Legal Definitions - special-order calendar

A special-order calendar refers to a court's specific schedule or list of cases that are designated for a particular hearing date or expedited consideration. These cases are often prioritized due to a court order, the urgency of the matter, or the unique nature of the legal issue. They are typically not part of the court's general or regular docket but require special scheduling arrangements to ensure prompt attention.

• Example 1: Emergency Injunction Request
  A small business discovers that a former employee has stolen their client list and is actively using it to poach customers. The business immediately files a lawsuit and requests an emergency injunction to stop the former employee from contacting their clients. Due to the potential for immediate and irreparable harm to the business, the court would likely place this request on a special-order calendar. This ensures the judge hears the matter much sooner than a typical civil case, allowing for a rapid decision on whether to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, rather than waiting for a slot on the standard, often lengthy, court schedule.

• Example 2: Urgent Child Custody Dispute
  In a contentious divorce case, one parent suddenly threatens to move out of the country with the children without the other parent's consent or a court order, violating an existing custody agreement. The other parent files an emergency motion to prevent the relocation. The court would assign this urgent child custody matter to a special-order calendar. This allows for an immediate hearing to address the potential harm to the children and the violation of court orders, bypassing the usual waiting period for family court motions to ensure a swift resolution to a time-sensitive issue.

• Example 3: Complex Multi-Party Litigation
  A large-scale environmental lawsuit involving multiple corporations, government agencies, and affected communities requires extensive expert testimony and continuous hearings over several weeks. Instead of being scheduled intermittently among other cases on a general calendar, this complex litigation would be assigned to a special-order calendar. This allows the court to dedicate a specific, uninterrupted block of time, often with a single judge, to hear the case, facilitating a more efficient and focused resolution of the intricate legal and factual issues without the delays caused by fragmented scheduling.