All local rules for N.D. Ill., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
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 ↗
Discovery Motions The Court believes that parties can and should work out most discovery disputes and thus discourages the filing of discovery motions. The Court will not consider any discovery motion unless the movant has complied with the meet-and-confer requirement of Local Rule 37.2. This applies not only to motions to compel, but also applies to motions to quash discovery or for protective orders against discovery . The motion must state with specificity when and how the movant complied with Local Rule 37.2. Remember that compliance with Local Rule 37.2 requires a good-faith effort to resolve discovery disputes and also requires that the conferral take place face-to-face or by telephone. The exchange of correspondence will almost never be good enough to comply with Local Rule 37.2. All parties should be fully prepared to argue any discovery motion on the date that it is presented. The Court most often will rule on discovery motions after hearing argument at the motion call and without further briefing (though sometimes it is plain that briefing is needed). If after hearing argument, the Court believes that the motion requires briefing, the Court normally will set an expedited briefing schedule so that the matter can be resolved promptly. Parties must immediately notify the Court if they are withdrawing (or narrowing) any previously filed discovery motions. Discovery Sequence Remember that there is generally no particular sequence in which discovery must occur, and that one party’s failure or inability to respond to discovery will not excuse any other party’s prompt compliance. Remember too that the pendency of a motion, such as a motion to dismiss, does not necessarily operate as a stay of discovery, although very often one or both parties might be justified in asking for a stay. Discovery Continuances Judge Valderrama sets realistic discovery deadlines at the initial status hearing, based on a close review of the pleadings and the initial status report. The parties must issue discovery and respond to discovery as needed to meet the discovery deadlines, which means planning ahead so that there is no last-minute scramble as the deadline approaches. Also, any motion to extend discovery must be presented in writing (after conferral with the other side), filed in advance of the fact discovery deadline, and must demonstrate good cause for the extension. Judge Valderrama generally will not set a case for trial until it is really ready for trial (that is, all discovery is done, dispositive motions denied, and settlement efforts exhausted). That means that the parties get a real trial date, not a placeholder, which allows the parties and witnesses to better plan and allows the Court’s trial calendar to be a real one, with no double-booking, very rare continuances, and very rare last-minute settlements. Limit on the Number of Requests to Admit The Court sets a limit of 25 requests to admit, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 36, per side. Per “side” means parties represented by the same counsel.
Motion Practice Motion Calls/Courtesy Copies As stated on the main page, unless ordered by the Court, Judge Valderrama does not hold motions calls. Parties are not to schedule motion presentment hearings or deliver courtesy copies to the courthouse. Conferral with Opposing Party Before filing a motion, the movant’s counsel must ask opposing counsel whether there is an objection to the motion. This conferral requirement also applies to pro se parties (that is, parties not represented by counsel), regardless of whether the pro se party is the movant or opposing party. The motion should clearly indicate whether it is opposed or unopposed. This requirement does not apply to: motions to withdraw as counsel, motions to dismiss, motions to remand, motions for summary judgment, and motions for leave to file a sur-response (where such request is based upon the argument that the opposing party raised new arguments in its reply). Electronic Filing The Court strongly recommends counsel to convert any word-processed document (e.g., briefs and memoranda) into a PDF document by printing or publishing it to PDF rather than manually scanning a paper copy into PDF format. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. For other filings (including exhibits in support of a motion or any Local Rule 56.1 Statement), the Court also strongly recommends counsel to run an OCR conversion on it before uploading it onto CM/ECF. To do this in Adobe, go to Tools, Text Recognition, In This File, and select All Pages. If you see the message, “Acrobat could not perform recognition (OCR) on this page because this page contains renderable text,” click “Ignore future errors in this document,” and click OK. Source ↗
initial status hearing, based on a close review of the pleadings and the initial status report. The parties must issue discovery and respond to discovery as needed to meet the discovery deadlines, which means planning ahead so that there is no last-minute scramble as the deadline approaches. Also, any motion to extend discovery must be presented in writing (after conferral with the other side), filed in advance of the fact discovery deadline, and must demonstrate good cause for the extension. Judge Valderrama generally will not set a case for trial until it is really ready for trial (that is, all discovery is done, dispositive motions denied, and settlement efforts exhausted). That means that the parties get a real trial date, not a placeholder, which allows the parties and witnesses to better plan and allows the Court’s trial calendar to be a real one, with no double-booking, very rare continuances, and very rare last-minute settlements. Limit on the Number of Requests to Admit The Court sets a limit of 25 requests to admit, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 36, per side. Per “side” means parties represented by the same counsel. Emergency Motions Please be advised that the Court will hear emergency motions only in exceptional circumstances after making a preliminary determination of whether an actual emergency exists. Emergency matters must be of such a nature that a delay in hearing them would cause serious harm to one or more of the parties. Requests to set a hearing on an emergency motion shall be made to the courtroom deputy with as much advance notice as possible. All reasonable efforts must be made to give actual notice to opposing counsel. Experience for Newer Attorneys Judge Valderrama strongly encourages attorneys and their clients to provide substantive speaking opportunities to less experienced attorneys during the following Court proceedings: motion and status hearings, settlement conferences, claim-construction hearings, pretrial conferences, evidentiary hearings, and sentencings. To that end, Judge Valderrama allows more than one attorney per side to speak during any proceeding if the attorneys let Judge Valderrama know at the beginning of the hearing that a less experienced attorney is speaking under the supervision of a lead attorney. So lead attorneys may not only confer with the newer attorney to suggest additional argument or examination questions, they also may jump in as reasonably necessary to deliver additional argument or even to conduct additional witness examination. The Court also strongly encourages less experienced attorneys to conduct witness examinations or other proceedings at trial such as opening statements or closing arguments; however, the Court must balance the benefits of experience for newer litigators with efficiency and fairness considerations. Source ↗
