All local rules for N.D. Ga., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
(B) Proper Notice to Adversary. Whenever an attorney desires to confer with a judge or magistrate judge of this Court in chambers with regard to a pending case, the attorney shall first give proper notice to opposing counsel, disclosing the date, hour, and nature of the conference sought, and shall satisfy the district judge or magistrate judge that such notice has been given. Emergency situations in which it is impossible to contact opposing counsel and those situations (other than motions to proceed in forma pauperis) where ex parte motions or applications are contemplated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are excepted from this rule. N.D. Ga. LR 7.5(B) ↗
Sherri Lundy is your principal point of contact on matters related to this case. Where possible, communications with Ms. Lundy should be as follows: Ms. Sherri Lundy Courtroom Deputy Clerk 2121United States Courthouse 75 Ted Turner Dr., SW Atlanta, GA 30303-3309 Sherri_Lundy@gand.uscourts.gov (preferred method) (404) 215-1481 Neither the parties nor their counsel should discuss the merits of the case with Ms. Lundy or any of the Court's law clerks.
(D) Page and Type Limitations. Absent prior permission of the Court, briefs filed in support of a motion or in response to a motion are limited in length to twenty-five (25) pages. N.D. Ga. LR 7.1(D) ↗
(D) Page and Type Limitations. Absent prior permission of the Court, briefs filed in support of a motion or in response to a motion are limited in length to twenty-five (25) pages. N.D. Ga. LR 7.1(D) ↗
(D) Page and Type Limitations. Absent prior permission of the Court, briefs filed in support of a motion or in response to a motion are limited in length to twenty-five (25) pages. If the movant files a reply, the reply brief may not exceed fifteen (15) pages. N.D. Ga. LR 7.1(D) ↗
(B) Response to Motion. Any party opposing a motion shall serve the party's response, responsive memorandum, affidavits, and any other responsive material not later than fourteen (14) days after service of the motion, except that in cases of motion for summary judgment the time shall be twenty-one (21) days after the service of the motion. N.D. Ga. LR 7.1(B) ↗
(E) Hearings. Motions will be decided by the Court without oral hearing, unless a hearing is ordered by the Court. N.D. Ga. LR 7.1(E) ↗
Motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment will be noticed for hearings to occur at least forty-five (45) days after the filing date. If an amended pleading is filed, attorneys should docket a "Withdrawal of Motion" as to any mooted motions.
Parties frequently forward copies of motions or other filings directly to chambers for the Court's convenience. Courtesy copies are not required, except for emergency motions filed pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(B), and motions for temporary restraining orders and/or preliminary injunctions. Courtesy copies of motions for summary judgment that have voluminous exhibits may be submitted to chambers. Courtesy copies of such emergency motions, motions for temporary restraining orders, and/or motions for preliminary injunctions should be submitted via regular mail to the attention of the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at the address provided above.
Unless the Court directs otherwise, all orders, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, orally announced by the district judge in Court shall be prepared in writing by the attorney for the prevailing party. The original order shall be submitted to the district judge within seven (7) days from the date of pronouncement. Copies shall also be provided each party. N.D. Ga. LR 7.3 ↗
For all consent, unopposed, or joint motions, the filing party shall include therewith a proposed order granting the motion.
The Court disfavors the excessive use of consent protective confidentiality orders that allow counsel to designate documents, tangible things, and information as "Confidential" and/or "Confidential - For Attorney's Eyes Only." While the Court recognizes the legitimacy of such orders in some cases, the Court's experience is that such orders are used-and abused-more often than truly necessary. As a guide to counsel, the Court notes that documents, tangible things, and information ordinarily are not truly confidential unless they constitute either (1) a "trade secret," as defined by Section 1(4) of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, or for cases applying Georgia law, O.C.G.A. ss 10-1-761(4); (2) personal identifying information, such as a Social Security number; or (3) personal health information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. If the parties find that a consent protective confidentiality order is necessary, the following language should be included (and shall be deemed included) therein: Any documents (including briefs), tangible things, or information designated as Confidential that are submitted to the Court in support of or in opposition to a motion or introduced at a hearing or during trial may retain their protected confidential status only by order of the Court in accordance with the procedures outlined in section II.c. of the Court's Standing Order Regarding Civil Litigation. Those procedures are as follows. For documents filed other than during a hearing or trial, counsel shall electronically file on CM/ECF a motion to seal that lists the document(s) that counsel wants filed under seal and a proposed order granting the motion. The documents that counsel wishes to be sealed should be provisionally filed on CM/ECF, per the directions set out in Procedures for Electronic Filing Under Seal in Civil Cases on the Court's website under "Electronic Case Filing Info."
