Local Rule 9013-1: MOTION PRACTICE

RULE 9013-1. MOTION PRACTICE.

(a) Form of Motion; Content of Motion. Except when an oral motion is specifically permitted by the Court, all requests for relief, objections to claim, and objections to exemption must be presented in writing. Motions must (1) state with particularity the relevant law (by title and section) and/or the relevant procedure (by rule) upon which the movant relies, (2) clearly describe all relief requested, and (3) include a brief summary of the facts and circumstances which support granting of the relief.

(b) Mandatory Consultation of Counsel Prior to Filing any Motion. The movant must (1) certify they have contacted opposing counsel (or the opposing party if not represented by counsel) and made a good faith attempt to obtain a settlement, a stipulation to the relief sought, or some other resolution prior to filing the motion; or (2) acknowledge they have not contacted opposing counsel (or the opposing party if not represented by counsel), set forth good cause for a waiver of this requirement, and request a waiver.

(c) Affidavits. When the relief sought requires the Court to make a finding of fact or to resolve a factual dispute, the movant must file an affidavit in support of the relief requested. This requirement applies to all motion.

(d) Exhibits and Attachments Filed with Motions. Movants registered to use CM/ECF file any documents referenced as exhibits or attachments in electronic form. Movants with lengthy exhibits or attachments should file only excerpts of the referenced documents which relate directly to the matter under consideration by the Court. A movant who files an excerpt of a document under this Rule does so without prejudice to their right to file additional excerpts or the complete document. Responding parties may file additional excerpts or the complete document that they believe relevant.

(e) Motion to Convert a Chapter 7 Case to Chapter 13. A debtor seeking to convert their chapter 7 case to one under chapter 13 must do so by motion, stating that they are eligible for chapter 13 relief and they are filing the motion to convert in good faith. The debtor must serve notice of this motion on all creditors and parties in interest. See Local Rule 9013-4(b)(9); see also Vt. LB Appendix II.

(f) Stipulated Motions.

(1) Whenever a motion is stipulated, it must (A) include the word "stipulated" in the title of the motion and (B) include a statement of consent in the body of the motion.

(2) Parties to a stipulated motion must (A) agree to the relief sought before the motion is filed and (B) affirmatively evidence their consent to the motion either by signing the motion or filing their consent within two business days of the motion being filed.

(3) If all required consents are not filed by the expiration of this time period, the Clerk's Office will send a no action notice to the filing party and the stipulation will have no force and effect; the movant will be required to re-file the motion in compliance with this Rule.

(4) Generally, a stipulated motion may include a "SO ORDERED" provision at the end of the stipulation, i.e., an endorsement form of order, rather than a separate proposed order.

(5) A separate proposed order is required when (A) the stipulated motion seeks relief from stay to enforce rights against real estate, or (B) the stipulated motion contains an extensive factual recitation.

(g) Motions Seeking Expedited Relief or Relief on Shortened Notice. Any motion seeking expedited relief, or relief on shortened notice, must clearly state why expedited relief is needed and why the movant did not seek relief earlier. Failure to include this information is grounds for denial of the motion.

(h) Proposed Orders. Each motion filed and served (except for stipulated motions) must include a proposed order for the Court's consideration, filed as an attachment to the motion.

(i) Stipulated Proposed Order Eliminating the Need for a Hearing; Deadline for Filing. Unless ordered otherwise, a scheduled hearing will proceed unless a stipulated proposed order that resolves the motion is filed, with all required consents, by 10:00 a.m. on the last business day before the hearing. The Court will not review, and the Clerk's Office will not act on, any document filed after the 10:00 a.m. deadline and the scheduled hearing will proceed as if the late filed document had not been filed. A party may obtain an extension or waiver of this deadline only upon a showing of emergency or exigent circumstances over which the party had no control.