Any cases that were previously governed by the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Program (MIDP) will remain subject to it after reassignment to Judge Valderrama. No other cases will be governed by the MIDP. Source ↗
Motion Practice Motion Calls/Courtesy Copies As stated on the main page, unless ordered by the Court, Judge Valderrama does not hold motions calls. Parties are not to schedule motion presentment hearings or deliver courtesy copies to the courthouse. Conferral with Opposing Party Before filing a motion, the movant’s counsel must ask opposing counsel whether there is an objection to the motion. This conferral requirement also applies to pro se parties (that is, parties not represented by counsel), regardless of whether the pro se party is the movant or opposing party. The motion should clearly indicate whether it is opposed or unopposed. This requirement does not apply to: motions to withdraw as counsel, motions to dismiss, motions to remand, motions for summary judgment, and motions for leave to file a sur-response (where such request is based upon the argument that the opposing party raised new arguments in its reply). Electronic Filing The Court strongly recommends counsel to convert any word-processed document (e.g., briefs and memoranda) into a PDF document by printing or publishing it to PDF rather than manually scanning a paper copy into PDF format. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. For other filings (including exhibits in support of a motion or any Local Rule 56.1 Statement), the Court also strongly recommends counsel to run an OCR conversion on it before uploading it onto CM/ECF. To do this in Adobe, go to Tools, Text Recognition, In This File, and select All Pages. If you see the message, “Acrobat could not perform recognition (OCR) on this page because this page contains renderable text,” click “Ignore future errors in this document,” and click OK. Source ↗
Motion Practice Motion Calls/Courtesy Copies As stated on the main page, unless ordered by the Court, Judge Valderrama does not hold motions calls. Parties are not to schedule motion presentment hearings or deliver courtesy copies to the courthouse. Conferral with Opposing Party Before filing a motion, the movant’s counsel must ask opposing counsel whether there is an objection to the motion. This conferral requirement also applies to pro se parties (that is, parties not represented by counsel), regardless of whether the pro se party is the movant or opposing party. The motion should clearly indicate whether it is opposed or unopposed. This requirement does not apply to: motions to withdraw as counsel, motions to dismiss, motions to remand, motions for summary judgment, and motions for leave to file a sur-response (where such request is based upon the argument that the opposing party raised new arguments in its reply). Electronic Filing The Court strongly recommends counsel to convert any word-processed document (e.g., briefs and memoranda) into a PDF document by printing or publishing it to PDF rather than manually scanning a paper copy into PDF format. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. For other filings (including exhibits in support of a motion or any Local Rule 56.1 Statement), the Court also strongly recommends counsel to run an OCR conversion on it before uploading it onto CM/ECF. To do this in Adobe, go to Tools, Text Recognition, In This File, and select All Pages. If you see the message, “Acrobat could not perform recognition (OCR) on this page because this page contains renderable text,” click “Ignore future errors in this document,” and click OK. Patent Cases Judge Valderrama follows the Local Patent Rules for the Northern District of Illinois in all patent cases, unless ordered otherwise. Source ↗
Motion Practice Motion Calls/Courtesy Copies As stated on the main page, unless ordered by the Court, Judge Valderrama does not hold motions calls. Parties are not to schedule motion presentment hearings or deliver courtesy copies to the courthouse. Conferral with Opposing Party Before filing a motion, the movant’s counsel must ask opposing counsel whether there is an objection to the motion. This conferral requirement also applies to pro se parties (that is, parties not represented by counsel), regardless of whether the pro se party is the movant or opposing party. The motion should clearly indicate whether it is opposed or unopposed. This requirement does not apply to: motions to withdraw as counsel, motions to dismiss, motions to remand, motions for summary judgment, and motions for leave to file a sur-response (where such request is based upon the argument that the opposing party raised new arguments in its reply). Electronic Filing The Court strongly recommends counsel to convert any word-processed document (e.g., briefs and memoranda) into a PDF document by printing or publishing it to PDF rather than manually scanning a paper copy into PDF format. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not. For other filings (including exhibits in support of a motion or any Local Rule 56.1 Statement), the Court also strongly recommends counsel to run an OCR conversion on it before uploading it onto CM/ECF. To do this in Adobe, go to Tools, Text Recognition, In This File, and select All Pages. If you see the message, “Acrobat could not perform recognition (OCR) on this page because this page contains renderable text,” click “Ignore future errors in this document,” and click OK. Patent Cases Judge Valderrama follows the Local Patent Rules for the Northern District of Illinois in all patent cases, unless ordered otherwise. Source ↗
Judge Valderrama will presumptively require a bond of $1,000 per defendant in counterfeit product cases, which amount has, in the absence of adversarial testing, been deemed adequate for the payment of such damages as any person may be entitled to recover as a result of a wrongful restraint. Plaintiffs should inform the Court of any circumstances that make such a bond inappropriate. Source ↗