A. For the purpose of these Rules, “Motion” includes any pleading or paper in the nature of a Petition or Motion, other than a Petition or Complaint which initiates a cause of action.
B. Each Motion shall be in writing. Each Notice of Motion shall have appended thereto a copy of the relevant motion, unless otherwise ordered by Court.
C. Each Motion, Petition and Appearance form shall contain in typewritten form or clear printing the name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and State of Illinois attorney registration number of the attorney representing the party on whose behalf the document is filed.
D. Each Motion shall be captioned with the case name and number and shall include the Supreme Court Rule, Code of Civil Procedure Section and/or other statutory Section upon which it is based.
E. All dispositive motions shall be initially scheduled before the Court for presentment. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, no contested motion shall be heard if it has not been scheduled for hearing by the Court.
F. Written Notice of Motion of all motions shall be given by the party requesting the hearing. The Notice shall be given to all parties who are not in default pursuant to a finding of the Court. Additional Notice may be ordered by the Court. Where a party is represented by an attorney of record, Notice shall be given to that party’s attorney and not the party himself.
G. The Notice of Motion shall designate the Judge to whom the Motion will be presented for hearing; shall show the title and number of the action, the title of the Motion, the date when the Motion will be presented, the time it will be presented, the courtroom where it will be presented, and the address of the Courthouse or Branch Court as appropriate. Copies of all papers presented to the Court with the Motion shall be served with the Notice or the Notice shall state that copies have been previously served.
H. Notice of Motion shall be given in the manner and to the persons described in Supreme Court Rule 11. If notice of hearing is given by personal service, the notice shall be delivered before 4 p.m. of the second (2nd) court day preceding the hearing of the motion. If notice is given by mail, the notice shall be deposited in a United States Post Office or Post Office Box on or before the fifth (5th) court day preceding the hearing of the motion.
I. Delivery by electronic means or by personal, office, or residential delivery is complete on the day of transmission. Delivery by third-party commercial carrier or courier is complete on the third Court day after delivery of the package to the third-party carrier. Delivery by U.S. mail is complete four days after mailing.
J. If a Motion is heard without prior Notice under this Rule, a copy of the Orders entered at the hearing shall be served personally or by U.S. Mail upon all parties not previously found by the Court to be in default for failure to plead, and proof of service shall be filed within two days after the hearing.
K. If a Motion presented without prior Notice is denied, or hearing thereon is denied, an Order of the Court’s ruling shall be entered.
L. The burden of calling for hearing any Motion previously filed is on the party making the Motion. If any such Motion is not called for hearing within sixty days from the date it is filed, the Court may consider the Motion denied by reason of delay.
M. No Motion to Continue shall be allowed for other than good cause shown. Agreements of counsel as to a Motion to Continue shall not be binding on the Court. The Court may require affidavits of the parties and counsel.
N. The movant, or his attorney, seeking an Order of Default shall notify the court clerk at least one court day prior to the date of the hearing and shall request that the court file be present upon hearing of the Motion.
O. Motions presented and ruled upon before one Judge shall not be renewed before another Judge without leave of Court and a statement in the Notice of Hearing that the Motion has previously been ruled upon, naming the Judge who ruled on the Motion.
P. Motions not presented or supported by the moving party when called, pursuant to Notice, may be denied or stricken.
Q. There is no entitlement to a briefing schedule or oral argument. In its discretion, the Court may permit or require briefs or oral argument or both. The Court may also exercise its discretion to decide a Motion without briefs or oral arguments.
A. For purposes of LCR 2-1.02, any Motion which is opposed is a contested motion and may be heard at the end of the call or at such other time designated by the Court.
B. Page Limitations.
1. No Motion or Response shall exceed fifteen typewritten double-spaced pages without prior approval of the Court. This page limit includes any separately filed Memorandum or Brief in support of a Motion or Response.
2. No Reply or Memorandum in support thereof shall exceed five typewritten pages without prior leave of Court. Any such Brief or Memorandum shall be limited to responding to new matters raised in the opponent’s Response Brief or Memorandum.
3. Neither narrow margins nor any other formatting device shall be employed to evade the page limitations set forth in this Rule. Footnotes, if any, shall be used sparingly.
