Local Rule Rule 7.1: Motions

Rule 7.1. Motions

(a) Motion, Response and Reply. Except as otherwise expressly provided in these Rules with respect to particular types of motions, only a motion, a response, a reply, supporting documents to the foregoing, and a proposed draft order may be filed with the Court. Any further response or reply may be made only by leave of Court obtained before filing.

(1) Motion. A motion shall include a statement of the relief requested, any relevant factual or procedural background, and the argument in support of the motion, with citation to relevant legal authority. No separate memorandum in support may be filed.

(2) Response. A response to a motion shall contain argument setting forth the party's position, including citation to relevant legal authority.

(3) Reply. A reply shall respond to the argument presented in the response and shall not raise new issues.

(4) Supporting Documents. Documents supporting allegations of fact not appearing of record that are relied upon in support of a motion, response or reply shall be filed as attachments to the document in which the allegation of fact appears or shall be filed as soon thereafter as they become available.

(5) Proposed Draft Order. All motions shall be accompanied by a draft order that sets forth specifically the relief requested. In the case of a request that extends any deadline, the draft order shall set forth the actual date of the new deadline rather than stating that the existing deadline is extended by a certain number of days.

(b) Page/Word Limit.

(1) Except for exhibits and other supporting documentation, no motion, response, or reply filed with the Court shall exceed the greater of 20 pages or 6,000 words without leave of Court, sought at least two days prior to the filing of the document. The page/word limitation applies only to the substantive portions of the filing and therefore does not include, for example, the case caption, signature block and the certificate of service (if required) or consultation. The format for filing documents must comply with the requirements set forth in Local Rule 5.1 regarding margins and font size.

(2) Any motion, response, or reply filed with the Court that exceeds 20 substantive pages must include a certificate by the attorney, or an unrepresented party, that the document complies with the type-volume limitation of LRCi 7.1(b)(1). The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the document. The certificate must state the number of words in the document inclusive of headings, footnotes, and quotations.

(3) If the Court grants a movant's motion to exceed the page or word limit, unless the Court orders otherwise, the respondent shall automatically receive an equal extension of the page or word limit for its response.

(c) Multiple Motions Prohibited. A party may file only one Rule 12(b)(2-6) motion, one Rule 56 motion, and one motion in limine without leave of Court. Any additional motions shall be filed only with leave of court. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires. This rule shall not apply to motions filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 702. All issues that a party seeks to raise under the rule upon which the motion is based should be included in a single motion. The failure to include an issue in a motion filed under one rule does not preclude a party from raising the issue in a motion filed under a separate rule, unless the issue has been waived. If the Court treats a Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c) motion as a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 12(d), such motion shall not count as the party's one motion for summary judgment for the purposes of this rule.

(d) Request for Oral Argument. A request for oral argument shall be separately stated by the movant or respondent at the conclusion of the motion, response, or reply.

(e) Seeking consent to the relief sought in a non-dispositive motion. Unless exigent circumstances exist, all non-dispositive motions shall contain a representation that the movant sought consent from each party to the relief sought in the motion at least 24 hours prior to filing the motion, and that it has been either given or denied.

(f) Motions to continue. Unless there are exigent circumstances, prior to seeking a continuance of a proceeding, the movant shall consult the other parties and propose in the motion several alternative dates and times (if appropriate) that are agreeable to all parties.

(g) Post-Trial Motions. All post-trial motions that seek to affect a judgment, such as those filed pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 50, 59, and 60, and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29, shall include citations to the specific portions of the record upon which the proponent relies in support of the motion. Any necessary transcripts must be ordered promptly in order to facilitate the timely filing of the motion. By leave of Court, and for good cause shown, the record citations may be included in a subsequently filed supplement to the motion. Failure to comply with this Rule may result in the Court striking such deficient motions as non-compliant.