Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II — United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
District Judge
Practice notes for litigators appearing before Judge II in the S.D. Fla.. Sourced from the judge's individual rules, standing orders, and chambers procedures published by the court.
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Policies and Procedures
Proposed Orders
All proposed orders are submitted in Microsoft Word format to ruiz@flsd.uscourts.gov.
For unopposed motions, a proposed order granting the requested relief must be submitted in Word the same day the unopposed motion is filed.
For motions where no response is filed, the moving party must submit a proposed order granting the requested relief within 7 days after the response deadline passes without a filing.
Formatting
Double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point typeface. Joint motions are required for co-parties absent clear conflicts.
Joint Scheduling Report
File on the docket and email a Word version to ruiz@flsd.uscourts.gov. The report must specify the legal basis for any jury demand. The court sets the trial date after receipt of the report.
Mediation
Mediation is in-person absent good cause. A motion is required before filing a Notice of Mediator Selection if the parties seek virtual mediation.
Hearings
In-person appearance is required for all substantive motions. Telephone or video appearance is allowed by motion filed at least one day before the hearing.
Calendar Call
Calendar call is typically held on the Tuesday before the two-week trial period at 11:00 a.m.
Pretrial Conference
No pretrial conference is held unless requested by the parties for good cause.
Discovery
All discovery is referred to the paired magistrate judge. Parties follow the assigned magistrate's discovery procedures to determine whether written motions are permitted. Paired magistrates listed on the judge's procedures page: Reinhart, Louis, McCabe, Strauss, Maynard. (The page also lists Magistrate Judge Alicia O. Valle, who is not on the current FL-SD magistrate roster — verify the actual paired magistrate from the case scheduling order.)
Chambers Contact
Email is preferred for communications with chambers. Telephone is for time-sensitive or emergency matters. Chambers will not answer questions about procedures already governed by the Federal Rules or Local Rules.
Compliance Traps
- An unopposed motion filed without a same-day proposed order is procedurally incomplete.
- Post-deadline proposed orders are required within 7 days even when no response is filed.
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