Rule 40-I.Assignment of Cases

Group VI: Trials · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 14, 2026

In one sentenceRule 40-I governs how the clerk randomly assigns new civil cases to Civil Division calendars, how the Chief Judge can make special assignments, how cases move when a judge's assignment ends, and how related and refiled cases get tracked and reassigned.

Full Text of Rule 40-I

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)

(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;

(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.

Comments

2022 Amendments:

Sections (a), (c), and (g) were amended to address technical and functional changes necessary to implement the court’s new case management system. Subsection (f)(2)(B) was amended consistent with the stylistic changes to the civil rules.

2017 Amendments:

Stylistic changes were made to this rule to conform with the 2007 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The rule was also reorganized to clarify general assignment procedures. The provisions related to trial continuances were moved to Rule 16(k), which addresses other continuances; its location in Rule 40-I was a vestige of the original rule on assignment of trials by the assignment commissioner. Section (f), “Related Cases,” has been moved from Rule 42(f). Section (g) is new, and it describes the procedure for assigning refiled cases.

Comment:

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 40 which authorized the establishment of local systems for the assignment and calendaring of cases has been deleted. It has been replaced by SCR Civil 40-I which describes the Superior Court's Assignment System. Note that the second and third sentences of paragraph (a) contain essentially the same provisions as appeared in former Rule 40-II(d) and that language of the last sentence of paragraph (a) is essentially the same as that which formerly appeared in paragraph (f) of Rule 40-I.

Paragraph (b), on random distribution of cases among the judges, is derived from former Rule 40-II(c). Its purpose is to insure equitable allocation of the caseload to all judges assigned to the Division and to preclude any potential for litigants to predetermine the judge to whom the case will be assigned.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 40-I is the housekeeping rule behind who ends up hearing a civil case. Under Rule 40-I(a), the clerk randomly assigns each new civil action to a calendar in the Civil Division — a design meant to keep any single litigant or lawyer from steering a case toward a particular judge. The Chief Judge retains override authority under Rule 40-I(b) to specially assign a case to a specific calendar or judge, and can delegate that power to the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division. Once a case lands on a calendar, Rule 40-I(c) keeps it there — the assigned judge handles everything that follows, including trial — and nothing in the rule stops a case from going to a magistrate judge under Rule 73 instead.

Judges rotate off the Civil Division, and Rule 40-I(d) covers what happens to their pending cases: the Chief Judge or the Presiding Judge decides which judge or judges inherit that calendar. Rule 40-I(f) addresses a different problem — cases that overlap. Two or more cases count as related when the earliest is still pending on the merits and they share common property, common issues of fact, arise from the same event or transaction, or raise a common and apparently first-impression legal issue in the District. Parties carry the burden of flagging this: a plaintiff must identify any related case on a clerk's form at filing and serve it on the defendant, the defendant must state agreement or disagreement with that designation in its first responsive pleading, and anyone who later learns of a related case must promptly notify, in writing, the judges handling both.

Rule 40-I(g) closes the loop on cases that come back around. If a case is dismissed and then refiled, the clerk reassigns it to the calendar of the judge who had the original case, unless the Presiding Judge orders otherwise — and the rule treats a case as “refiled” even when it's technically a second lawsuit, so long as it involves the same parties and the same subject matter as the one that was dismissed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does D.C. Superior Court decide which judge gets a new civil case?

Rule 40-I(a) has the clerk randomly assign new civil actions to calendars in the Civil Division, which is meant to prevent parties from steering their case toward a preferred judge.

Can a case be assigned to a specific judge outside the random process?

Yes. Rule 40-I(b) lets the Chief Judge specially assign a civil action to a specific calendar or judge, and the Chief Judge can delegate that authority to the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division.

What makes two civil cases 'related' under Rule 40-I?

Rule 40-I(f)(1) treats cases as related, while the earliest is still pending on the merits, if they involve common property, common issues of fact, arise from the same event or transaction, or share common and apparently first-impression legal issues in the jurisdiction.

Whose job is it to tell the court that a case is related to another pending case?

The plaintiff must identify related cases on a clerk-provided form at filing and serve it with the complaint, and the defendant must state agreement or objection in its first responsive pleading. Anyone — attorney or party — who later learns of a related case must promptly notify the judges on both calendars in writing.

If I dismiss my case and refile it, will it go back to the same judge?

Generally yes. Rule 40-I(g) has the clerk reassign a refiled case to the original calendar unless the Presiding Judge orders otherwise, and this applies even where the refiled matter is technically a new lawsuit, as long as it involves the same parties and subject matter as the dismissed case.

Source & verification. Rule text and official Comments are reproduced verbatim from the District of Columbia Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Last verified July 14, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: dc civil case assignment rulerelated cases dc superior courtrefiled case same judge dc civilrandom calendar assignment dc superior court