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D.N.J. · Judge O'Hearn · Practice Guide

Hon. Christine P. O'Hearn

All local rules for D.N.J., integrated with this judge's published requirements.

Before You File
Ex parte applications
🏛 D.N.J. local rule

(b) Applications for orders to show cause, and for consent and ex parte orders, shall be filed with the Clerk, who shall promptly deliver each application to the District Judge to whom the case has been assigned. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 65.1(b) ↗

Contacting chambers
👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order

IX. COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COURT/CHAMBERS Please do not contact Chambers with legal or procedural questions that are covered by the Local Rules of this Court or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Communications with law clerks are limited to Chambers' procedural matters only and not as to any substantive matters.

Drafting the Motion
Length limits — motion, opposition, reply
🏛 D.N.J. local rule
Motion

(b) Any brief shall include a table of contents and a table of authorities and shall not exceed 40 ordinary typed or printed pages (15 pages for any reply brief submitted under L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(3) and any brief in support of or in opposition to a motion for reconsideration submitted under L.Civ.R. 7.1(i)), excluding pages required for the table of contents and authorities. Briefs of greater length will only be accepted if special permission of the Judge is obtained prior to submission of the brief. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 7.2(b) ↗

Opposition

(b) Any brief shall include a table of contents and a table of authorities and shall not exceed 40 ordinary typed or printed pages (15 pages for any reply brief submitted under L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(3) and any brief in support of or in opposition to a motion for reconsideration submitted under L.Civ.R. 7.1(i)), excluding pages required for the table of contents and authorities. Briefs of greater length will only be accepted if special permission of the Judge is obtained prior to submission of the brief. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 7.2(b) ↗

Reply

(b) Any brief shall include a table of contents and a table of authorities and shall not exceed 40 ordinary typed or printed pages (15 pages for any reply brief submitted under L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(3) and any brief in support of or in opposition to a motion for reconsideration submitted under L.Civ.R. 7.1(i)), excluding pages required for the table of contents and authorities. Briefs of greater length will only be accepted if special permission of the Judge is obtained prior to submission of the brief. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 7.2(b) ↗

👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order
Opposition

Within seven (7) days after receipt of this letter, all adversaries must submit a written response, not to exceed three (3) single-spaced pages.

Reply

No party may submit a reply letter unless directed by the Court.

Font & formatting
🏛 D.N.J. local rule

(c) All briefs shall be in black lettering on paper size 8.5 x 11 inches. All margins shall be not less than one inch on sides, top, and bottom. (d) Each page of a brief shall contain double-spaced text and/or single-spaced footnotes or inserts. Typeface shall be in 12-point non-proportional font (such as Courier New 12) or an equivalent 14-point proportional font (such as Times New Roman 14). If a 12-point proportional font is used instead, the page limits shall be reduced by 25 percent (e.g., the 40 page limit becomes 30 pages in this font and the 15 page limit becomes 11.25 pages). Footnotes shall be printed in the same size of type utilized in the text. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 7.2(c)–(d) ↗

👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order

VI. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS All parties, with the exception of pro se parties, shall file all documents, in both civil and criminal matters, via ECF. All papers electronically submitted shall, to the extent possible, be submitted in a text-searchable PDF format.

Filing & Scheduling
Briefing schedule & hearing date
🏛 D.N.J. local rule
Notice period

(1) No application will be heard unless the moving papers and a brief, prepared in accordance with L.Civ.R. 7.2, and proof or acknowledgment of service on all other parties, are filed with the Clerk at least 24 days prior to the noticed motion day. The brief shall be a separate document for submission to the Court, and shall note the motion day on the cover page. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(1) ↗

Hearing days

(a) Except during vacation periods of the Court, the regular motion days for all vicinages are the first and third Monday of each month. Whenever a regular motion day falls on a holiday, the motion day becomes the following non-holiday. The Clerk shall publish a list of all regular motion days for each calendar year, and corresponding filing deadlines, on the website of the Court and in appropriate legal publications. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 78.1(a) ↗

Chambers / courtesy copies
👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order
Standing order

II. COURTESY COPIES If electronically filed documents exceed fifty (50) pages, two courtesy copies of the electronically filed/ECF stamped motion papers shall be mailed to Chambers within seven (7) days the papers are filed on ECF. All exhibits shall be clearly labeled, tabbed and bound. Paperclips, binder clips and rubber bands will not be accepted. *Sealed submissions will not have the electronically filed/ECF stamp.

Proposed orders
🏛 D.N.J. local rule

(e) Preparation of Order All filed motions shall have annexed thereto a proposed order. If the proposed order does not adequately reflect the Court’s ruling, the prevailing party, if directed by the Court, shall submit an order within seven days of the ruling on the motion on notice to all other parties. Unless the Court otherwise directs, if no specific objection to that order with reasons therefor is received within seven days of its receipt by the Court, the order may be signed. If such an objection is made, the matter may be listed for hearing at the discretion of the Court. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 7.1(e) ↗

ECF stamp requirements
👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order

*Sealed submissions will not have the electronically filed/ECF stamp.