(E) Hearings. Motions will be decided by the Court without oral hearing, unless a hearing is ordered by the Court. N.D. Ga. LR 7.1(E) ↗
In accordance with the Local Rules, motions may be decided without oral argument, but the Court may order oral argument on any issue which it believes a hearing would be helpful and will consider any request for hearing. Moreover, the Court shall grant a request for oral argument on a contested, substantive motion if the request states that a lawyer who is less than seven years out of law school will conduct the oral argument on at least one substantial issue in the case, it being the Court's belief that young lawyers need more opportunities for Court appearances than they usually receive. Motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment will be noticed for hearings to occur at least forty-five (45) days after the filing date. If an amended pleading is filed, attorneys should docket a "Withdrawal of Motion" as to any mooted motions.
(D) Assignments to a Magistrate Judge. In a case referred to a magistrate judge, the magistrate judge will perform the duties assigned to him or her by the Court or a district judge under Court rule, plan, order or other document. A magistrate judge will perform other duties when those duties are assigned to him or her by the Court or a district judge under Court rule, plan order, or other document. The duties assigned to a magistrate judge by the Court, and the manner of their distribution and assignment, are specified in a standing order of the Court, available in the clerk’s office and on the Court’s website at www.gand.uscourts.gov. N.D. Ga. LR 72.1(D) (assignments to a magistrate judge; distribution of duties set by standing order of the Court) ↗
Prior to filing a discovery motion, the movant-after conferring with the respondent in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute by agreement-should contact Ms. Lundy and advise her that the movant seeks relief with respect to a discovery matter. Ordinarily, Ms. Lundy will request that each side submit a brief statement of the issues (a 1-2 page letter). The Court will either decide the matter based on the submissions, schedule a conference call with counsel, or authorize counsel to file a formal motion. The Court is usually available by telephone to resolve objections and disputes that arise during depositions. Counsel should call Ms. Lundy to request that the Court hear the objections.
All citations to the record evidence should be contained in each party's brief, not just in the party's statement of undisputed (or disputed) facts. When filing a brief in support of or in opposition to a motion for summary judgment, the party shall simultaneously file the original transcript of each deposition referenced in the brief. The party should include in the brief, immediately following the deposition reference, a citation indicating the page and line numbers of the transcript where the referenced testimony can be found. The party should also attach to the brief a copy of the specific pages of the deposition that are referenced in the brief. The party should not attach to the brief a copy of the entire deposition transcript. In addition to following the form instructions set out in Local Rule 56.l(B), a party responding to a statement of material fact shall copy into its response document the numbered statement to which it is responding and provide its response to that statement immediately following. A party that chooses to reply to a response shall copy into its reply document its original numbered statement of material fact and the opposing party's response, then provide its reply to that statement immediately following. Each party shall file its documents in text-searchable PDF format. Without seeking prior leave of court, no party shall file more than one motion for summary judgment and/or motion for partial summary judgment. If the same counsel represents more than one party in the case (i.e. one or more plaintiffs, or one or more defendants), then any motion for summary judgment or motion for partial summary judgment filed by said counsel shall be on behalf of any and all parties which said counsel represent, if applicable. Source ↗
Without seeking leave of court, no party may file more than one motion to dismiss, except in the case where a plaintiff has filed an amended complaint. In that case, a defendant may file a new motion to dismiss. If there are multiple defendants who are represented by the same counsel, then said counsel may only file one motion to dismiss applicable to any or all said defendants. Source ↗