All local rules for D. Mass., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
Page Limits: Counsel are reminded of the twenty (20) page limit set forth in L.R. 7.1(b)(4). Any papers exceeding this limit may be filed only with leave of the Court.
The moving party may file a reply as of right within seven (7) days of the filing of the opposition, except as to motions for summary judgment where a reply may be filed within fourteen (14) days after the opposition is served. A reply shall not exceed five (5) pages. A motion for leave is required to file a longer reply or to obtain a longer period to reply.
Opposition: An opposition is due within fourteen (14) days of service of the motion, except as to motions for summary judgment, where oppositions may be filed within twenty-one (21) days. See L.R. 7.1, L.R. 56.1.
Counsel shall provide one courtesy copy to the Clerk's Office of any electronically filed motion, opposition, or reply, including any supporting documents/exhibits, that exceeds one-hundred (100) pages in length. Courtesy copies shall be double-sided. Courtesy copies must be stamped or otherwise prominently marked as follows: “COURTESY COPY – DO NOT SCAN.” Courtesy Copies shall be delivered to the Clerk's Office within 3 business days of the electronic filing. Counsel shall include exhibit tabs. Litigants proceeding in forma pauperis are exempt from this requirement.
Any party making or opposing a motion may include a request for oral argument in a separate paragraph of that motion or opposition. See L.R. 7.1(d). The Court will determine whether a hearing is necessary and set a hearing date on the docket as needed. Otherwise, the Court will decide the motion on the papers.
Yes — motions decided on the papers without oral argument.
In civil cases, I conduct most scheduling and status conferences via Zoom, unless the parties notify my Courtroom Deputy ahead of time that they would prefer an in-person conference. ... I would consider holding any non-evidentiary motion hearing or pretrial conference via Zoom upon request, if the request is made for a good reason.
Typically, do you resolve discovery motions or do you refer them to the magistrate judge? A16: I typically resolve them myself.
I expect that the parties will work cooperatively during discovery and that they will be able to work through most issues on their own. But if, after a meet and confer, they are not able to resolve an issue, I encourage the parties to jointly summarize the issue (1-2 pages) and email it to my Courtroom Deputy and request a Zoom conference.
Deadlines: Except for good cause shown, discovery motions must be filed no later than the close of fact discovery or the close of expert discovery, whichever deadline is relevant. ... The moving party's memorandum in support of any discovery motion shall include each interrogatory, deposition question, request for production, request for admission, or other discovery matter to be decided by the Court, and the response thereto. The moving party must state its position as to each contested issue, with supporting legal authority, immediately following each contested item.
Junior Attorneys: Counsel shall review the Court's Standing Order Regarding Courtroom Opportunities for Relatively Inexperienced Attorneys, which encourages the participation of junior associates and other less experienced lawyers in all court proceedings. In particular, the Court strongly encourages the participation in court of an attorney who wrote the substantial majority of a party's briefing relating to the relevant proceeding before the Court. Source ↗
When citing to documents filed on the Court's electronic docket, e.g., the complaint, another party's memorandum, or an exhibit to a prior submission, parties shall use the following citation format to ensure that such citations are recognized by ECF's Citation Links feature: (Doc No. at __). This convention shall be used instead of formats that use the title of the cited document, e.g., the Bluebook format. Source ↗
Cross-Motions: If both sides are filing motions for summary judgment, they shall do so as set forth below. a. Plaintiff shall file its motion, with a memorandum not to exceed twenty (20) pages, on or before the date set forth in the Scheduling Order governing the case; b. Within thirty (30) days of Plaintiff's submission pursuant to Section D(2)(a), Defendant shall file a single memorandum as both its memorandum in opposition to Plaintiff's motion and its memorandum in support of its cross-motion, not to exceed thirty (30) pages; c. Within twenty-one (21) days of Defendant's submission pursuant to Section D(2)(b), Plaintiff shall file a single memorandum as both its reply in support of its motion and its opposition to Defendant's cross-motion, not to exceed fifteen (15) pages; and d. Within fourteen (14) days of Plaintiff's submission pursuant to Section D(2)(c), Defendant may file a memorandum as its reply in support of its cross-motion, not to exceed five (5) pages. Source ↗
Obligation to Confer: Counsel are reminded of their obligation to confer in good faith to resolve or narrow any issues prior to filing any motion, as set forth in L.R. 7.1(a)(2) and L.R. 37.1. Failure to do so may result in a denial of the motion. Source ↗