Rule 40-I Assignment of Cases
TITLE VI. TRIALS
Rule Text
(a) IN GENERAL. The clerk will randomly assign new civil actions to calendars in the Civil Division.
(b) SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS. The Chief Judge may specially assign a civil action for all purposes to a specific calendar or a single judge. The Chief Judge may delegate to the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division the authority to make special assignment of cases to a judge currently assigned to the Civil Division.
(c) PROCEEDINGS AFTER ASSIGNMENT. All proceedings in a case after its assignment, including trial, will be scheduled and conducted by the judge assigned to the calendar or case.
(d) REASSIGNMENT. When a judge’s assignment to the Civil Division is concluded, the Chief Judge or the Presiding Judge may designate the judge or judges to whom the cases on the calendar of the previous judge will be reassigned.
(e) ASSIGNMENT TO A MAGISTRATE JUDGE. Nothing in this rule precludes the assignment of civil actions to magistrate judges under Rule 73.
(f) RELATED CASES.
(1) “Related Case” Defined. Civil cases are deemed related when the earliest is still pending on the merits in the Superior Court and they:
(A) involve common property;
(B) involve common issues of fact;
(C) grow out of the same event or transaction; or
(D) involve common and unique issues of law, which appear to be of first impression in this jurisdiction.
(2) Notification of Related Cases. The parties must notify the clerk of the existence of related cases as follows:
(A) At the time of filing a civil case, the plaintiff or his attorney must indicate on a form provided by the clerk, the name, docket number and relationship of any related cases in the Superior Court or in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. The plaintiff must serve a copy of this form on the defendant with the complaint. The defendant must serve a statement with the first responsive pleading either objecting or concurring with the related case designation.
(B) When an attorney or party becomes aware of the existence of a related case, he or she must immediately notify, in writing, the judges on whose calendars the cases appear.
(g) REFILED CASES. If a case is refiled after it was dismissed, with or without prejudice, the clerk must reassign the case to the original calendar unless the Presiding Judge orders otherwise. Additionally, cases are deemed refiled where a case is dismissed, with or without prejudice, and a second case is filed involving the same parties and relating to the same subject matter.