4. Failure to comply with this Rule shall be sufficient grounds for striking the Motion, Response, or Reply, or for the Court’s refusal to consider the excess pages of the document and to consider the matters contained therein to have been waived.
C. For every contested motion, including those brought pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 219, Supreme Court Rule 137 or Sections 2-615, 2-619, 2-619.1 or 2-1005 of the Code of Civil Procedure, movant’s counsel shall deliver to the chambers of the assigned Judge, not less than five court days prior to hearing, a copy of:
2. any challenged pleading, and
3. any writing in support of or in opposition to the Motion.
D. Not less than five court days prior to hearing, a party shall provide the Court and all opposing counsel with a complete citation to any case or other authority upon which the party intends to rely on in oral argument and which is not included in a supporting or opposing writing; and the party shall provide the Court with a full copy of any decision of a State Court outside the State of Illinois. Any cover letter delivered to the Court in compliance with the above requirements shall be copied to all counsel of record.
E. Any writing in support of or in opposition to a Motion shall be served upon the opposing party at the time of service of Notice of Motion, or, if not then available, as soon thereafter as practicable and prior to hearing on said Motion.
Motions for consolidation of cases shall be presented to the Judge to whom the oldest case is assigned, when the cases are of the same case type. When the cases are filed in the same division but are different case types, the Motion shall be brought before the Judge assigned to the case with the higher designation. The Law Division (“L”) is the highest designation for the purpose of this Rule, followed by: MR, CH, TX, P, LM, AR and SC.
If the cases sought to be consolidated are from different divisions, the Motion shall be brought before the Presiding Judge of either division.
A. In all filings pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2-1005, the moving party shall serve and file:
1. any affidavits and other materials referred to in Supreme Court Rule 191,
2. the Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting Memorandum of law, which shall not exceed fifteen pages without leave of Court,
3. a statement of material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue and that entitles the moving party to a Judgment as a matter of law, and that also includes:
a. a description of the parties, and
b. all facts supporting venue and jurisdiction in this Court.
The statement referred to in Section (A)(3) shall consist of short numbered paragraphs, including within each paragraph specific references to affidavits, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon to support the facts set forth in that paragraph. Failure to submit such a statement constitutes grounds for denial or striking of the Motion.
If additional material facts are submitted by the opposing party pursuant to Section B of this Rule, the moving party may submit a concise statement in the form prescribed in Section B for a Response. All material facts set forth in the statement filed pursuant to Section B will be deemed admitted unless controverted by the statement of the moving party.
B. Each party opposing a Motion filed pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2-1005 as described above shall serve and file:
1. any affidavits and other materials referred to in Supreme Court Rule 191,
2. a Response to a Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting Memorandum of law, which shall not exceed fifteen pages without leave of Court,
3. a concise response to the movant’s statement that shall contain:
a. a response to each numbered paragraph in the moving party’s statement, including, in the case of any disagreement, specific references to the affidavits, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon, and
b. a statement consisting of short numbered paragraphs, of any additional facts that require the denial of summary judgment, including references to the affidavits, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon. All material facts set forth in the statement required of the moving party will be deemed to be admitted unless controverted by the statement of the opposing party.
C. Absent leave of Court, a Reply Brief shall not exceed five pages.
A. If emergency relief is requested, application shall be made to the assigned Judge, or if unavailable, to the Judge specifically assigned to sit in his stead. If neither Judge is available, application shall be made to the Presiding Judge of the division to which the case is assigned.
B. Each application for emergency relief shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the movant or movant’s attorney stating the reason for emergency relief; and, in cases where the request is without Notice, except as permitted by law, said affidavit shall state what attempts have been made to notify opposing counsel or the opposing party. Failure to attach said affidavits to the request for emergency relief may be grounds for denial of the Motion. A party and/or his or her counsel who respond to a Motion propounded as, but found not to be, an emergency may be entitled to reimbursement by the proponent of actual expenses, fees and costs incurred in responding to the said Motion.
C. Every Complaint or Petition requesting an Ex Parte Order for the appointment of a receiver, Temporary Restraining Order, or any other emergency relief, shall be filed before application to the Court for the Order.
D. If a Motion is heard without prior Notice under this Rule and any Respondent or other party fails to appear, a copy of the Orders entered at the hearing shall be served personally, or by US Mail, upon all parties not previously found by the Court to be in default for failure to plead, and proof of service thereof shall be filed within two days of the hearing thereon.
