Schedule Civil Motions and Uncontested Divorce Hearings

Schedule a Civil Motion Hearing

Until further notice, all CIVIL MOTIONS will be conducted on Wednesdays by remote electronic means (either videoconference or teleconference) unless otherwise approved by the Court.* 

Matters where witness testimony does not need to be presented and only legal arguments are being made, may be conducted by teleconference or WebEx videoconference. Matters where witness testimony will be presented must be conducted by videoconference in accordance with Rule 1:27 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The Court will utilize Cisco WebEx (www.webex.com) for this purpose. 

It is the responsibility of counsel/litigants to ensure that all parties/witnesses are prepared to go forward and have the ability to connect or appear in the manner requested. Any written briefs, agreed stipulations, or depositions must be exchanged and filed with the Clerk of Court at least 14 days before the hearing date.

Any document that will be offered into evidence as an exhibit during the remote hearing must be exchanged and emailed to civilmotions@cityofchesapeake.net at least 7 days before the hearing date. However, if the proposed exhibits to be offered into evidence at the remote hearing exceed a total of more than 20 pages (per side), a hard copy of all exhibits must be delivered to judges' chambers at least 7 days prior to the hearing.

Counsel may schedule a hearing date, a minimum of two weeks in advance, online using the Civil Motions Scheduling Form. The online hearing request must list the names and e-mail addresses of all hearing participants (for both sides). Counsel may request a preferred docket segment (morning or afternoon). We will try to accommodate your request; however, we cannot guarantee a specific time for your hearing, as hearing times are dependent on availability and capacity.

Counsel and any parties or witnesses participating in the hearing will receive an invitation via e-mail for the WebEx videoconference or teleconference with the assigned time and duration on the afternoon the day prior to the hearing.  Counsel must be ready to proceed at the allotted time. 

If the hearing is no longer necessary, by agreement, counsel must inform the Court by e-mail to civilmotions@cityofchesapeake.net before 12:00 noon the day prior to the hearing.  If a dispute exists as to whether a matter can or should be heard or regarding what remote mechanism is appropriate, counsel should contact Judges’ Chambers to schedule a phone conference with the judge.

*If counsel believes that an in-court hearing is necessary (including but not limited to cases where notice must be given to a party that has not responded, such as default judgments, uncontested divorces, etc.) the in-court hearing must be requested at least 14 days in advance via e-mail to civilmotions@cityofchesapeake.net stating the reasons for the request and the date requested. You will receive a confirmation of the Court's decision via e-mail.

Counsel must comply with the requirements set forth in Rule 4:15.

If counsel is instructed to submit an order memorializing a ruling of the Court, please include the hearing date and name of the hearing judge so that the order may be directed to the appropriate judge for entry.

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:

1. the date on which the motion(s) are currently scheduled;
2. the names of the parties;
3. the names of counsel;
4. the case number;
5. specifically which motions should be removed; and
6. 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.