Southern District of Florida Local Rules — The Practitioner's Guide

SDFL pro hac vice: $250 per attorney per case. Local counsel (SDFL bar member, authorized CM/ECF filer) required. PHV attorneys cannot register for CM/ECF — all filings through local counsel. More than 3 PHV motions in 365 days in separate cases = presumed "general practice" and prohibited. Attorney Admission Rule 4(b).

PHV Attorneys Cannot:

• Register for CM/ECF
• File documents electronically (but can receive NEFs)
• PHV ≠ formal admission to SDFL bar

Additional Parties

Already-admitted PHV attorney may appear for additional parties by filing Notice of Appearance PHV — no additional fee. Must state initial PHV info remains current.

Before filing any motion in a civil case, counsel must confer (orally or in writing) with all affected parties in good faith. Every non-exempt motion must include a certification. L.R. 7.1(a)(3).

Exempt Motions

Injunctive relief, judgment on pleadings, summary judgment, 12(b)(6) dismissal, class action, pro hac vice, involuntary dismissal, garnishment/Rule 64, ex parte motions, arbitration enforcement/vacatur.

Required Certification

Above signature block, certify either:

(A) Conferred in good faith, unable to resolve; OR

(B) Made reasonable efforts to confer (specifying date, time, manner of each attempt) but unable to do so.

If some issues resolved, specify which remain.

Discovery-Specific Conferral

• Conferral duty is reciprocal
• Conferral does NOT toll the 28-day deadlines unless judge's procedures say otherwise
• Some Magistrate Judges require live conversation for discovery disputes — always check individual standing orders

Sanction: Court may grant or deny the motion + impose reasonable expenses and attorney's fees.

SDFL requires 12-point minimum font (including footnotes), 1-inch margins on all sides, and 1.5 line spacing minimum. Motions: 20 pages (motion + memo combined). Opposition: 20 pages. Reply: 10 pages. Discovery motions: 10/10/5 pages. No courtesy copies unless judge requests. L.R. 5.1(a), 7.1(c).

Page Limits

Exclusions from page limits: title pages, TOC, TOA, "Request for Hearing" sections, signature pages, conferral certificates, certificates of service.

Mediation is mandatory in virtually every SDFL civil case. Parties select mediator within 14 days of referral order; if no agreement, Clerk appoints from certified list. Mediation no later than 60 days before trial. Default format: videoconference. All parties must participate with full settlement authority. L.R. 16.2.

Exempt Cases

Habeas, §2255 motions, Social Security, civil forfeiture, IRS summons, land condemnation, default proceedings, student loans, naturalization, statutory interpleader, TILA (non-class), letters rogatory, foreign judgment registration.

Timeline

1. Order of referral issued (sets trial/mediation deadline)
2. Parties agree on mediator within 14 days
3. File "Notice of Selection of Mediator" within 14 days
4. If no agreement: plaintiff files "Request For Clerk To Appoint Mediator"
5. Confidential case summaries to mediator 14 days before mediation
6. Mediation no later than 60 days before trial
7. Mediator files Report within 7 days

Participation (L.R. 16.2(e))

All parties + claims professionals with full settlement authority. Entity by representative — not solely outside counsel. Public entities: authority to negotiate and recommend. Non-participation = sanctions.

Mediator Qualifications

10+ years bar admission, Florida Bar + SDFL bar member, circuit court mediator certified, substantial mediation experience. Must accept 2 pro bono/reduced-fee per year.

Confidentiality (L.R. 16.2(g)(2))

Privileged under federal law and FL Stat. §44.405. May not be reported, recorded, or disclosed.

Opposition due 14 days after service. Reply due 7 days after service of opposition. Failure to file may be deemed cause for granting by default. Discovery motions must be filed within 28 days of triggering event. L.R. 7.1(c), 26.1(g), 7.3.

Regular Motions (L.R. 7.1(c))

All supporting materials must be served with the filing — not later.

Discovery Motions (L.R. 26.1(g))

Motion: within 28 days of trigger. Opposition: 14 days. Reply: 7 days (5-page limit).

28-day triggers:

• Written response/objection: date of service
• Completed deposition: last day of testimony
• Sufficiency of production: date of Notice of Completion
• Other disputes: date first raised

Failure to file within 28 days may = denial. One 7-day extension by stipulation.

Attorney's Fees (L.R. 7.3)

Serve draft fee motion 30 days before deadline. Confer within 21 days. File within 60 days of final judgment. Bill of costs within 30 days.

Supplemental Authority (L.R. 7.8)

200 words. Response: 7 days, 200 words, no replies.

SDFL uses a no-hearing-unless-set-by-the-Court model (L.R. 7.1(b)(1)). To request oral argument, include a separate "Request for Hearing" section with detailed reasons and time estimate. 90-day stale motion rule: if fully briefed 90 days with no hearing/ruling, file "Notice of Ninety Days Expiring" within 14 days.

How to Request Oral Argument

1. Include separate "Request for Hearing" section in motion or opposition (L.R. 7.1(b)(2))
2. Set forth in detail reasons why hearing is desired and helpful
3. Estimate time required for argument
4. Court grants or denies in its discretion

Discovery motions may be referred to Magistrate Judge (L.R. 7.1(b)(3)). Many offer Informal Discovery Hearing as alternative.

Emergency & Expedited Motions (L.R. 7.1(d))

Warning: Unwarranted emergency designation may result in sanctions.

SDFL requires a separate Statement of Material Facts (SMF) — 10 pages movant, 10 pages opponent response + 5 pages additional facts. First word of each response must be "disputed" or "undisputed." Pinpoint citations required — general citations are non-compliant. Multiple partial MSJs require prior permission. L.R. 56.1.

