3. Grants relief from the automatic stay.

5. To reinstate a case that has been stayed, a party must file a motion with the Clerk. The moving party must attach documentation showing the movant either obtained relief from the stay from the bankruptcy court or that the bankruptcy is no longer pending (completed or dismissed).

6. The Housing Court will review the status of each case subject to the automatic stay six (6) months after the initial stay. Upon the Court’s review, if the automatic stay no longer applies and no party has filed a motion to have the case reinstated, the Court will dismiss the case without prejudice for want of prosecution.

(M) Transfer From Housing Small Claims Docket To Housing General Docket

1. Complaints heard on the small claims docket of the Housing Court are subject to a Six Thousand Dollar ($6,000.00) limitation in the prayer for relief. Where a complaint, counterclaim, or amended complaint on this docket exceeds the limitation, the matter must be transferred to the Housing Division's general docket for resolution.

2. Upon the Court's determination that the prayer exceeds the limitation, the Court may issue an order directing the transfer of the matter upon payment of the case transfer fee to the Clerk’s Office by the party whose pleading exceeded the limitation. The party will then have fourteen (14) days to request the transfer and pay the transfer fee. The opposing party may request the transfer and pay the fee if they wish.

3. Upon timely request for transfer and payment of the fee, the matter shall be transferred to the Housing Division’s general docket.

4. Upon a failure to timely request the transfer and pay the transfer fee, the improper claim shall be dismissed.