Local Rule Civil L. R. 56: Summary Judgment
E.D. Wis. — Civil rule
Civil L. R. 56. Summary Judgment.
(a) Pro Se Litigation. If a party is proceeding pro se in civil litigation and the opposing party files a motion for summary judgment, counsel for the movant must comply with the following procedure:
(1) The motion must include a short and plain statement that any factual assertion in the movant's affidavit, declaration, or other admissible documentary evidence will be accepted by the Court as being true unless the party unrepresented by counsel submits the party's own affidavit, declaration, or other admissible documentary evidence contradicting the factual assertion.
(2) In addition to the statement required by Civil L. R. 56(a)(1), the text to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 (c),(d), and (e), Civil L. R. 56(a), Civil L. R. 56(b), and Civil L. R. 7 must be part of the motion.
(b) Additional Summary Judgment Procedures. Motions for summary judgment must comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and Civil L. R. 7. In addition, with the exception of Social Security reviews, other actions for review of administrative agency decisions, and other actions in which a judge relieves the parties of this Rule's requirements, the following must be met:
(1) Moving Party's Principal Materials in Support of Motion. With each motion for summary judgment, the moving party must file:
(A) a memorandum of law;
(B) a statement setting forth any material facts to which all parties have stipulated;
(C) a statement of proposed material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue and that entitle the moving party to a judgment as a matter of law;
(i) the statement shall consist of short numbered paragraphs, each containing a single material fact, including within each paragraph specific references to the affidavits, declarations, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon to support the fact described in that paragraph;
(ii) a moving party may not file more than 150 separately numbered statements of fact;
(iii) failure to submit such a statement constitutes grounds for denial of the motion; and
(D) any affidavits, declarations, and other materials referred to in Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
(2) Opposing Party's Materials in Opposition. Each party opposing a motion for summary judgment must file within 30 days of service of the motion and the materials required by subsection (b)(1), above:
(A) a memorandum of law;
(B) a concise response to the moving party's statement of facts that must contain:
(i) a reproduction of each numbered paragraph in the moving party's statement of facts followed by a response to each paragraph, including, in the case of any disagreement, specific references to the affidavits, declarations, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon, and
(ii) a statement, consisting of short numbered paragraphs, of any additional facts that require the denial of summary judgment, including references to the affidavits, declarations, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon to support the facts described in that paragraph. A non-moving party may not file more than 100 separately-numbered statements of additional facts. Each separately-numbered paragraph shall be limited to one material fact; and
(C) any opposing affidavits, declarations, and other materials referred to in Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
(3) Moving Party's Materials in Reply. A moving party may file within 14 days of the service of the opposing party's materials under subsection (b)(2), above:
(A) a reply memorandum;
(B) a reply to any additional facts submitted by the opposing party pursuant to subsection (b)(2) above, in the form prescribed in section (b)(2)(B)(i) above; and
(C) any affidavits, declarations, and other materials referred to in Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) submitted in reply.
(4) Effect of Uncontroverted Statements of Fact. The Court will deem uncontroverted statements of material fact admitted solely for the purpose of deciding summary judgment.
(5) Stipulated Facts. Parties are encouraged to stipulate to facts. Facts so stipulated will not count against any party's allotment of proposed facts and do not require references to evidentiary support.
(6) Citations to Facts in Memoranda. Assertions of fact in the parties' supporting memoranda must refer to the corresponding numbered paragraph of the statement of facts, statement of additional facts, or statement of stipulated facts.
(7) Prior Leave of Court Required to Increase the Number of Statements of Fact or Statements of Additional Fact. A party may not file any proposed statements of material fact or statements of additional fact in excess of the limit set forth in this rule unless the Court previously has granted leave upon a showing that an increase is warranted.
(8) Length of Memoranda.
(A) A principal memorandum in support of, or opposition to, summary judgment must not exceed 30 pages and a reply memorandum must not exceed 15 pages (excluding any caption, cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, and signature block).
(B) No memorandum exceeding the page limitations may be filed unless the Court previously has granted leave to file an oversized memorandum.
(9) Sanction for Noncompliance. Failure to comply with the requirements in this rule may result in sanctions up to and including the Court denying or granting the motion. Sanctions remain available under General L. R. 83(f).
(10) Collateral Motions. Collateral motions, such as motions to strike, are disfavored.
Committee Comment: New Civil L. R. 56 replaces former Civil L. R. 56.1 and 56.2. The additional summary judgment procedures have been modified to limit the number of proposed statements of material fact. Moving parties are limited to 150 separately numbered proposed statements of material fact, and non-moving parties are limited to 100 separately numbered proposed statements of additional material facts. Stipulated statements of facts are not counted against any party's allotment and do not require evidentiary support. The rule expressly provides that the Court may increase the allowed number of proposed material facts upon a showing that an increase is warranted.
Civil L. R. 56(b)(2)(B) anticipates that the parties will respond to each statement of proposed material fact by either: (i) admitting the fact; (ii) denying the fact; or (iii) stating an objection. The preferred practice is to include arguments in support of objections in the memoranda of law and not in the responses to the proposed statements of material fact. The response should not simply incorporate a response to an earlier numbered paragraph.
Civil L. R. 56(b)(10) clarifies that collateral motions in the summary judgment process, including motions to strike, are disfavored. Whenever possible all arguments relating to the other party's submissions should be contained in memoranda.
Civil L. R. 56, like Civil L. R. 7, also makes clear that declarations made in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746 may be used in the summary judgment process to the same effect as affidavits.