Filing under seal
👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order

*Sealed submissions will not have the electronically filed/ECF stamp.

The Hearing
Oral argument
🏛 D.N.J. local rule

(b) All motions and other applications will be decided on the papers submitted unless: (1) a party requests oral argument and the request is granted by the Judge; or (2) the Court, sua sponte, directs that oral argument be held. Any request for oral argument shall be clearly marked on the first page of the notice of motion and/or the brief filed by the party making such request. If oral argument is to be heard, the Court will so notify the parties and designate the day and time of the argument. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 78.1(b) ↗

👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order
Default practice

X. ORAL ARGUMENT If the Court grants a request for oral argument or wishes to hear argument when no request has been made, the parties will be notified via ECF. The Court is more likely to grant oral argument if a party represents, at the time of the filing of the request for argument, that a junior attorney (i.e. less than five years' experience) will present the argument. A supervising attorney may attend to assist only if necessary.

Decided on the papers?

Yes — motions decided on the papers without oral argument.

Continuances & calendar conflicts
👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order

VIII. ADJOURNMENT REQUESTS Any request for an adjournment shall include: (1) The date(s) to be adjourned; (2) The number of previous requests; (3) The reason for the request; and (4) If all parties consent. Communications regarding scheduling and adjournments are handled by the Deputy Clerk, Haley Minix. If an adjournment is being sought, counsel shall first attempt to obtain consent from all parties and provide the Court with new dates upon which all parties are available. Absent exigent circumstances, adjournment requests made less than two days prior will not be granted.

Discovery
Discovery referral procedure
🏛 D.N.J. local rule

(a) Conference to Resolve Disputes (1) Counsel shall confer to resolve any discovery dispute. Any such dispute not resolved shall be presented by telephone conference call or letter to the Magistrate Judge. This presentation shall precede any formal motion. D.N.J. L.Civ.R. 37.1(a)(1) (discovery disputes presented to the Magistrate Judge before any formal motion) ↗

More from Judge O'Hearn’s procedures
👤 Judge O'Hearn — standing order
Pre motion procedure

III. PRE-MOTION CONFERENCE In an effort to resolve cases expeditiously, before bringing a motion to dismiss, motion for a more definite statement, motion to strike a pleading and/or any part thereof, motion to remand, motion for change of venue, motion to compel arbitration, or motion for judgment on the pleadings, a party must submit a letter, not to exceed three (3) single-spaced pages, requesting a pre-motion conference. The letter must set forth the basis for the anticipated motion and include citations to relevant authority. Within seven (7) days after receipt of this letter, all adversaries must submit a written response, not to exceed three (3) single-spaced pages. No party may submit a reply letter unless directed by the Court. Affidavits and exhibits are not permitted unless directed by the Court. A proffer by the attorney, however, of the contents of any such affidavit(s) and/or exhibit(s) shall suffice. The Court will attempt to resolve the dispute(s) at a pre-motion conference (in person or via telephone/videoconference), to the extent possible. If the dispute cannot be resolved at the pre-motion conference (or if the Court determines that a conference would not be helpful), the moving party may proceed with filing its motion. To be clear, this procedure does not preclude a party from filing any of the above motions pursuant to Local Civil Rule 12.1. Rather, the Court hopes to use this procedure to advance the case efficiently and minimize the costs of litigation to the parties. In addition, compliance with this procedure shall not be deemed a waiver of any parties' defenses as to lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process, or insufficient service of process. A party's submission of a pre-motion letter will toll that party's time to file its motion (or answer) through (i) the date of the pre-motion conference or (ii) the Court's decision not to conduct such a conference. If the Court determines that a pre-motion conference would not be helpful and instructs a party to proceed with filing its proposed motion without a conference, that party shall have an additional seven (7) days to file after its Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a) deadline, unless additional time is stipulated or the Court so orders. This letter exchange does not apply in cases in which either side is pro se or in bankruptcy or social security appeals. Source ↗

Summary judgment procedure

V. RESPONSES TO STATEMENTS OF MATERIAL FACTS When responding to a Statement of Material Facts, the responding party should include the fact that they are responding to and provide a response as to whether it is admitted or denied in a single document. Stated differently, any response must include both the fact as stated by the moving party, and the opposing party's response, in a single document (i.e., similar to the usual format for interrogatory responses). Non-compliant filings will be administratively terminated and required to be re-filed. EXAMPLE: 1. The sky is blue. a. Response: Admitted. 2. The grass is red. a. Response: Denied. See …….. Source ↗

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