All local rules for N.D. Ill., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
The BEST way to get in contact with the courtroom deputy is to email at amanda_scherer@ilnd.uscourts.gov.
Neither a motion nor brief in support of or in opposition to any motion nor objections to a report and recommendation or order of a magistrate judge or special master, shall exceed 15 pages without prior approval of the court. Local Rule 7.1 ↗
Neither a motion nor brief in support of or in opposition to any motion nor objections to a report and recommendation or order of a magistrate judge or special master, shall exceed 15 pages without prior approval of the court. Local Rule 7.1 ↗
Neither a motion nor brief in support of or in opposition to any motion nor objections to a report and recommendation or order of a magistrate judge or special master, shall exceed 15 pages without prior approval of the court. Local Rule 7.1 ↗
(b) A judge may require a motion or an objection to a magistrate judge’s order to be accompanied by a notice of presentment specifying the date and time on which, and judge before whom, the motion or objection is to be presented. The date of presentment shall be not more than 14 days following the date on which the motion or objection is delivered to the court pursuant to LR 78.1. Local Rule 5.3(b) ↗
Except where a judge fixes a different time in accordance with this rule, the original of any motion shall be filed by 4:30 p.m. of the second business day preceding the date of presentment. A judge may fix a time for delivery longer than that provided by this rule, or elect to hear motions less frequently than daily, or both. Local Rule 78.1 ↗
The court may set a briefing schedule. Oral argument may be allowed in the court’s discretion. Local Rule 78.3 ↗
Any judge wishing to refer a matter in a civil case pending on that judge’s calendar to a magistrate judge may do so following procedures approved by the Executive Committee. Local Rule 72.1 ↗
Meeting Requirement The Court encourages the parties to work out discovery disputes and discourages the filing of discovery motions. With regard to the filing of motions for discovery and production of documents under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26-37 , the Court will not hear or consider any discovery motions unless the parties have complied with Local Rule 37.2 In any motion for discovery or production of documents, the movant shall state when and how the movant complied with Local Rule 37.2 .
Motion Practice Scheduling Motions The Court hears motions Tuesdays at 9:50 a.m. All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1 . Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court. Agreed Motions If a motion is joint, uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the motion. Extensions of Time A party seeking an extension of time must contact all other parties to determine if the motion is opposed. The party seeking the extension should indicate in the motion (1) the reason for the request; (2) the number of previous extensions; and (3) whether the motion is opposed, and if so, on what grounds. Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline. Searchable Text To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF. The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. Source ↗
Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court. Source ↗
Initial Status Conference and Joint Initial Status Report The Court will set cases for status within 60 days of the filing of the complaint. At the initial status conference the parties are to report on the following: 1. The possibility of settlement in the case. 2. If no possibility of settlement exists, the nature and length of discovery necessary to prepare the case for trial. To maximize the effectiveness of the scheduled status conference, the Court asks plaintiff's counsel to schedule a preliminary meeting with opposing counsel to fully explore early settlement opportunities and identify areas of agreement. The Court recognizes that in some cases the scheduled status conference will take place before defendants have filed a responsive pleading to the complaint. However, the Court expects all defendants who have been served to participate in this process regardless of whether they have filed a responsive pleading. The Court may ask the parties to file a Joint Initial Status Report following the format in this link. Source ↗
Motion Practice Scheduling Motions The Court hears motions Tuesdays at 9:50 a.m. All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1 . Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court. Agreed Motions If a motion is joint, uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the motion. Extensions of Time A party seeking an extension of time must contact all other parties to determine if the motion is opposed. The party seeking the extension should indicate in the motion (1) the reason for the request; (2) the number of previous extensions; and (3) whether the motion is opposed, and if so, on what grounds. Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline. Searchable Text To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF. The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. Source ↗
Motion Practice Scheduling Motions The Court hears motions Tuesdays at 9:50 a.m. All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1 . Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court. Agreed Motions If a motion is joint, uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the motion. Extensions of Time A party seeking an extension of time must contact all other parties to determine if the motion is opposed. The party seeking the extension should indicate in the motion (1) the reason for the request; (2) the number of previous extensions; and (3) whether the motion is opposed, and if so, on what grounds. Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline. Searchable Text To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF. The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. Source ↗
Motion Practice Scheduling Motions The Court hears motions Tuesdays at 9:50 a.m. All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1 . Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court. Agreed Motions If a motion is joint, uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the motion. Extensions of Time A party seeking an extension of time must contact all other parties to determine if the motion is opposed. The party seeking the extension should indicate in the motion (1) the reason for the request; (2) the number of previous extensions; and (3) whether the motion is opposed, and if so, on what grounds. Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline. Searchable Text To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF. The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. Source ↗
Motions for summary judgment and responses must comply with Local Rule 56.1, as well as the procedures outlined here. The statements of undisputed material facts and responses shall be filed separately from the memoranda of law and shall include the line, paragraph, or page number where the supporting material may be found in the record. Parties must make the supporting evidence easy to find. A Local Rule 56.1 statement of facts is not a substitute for a statement of facts section contained in the supporting brief. A supporting brief that merely incorporates the Local Rule 56.1 statement rather than setting forth a statement of facts section may be stricken. The Local Rules are not mere technicalities. The Court expects strict compliance with the Local Rules regarding summary judgment. Failure to comply with the Local Rules may result in the Court striking briefs, disregarding statements of fact, deeming statements of fact admitted, and denying summary judgment. See Modrowski v. Pigatto, 712 F.3d 1166, 1169 (7th Cir. 2013); Keeton v. Morningstar, Inc., 667 F.3d 877, 884 (7th Cir. 2012). The movant shall not file more than 80 statements of undisputed material facts without prior leave of Court. The respondent shall be limited to 40 statements of undisputed material facts absent prior leave of Court. In complex cases, the Court may request that the parties submit a timeline of events in addition to statements of undisputed material facts. Motions to strike are disfavored. If a party contends that another party has included inadmissible evidence, improper argument, or other objectionable material in a Local Rule 56.1 submission, the party typically should raise its argument that the Court should not consider such material in the party's response or reply brief – not in a separate motion to strike. Parties must include a table of contents for any exhibits. Parties submitting deposition transcripts in support of or in opposition to summary judgment must provide the full deposition transcript. Where possible, deposition transcripts should be submitted in the condensed transcript format where multiple deposition transcript pages are reduced to one page. All electronically filed documents shall be made word searchable before being filed on CM/ECF. Source ↗