Local Rule LR Civ P 7.02: Motion Practice

LR Civ P 7.02. Motion Practice.

(a) Motions and Supporting Memoranda: All motions shall be concise, state the relief requested precisely, be filed timely, but not prematurely, and, except for nondispositive motions other than a motion for sanctions, be accompanied by a supporting memorandum of not more than twenty-five (25) pages, double-spaced, and shall be further accompanied by copies of depositions (or the pertinent portions thereof), admissions, documents, affidavits and other such materials upon which the motion relies. A judicial officer, for good cause shown on motion made to the Court, may allow a supporting memorandum to exceed twenty-five (25) pages. The proposed supporting memoranda must be attached to the motion during the e-filing process. A dispositive motion or a motion for sanctions that is unsupported by a memorandum may be denied without prejudice. The memorandum must be submitted on 8½ by 11-inch paper. Margins must be one inch on all four sides. Page numbers, but no text, may be placed in the margins. The memorandum must be in either Times New Roman, Courier New or Arial font. The font size must be twelve (12) point proportionally spaced type or eleven (11) point non-proportionally spaced type. Footnotes and indented quotations may be single-spaced and footnote text shall be no smaller than eleven (11) point proportionally spaced or ten (10) point non-proportionally spaced type.

Parties may file a memorandum in support of a nondispositive motion, but are not required to do so. Motions for summary judgment shall include or be accompanied by a short and plain statement of uncontroverted facts.

(b) Memoranda in Response to Motions and Reply Memoranda:

(1) Memoranda in Response: Except for responses to motions for summary judgment, responses to motions shall be filed and served within fourteen (14) days from the date of service of the motion. Responses to motions for summary judgment shall be filed and served within twenty-one (21) days from the date of service of the motion.

(i) Traditional Filing: When not filing electronically in CM/ECF, parties shall file the original and two (2) copies of the memoranda and other materials and serve paper copies on opposing counsel and unrepresented parties.

(ii) Electronic Filing: When filing in CM/ECF, the filer must provide any non-CM/ECF filer with the document according to this Rule. CM/ECF filers need not, however, provide paper copies to other CM/ECF filers, as the document will be served electronically.

(iii) Page Limitations: Responsive memoranda may not exceed twenty-five (25) pages and are subject to the restrictions set forth in LR Civ P 7.02(a) regarding paper size, font size and line spacing. A judicial officer, for good cause shown on motion made to the Court, may allow a memorandum in response to exceed twenty-five (25) pages. The proposed memoranda in response must be attached to the motion during the e-filing process.

(2) Memoranda in Reply: Except for replies to responses to motions for summary judgment, replies shall be filed and served within seven (7) days from the date of service of the response to the motion. Replies to responses to motions for summary judgment shall be filed and served within fourteen (14) days from the date of service of the response to the motion.

(i) Traditional Filing: When filing in paper and not filing in CM/ECF, parties shall file the original and two (2) copies of the reply memoranda and serve paper copies on opposing counsel and unrepresented parties.

(ii) Electronic Filing: When filing in CM/ECF, the filer must provide any non-CM/ECF filer with the document according to these Rules. CM/ECF filers need not, however, provide paper copies to other CM/ECF filers, as the document will be served electronically.

(iii) Page Limitations: Reply memoranda may not exceed fifteen (15) pages, subject to the restrictions set forth in LR Civ P 7.02(a) regarding paper size, font size and line spacing. A judicial officer, for good cause shown on motion made to the Court, may allow a reply memorandum to exceed fifteen (15) pages. The proposed reply memoranda must be attached to the motion during the e-filing process.

(3) Surreply and Surrebuttal: Except by leave of court, parties shall not file surreply or surrebuttal memoranda. The proposed surreply or surrebuttal must be attached to the motion during the e-filing process.

(4) Time Limits; Judicial Officer Discretion: The judicial officer to whom the motion is addressed may modify the times for serving memoranda.

(5) Courtesy Copy: When electronically filing a memorandum, the filing party must file a courtesy copy of the memorandum with the Court if the memorandum, together with documents in support thereof, is twenty-five (25) pages or more, or where any administrative record is seventy-five (75) pages or more in length. Courtesy copies should be delivered to the Clerk's Office at the appropriate courthouse. Courtesy copies should not be delivered directly to chambers.

(c) Referral to Magistrate Judges: All nondispositive motions and any dispositive motion may be referred to a magistrate judge by the presiding district judge.

(d) Action on Motions: All motions shall be decided expeditiously to facilitate compliance with the deadlines established by the scheduling order. Failure of a judicial officer to rule on a dispositive motion may, upon motion of a party, constitute good cause for modification of a scheduling order pursuant to LR Civ P 16.01(f)(1).

District judges may impose time limits on referred motions and monitor those time limits accordingly.