E. Counsel shall use every reasonable effort to notify opposing parties or counsel of entry of each Order, at the earliest opportunity.
A. This Court hereby authorizes, as a means to increase efficiencies and reduce costs to participants and pursuant to the provisions of Supreme Court Rule 185, use of an independent conference servicing company, to be designated by the Chief Judge by Administrative Order (hereinafter “Vendor”) for remote appearances for parties by counsel of record in civil cases except for juvenile and family case types.
B. Remote appearances shall not be permitted for argument on contested or briefed motions, for evidentiary hearings, or for more than three consecutive Case Management Conferences unless allowed by prior Court Order. In any matter, the Court may deny the use of remote appearances.
C. Parties and their counsel are responsible for the preparation and submission of all Orders to the Court following any remote court appearance. Counsel appearing in the courtroom is responsible for immediate presentation of an Order in compliance with the Court’s pronouncements. If no counsel is present in the courtroom, unless otherwise directed by the Court, the counsel for the Plaintiff is responsible for submitting such Orders approved as to form by opposing counsel before 3:00 p.m. on the same day of the remote conference, either in person, by facsimile or electronic transmission, or as directed by the Court.
D. No remote appearance will be allowed as requested by a party or counsel unless it is made through the Vendor. The Court reserves the right to initiate a remote conference by conference call.
1. The Vendor facilitates the remote appearance of persons at hearings which have already been scheduled by regular means with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The Vendor does not set or calendar hearings for the Court. If a court date is not already set, or a Motion is not scheduled and noticed via the Clerk’s Office in the same manner as any other Motion, the case will not appear on the Judge’s call and will not be heard.
2. Remote appearances must be arranged by contacting the Vendor by phone no later than 4:00 p.m. (CST) on the second court day preceding a hearing date.
3. Persons electing to make a remote appearance shall notify all parties of the same in writing no less than twenty-four hours prior to the scheduled court date. Nothing in this Rule shall be construed as modifying the Notice of Motion requirements set forth in Supreme Court Rule 12 and LCR 2-1.01.
E. It is the responsibility of the person making a remote appearance to dial into the call no later than five minutes prior to any scheduled hearing(s), and to check in with the Vendor’s clerk.
1. Any person appearing remotely shall state his or her name for the record each time he or she speaks and shall participate in the appearance with the same degree of courtesy and courtroom etiquette as is required for a personal appearance.
2. Unless otherwise permitted by Order of Court, to ensure the quality of the record, the use of car phones, cellular phones, speakerphones, public telephone booths, or phones in other public places is prohibited.
3. If a person schedules a remote appearance and then fails to respond when the matter is called, the Court may pass the matter or may treat the failure to respond as a failure to appear. Scheduling simultaneous remote appearances in multiple courts does not excuse a failure to appear.
F. The Vendor is an independent service provider. By using the services of the Vendor, individuals are knowingly entering into a service agreement and are subject to follow any additional terms and conditions imposed by the Vendor and shall be solely responsible for any costs or other expenses incurred for those services provided. Under no circumstance shall the Court bear any costs for any remote appearance of any party or attorney.
G. Rejections and Suspension of Privileges
1. The fact that a remote appearance is scheduled with the Vendor shall not be construed as a determination that the remote appearance is permitted by the Court. Parties and counsel are solely responsible for compliance with the Court’s Rules and procedures for remote appearances. The Court reserves the right, at any time, to reject any remote appearance in violation with this Rule or as otherwise necessary for the administration of justice.
2. The Court reserves the right to halt any remote appearance in progress on any matter and order the attorneys to personally appear at a later date and time.
3. The Court reserves the right and sole discretion to suspend any person’s ability to appear remotely using the Vendor’s services, and to bar any remote appearance in any given case.
H. The Court may, in its discretion, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 185, allow a party or counsel to participate by remote call.
All Orders entered following the hearing upon any Motion shall be governed by Supreme Court Rule 271. The attorney who prepares the Order shall print clearly “prepared by” and his name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and State of Illinois attorney registration number (ARDC #) at the bottom of the Order. The preparer shall serve a copy of the Order upon all parties of record.