Rule 7 Motions
Rule Text
A Request to the Court. After the filing of a complaint, any request for an order of the court is a motion. Every motion, except those made during a court proceeding, must be in writing and must state the reasons and authorities for the motion and the relief requested and should be accompanied by any necessary declarations, affidavits, or other documentary evidence. Nondocumentary attachments, including storage devices like CDs and USB flash drives, are prohibited.
B Response to Motion Generally. A party other than the party making the motion may file a written response to any written motion. A party other than the party making the motion may respond orally to a motion made during a court proceeding or may request to file a written response. Except as provided in this rule, a response to a motion filed prior to the initial case management conference is not due until after the initial case management conference. A party other than the party making the motion may respond orally to the motion at the initial case management conference or, if the party other than the party making the motion requests, the court will allow time after the initial case management conference for a written response to be filed.
C Preliminary Motion Filed Prior to Initial Case Management Conference. Prior to the initial case management conference, the court may rule on one or more of the following preliminary motions: motion to amend pleading, motion to make more definite and certain, motion to strike, motion to consolidate, motion to dismiss a named party, motion to intervene, requests for admission submitted under Tax Court Rule 11, any joint motion or motion on which all parties agree, and any motion to which the court has ordered the adverse party to respond. An adverse party is permitted to file a written response within 10 days after the date of service of the preliminary motion. After the response period has passed, or all parties other than the party making the motion have filed a response, the court may rule on the preliminary motion.
D Motion Filed After Initial Case Management Conference.
D(1) Time to File. Except as provided in subsection E, and unless otherwise specified by the court, a response to a written motion filed after the initial case management conference, including a status report and recommendations, is due 10 days after the date of service or 20 days after the date of service in the case of a response to a motion for summary judgment. A response to an oral motion made during a court proceeding must be made during the proceeding unless the court allows a written response to be filed.
D(2) When Court Will Rule. Except as provided in subsection E, the court will not rule on a motion until responses from all nonmoving parties have been filed or the response time has lapsed.
E Oral Argument. Any party may request oral argument on a motion. The court will determine whether oral argument is held.
F(1) Motion for Default. A motion for default may be filed when a defendant has failed to file an answer or a response. The court may notify all parties that defendant failed to file an answer or a response. The plaintiff may submit a motion for default asking that the relief requested in its complaint be granted. Once the motion for default is filed, the complaint cannot be amended unless the court approves. If the defendant fails to file an answer or a response within 10 days of the filing of the motion for default, the court will consider the motion and may enter an order of default.
F(2) Order of Default. Once an order of default is entered, the defaulting party is no longer allowed to appear or present evidence and other parties are not required to provide copies of court filings to that party notwithstanding TCR-MD 3 A. A defaulting party may request to set aside an order of default for good cause.
F(3) Decision Following Order of Default. The court will consider plaintiff’s appeal and may hold an evidentiary hearing before entering a decision. Appeal may be taken from a decision by following the provisions of TCR-MD 19.
G Facsimile Transmittal. The Magistrate Division will not receive or file documents submitted to the court via facsimile in excess of 10 pages.