SMF Requirements

Pinpoint Citations (L.R. 56.1(b)(1)(B))

Must include: specific page numbers (line numbers for depositions), exhibit number and title, ECF number for filed materials. A general citation (e.g., "Smith Affidavit") is non-compliant.

Opponent's Format (L.R. 56.1(b)(2))

Correspond with movant's numbering. Do NOT repeat movant's text. First word = "disputed" or "undisputed." Additional facts numbered consecutively from movant's last number, titled "Additional Facts."

Consequences

Failure to controvert = facts may be deemed admitted (L.R. 56.1(c)). Non-compliance = court may strike, require compliance, or sanction (L.R. 56.1(d)). Multiple MSJs require prior permission (L.R. 56.1(e)) — exception for immunity then merits.

Quick-reference summary of the most frequently needed rules for the Southern District of Florida.

Watchpoints — Southern District of Florida

FL-SD has several distinctive aspects of its motion practice — the 28-day discovery-motion trigger deadline, the formal Emergency-vs-Expedited motion distinction with sanctions, the 90-day stale motion notice, and the dual-filing of proposed orders to chambers.

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1. Discovery motions in FL-SD must be filed within 28 days of the triggering event — miss the window and the motion may be denied as untimely

L.R. 26.1(g) sets a hard window from the triggering event (a response received, a deposition completed, a production made, the date the dispute first arose) to the filing of the motion to compel. FL-SD is the only district in our 10-court sample with a district-wide trigger-event deadline.

Why: The rule's rationale is to incentivize counsel to move quickly to resolve discovery issues — time pressure forces resolution before the deadline rather than letting disputes accumulate. Counsel who let discovery disputes ripen without seeking relief lose the right to seek it.

Read more → §6 Discovery

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2. FL-SD has a formal Emergency vs. Expedited motion distinction — and unwarranted Emergency designation triggers sanctions

A motion qualifies as 'emergency' only when relief is needed sooner than the court can provide it within the standard 7-day notice. 'Emergency Motion' must appear in the title; a sworn certification of emergency is required; the motion is filed via CM/ECF emergency event. 'Expedited Motion' is for time-sensitive matters that are not true emergencies.

Why: The court reads emergency designations skeptically and counsel who designate non-emergencies as emergencies tend to get flagged. The sanctions for unwarranted designation are real.

Read more → §3 Motion Practice

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3. Fully briefed motions that sit for 90 days require a formal Notice of Ninety Days Expiring — and counsel must file it

L.R. 7.1(b)(4) provides that if a motion has been fully briefed for 90 days without hearing or ruling, counsel must file a Notice of Ninety Days Expiring within 14 days. The notice is the court's prompt mechanism. Counsel who let briefed motions sit indefinitely without filing the notice slow their own cases.

Why: The court manages a heavy docket and uses counsel's notice as a flag for ruling priority. The mechanism is mutual — the court keeps moving cases; counsel keep the court informed.

Read more → §4 Briefing Schedule

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4. Proposed orders for specific motions must be both filed via CM/ECF AND emailed as a Word document to the assigned judge

L.R. 7.1(a)(2) requires proposed orders for specific motions including habeas, default, pro hac vice, stipulation approval, emergency/ex parte, and TROs. The dual-filing requirement (CM/ECF + email Word version to chambers) is unusual.

Why: Chambers works with editable Word documents; the CM/ECF version is the docket record. Both surfaces matter for different purposes.

Read more → §2 Filing & Service

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5. Pro hac vice in FL-SD is capped at 3 motions per attorney in any 365-day period

Attorney Admission Rule 4 provides that more than 3 PHV motions in 365 days is 'presumed general practice' and prohibited. Counsel who file frequent PHV motions in FL-SD must track the count and consider general admission rather than relying on PHV.

Why: The cap is the court's mechanism for distinguishing genuine out-of-state practice from de facto local practice without admission.

Read more → §8 Pro Hac Vice

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6. Discovery motion length limits are tighter than ordinary motion limits — 10/10/5 instead of 20/20/10

L.R. 26.1(g)(3) caps discovery motions at 10/10/5 pages (motion / opposition / reply), distinct from the ordinary 20/20/10 page limits in L.R. 7.1(c)(2). Counsel who default to the standard limits on a discovery motion overshoot.

Why: Discovery disputes are typically narrow. The tighter limits enforce focus.

Read more → §1 Formatting & Page Limits

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7. The 56.1 statement of material facts is page-capped at 10 pages — both for the movant and for the opposition's response

L.R. 56.1 limits the SMF to 10 pages for the movant and 10 pages of response + 5 pages of Additional Facts for the opposition. FL-SD is on the tighter end of federal SMF practice: among the districts in our 10-court sample, most that have a 56.1 framework use paragraph caps (N.D. Ill.: 80 paragraph movant cap, 40 paragraph opponent cap) or no caps at all; FL-SD's page cap is the strictest specific cap of any sample district.

Why: The page cap forces materiality discipline in fact selection; counsel must choose which facts are most important rather than listing everything.

Read more → §7 Summary Judgment

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8. Discovery materials in FL-SD are NOT filed until used — and Bates-stamping is required on every page

L.R. 26.1(b)–(c) keeps discovery materials off the docket unless attached to a motion or trial exhibit. L.R. 26.1(e)(6) requires Bates-stamping on every page of production. Privilege logs are due within 14 days of production (L.R. 26.1(e)(2)(D)).

Why: The not-filed rule preserves docket cleanliness; the Bates-stamping requirement supports the document-by-document privilege analysis the court expects.

Read more → §6 Discovery