Schedule Civil Motions and Uncontested Divorce Hearings

Scheduling Civil Motions:

Civil motions are heard on Wednesdays on the 9:00 a.m. docket. Each civil motions docket closes 15 days prior to the docket date; therefore, you may schedule your motion for any Wednesday listed as available in the drop down box on the scheduling form. Parties who are represented by counsel must schedule civil motions through their counsel. Please note that civil motions are not placed on the court’s docket through the filing of a written notice, but must be scheduled through judges’ chambers by completing the online civil motions scheduling form. If you do not have internet access or unable to schedule online, please call 757-382-3074 for further instructions.

If the motion you are scheduling is for entry of an order based on a judge’s ruling, please provide the name of the judge who made the ruling in the “additional information” field on the scheduling form. After submitting your request you should file the written notice of motion with the Clerk’s office and give notice of the hearing to other parties pursuant to Rule 4:15 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

To add a motion after a docket has closed to a matter that is already scheduled, please fax your request to the Duty Judge at 757-382-3080.

Please Note:

Your notice of motion will not appear on the Circuit Court Case Information website until it has been processed by the Court.

Pursuant to Rule 4:15(b) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia: “Counsel of record shall make a reasonable effort to confer before giving notice of a motion to resolve the subject of the motion and to determine a mutually agreeable hearing date and time.”

To schedule a civil motion, please click the button below and complete the online scheduling form.

Scheduling Uncontested Divorces:

An uncontested divorce in which notice is required to be given to the opposing party may be scheduled on the Wednesday 9:00 a.m. civil motions docket following the Court's normal civil motions docketing procedures. Please review the Court's Uncontested Divorce Manual prior to scheduling an uncontested divorce hearing. Forms for Uncontested Divorces can be found under the Divorce Manuals and Forms Section.

To schedule an Uncontested Divorce hearing, please complete the online scheduling form by clicking the "Schedule a Hearing" button below.

Contested Divorce Procedures:

For complete information regarding the Court's procedures for contested divorces, please see the Court's Contested Divorce Manual.

Removing A Civil Motion and Requesting a New Date:

To remove a civil motion from a date on which it has already been set, the party who originally set the motion must notify opposing counsel (or party if pro se) and submit the removal request via email to CivilMotions@cityofchesapeake.net.

The removal request should include:

the date on which the motion(s) are currently scheduled;
the names of the parties;
the names of counsel;
the case number;
specifically which motions should be removed; and
certification that you are the party who originally set the motion.

If a party has set multiple motions on the same date, the removal request should specify which motions should be removed. If both parties have set motions for the same date, both parties must submit removal requests to remove their respective motions. You will receive a confirmation email of the removal of the motion.

To request a new date after having removed a motion, you must follow the procedure for scheduling civil motions.

Requests for Emergency Hearings:

If counsel needs to request an emergency hearing date that is less than 15-days from the date of the request, or a hearing date that is not a Wednesday, counsel should fax a letter requesting the emergency hearing to the Duty Judge (copied to the opposing counsel).

Please include in the letter the reasons for needing to be heard on an emergency basis and the dates and times that both counsel are available. Please fax your request to 757-382-3080. After a ruling is made by the Duty Judge, you will be contacted by the Docket Administrator.

Emergency Hearings are only granted for good cause shown.

Motions to Continue Trial:

A party wishing to continue a trial should fax a letter to the Duty Judge to 757-382-3080 (copied to the opposing counsel) stating the reasons for the continuance and whether or not the opposing side is in agreement with the continuance. If the opposing side is not in agreement with the continuance, the letter should request a phone conference with the duty judge. You will then be contacted by the Docket Administrator concerning the continuance request.

Additional Information:

If you need additional information or assistance, please email your inquiry to CivilMotions@cityofchesapeake.net or call 757-382-3074.