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D.N.J. · Judge Salas · Practice Guide

Hon. Esther Salas

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 Salas — standing order

Before corresponding with the Court, litigants must consult the relevant rules for the Third Circuit, the District of New Jersey, this document, and the docket on the CM/ECF system. Only after doing so is it appropriate to contact the Court. To the extent you wish to contact the Court on a routine scheduling matter (e.g., an extension for the submission of a brief), please do so with as much advance notice as possible, and please do so in writing via CM/ECF so that all litigants are apprised of the request. The Court will not accept oral requests for extensions over the phone or via fax without a corresponding request via CM/ECF.

Settlement notification
👤 Judge Salas — standing order

Correspondence to advise the Court that a case has been settled or dismissed is also appropriate, as is correspondence on any matter when specifically requested by the Court.

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 Salas — standing order
Motion

Judge Salas requires strict compliance with the length limitations and format requirements for briefs set forth in Local Rule 7.2.

Opposition

Judge Salas requires strict compliance with the length limitations and format requirements for briefs set forth in Local Rule 7.2.

Reply

Replies are generally permitted pursuant to Local Civil Rule 7.1(d). However, according to Local Civil Rule 7.1(d)(3), no reply papers shall be filed concerning motions for Cross-Motion under Local Civil Rule 7.1(h); Reconsideration under Local Civil Rule 7.1(i); Case Management under Local Civil Rule 16.1(g)(2); and Discovery under Local Civil Rule 37.1(b)(3), unless the Court permits otherwise. No sur-replies are permitted without permission. They are strongly discouraged unless it is apparent on the face of the submission that such additional briefing is necessary to rebut an issue or point of law not discussed in the initial briefs. Sur-reply briefs may be filed and served within seven (7) days of service of the brief to which the sur-reply responds unless the Court sets a different schedule. Sur-reply submissions should not contain a repeat recitation of the facts of the case and, without leave of Court for good cause shown, must not exceed fifteen (15) pages in total.

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) ↗

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 Salas — standing order
Standing order

Courtesy copies of motions need NOT be submitted to the Court unless otherwise advised by Judge Salas's staff.

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 Salas — standing order

All such letters—as with all correspondence with the Court—should be filed electronically via CM/ECF.

Filing under seal
👤 Judge Salas — standing order

The Magistrate Judge handles motions to seal.

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 Salas — standing order
Default practice

If the Court determines that oral argument will be helpful in deciding a matter, Judge Salas will schedule it and the parties will be specifically advised of a date and time for oral argument via CM/ECF.

Decided on the papers?

Yes — motions decided on the papers without oral argument.

Remote appearances
👤 Judge Salas — standing order

Telephone conferences with all litigants may be used at the Court's discretion to resolve scheduling matters, time extensions, or other disputes. Litigants will be notified of the date and time for the telephone conference. It will be the responsibility of litigants for the moving or initiating party to arrange the telephone conference and to contact Judge Salas's Chambers after all litigants are present on the call unless otherwise advised by the Court.

Continuances & calendar conflicts
👤 Judge Salas — standing order

Litigants should expect the Court to maintain the dates contained in the Scheduling Order, unless there is good cause to justify a change. Generally, Judge Salas will grant a short (i.e., two weeks or fewer) continuance or extension that will not affect discovery dates, motion-decision dates, hearing dates, or trial dates, if requested with the agreement of all litigants. Any other request for a continuance or extension should set forth in detail the basis for the request and whether the request is agreed to or opposed by the other litigant(s). A request for an extension or continuance of longer than two (2) weeks regarding the trial date, a discovery cutoff date, or the deadline for filing dispositive motions must be made sufficiently prior to the due date to allow time for the Court to consider it and should set forth compelling reason(s) for the relief sought. An unopposed request may be made by letter to the Court and should include the reasons for the request. All such letters—as with all correspondence with the Court—should be filed electronically via CM/ECF.

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) ↗

👤 Judge Salas — standing order

In general, and unless otherwise directed by the Court, all discovery-related correspondence, as well as any correspondence related to non-dispositive motions, should be addressed to the Magistrate Judge assigned to the case. All correspondence related to dispositive motions, trials, and related oral arguments should be addressed to Judge Salas.

Discovery dispute procedure
👤 Judge Salas — standing order

In general, and unless otherwise directed by the Court, all discovery-related correspondence, as well as any correspondence related to non-dispositive motions, should be addressed to the Magistrate Judge assigned to the case.

More from Judge Salas’s procedures
👤 Judge Salas — standing order
Summary judgment procedure

F. Summary Judgment Motions Local Civil Rule 56.1 requires: On motions for summary judgment, the movant shall furnish a statement which sets forth material facts as to which there does not exist a genuine issue, in separately numbered paragraphs citing to the affidavits and other documents submitted in support of the motion. A motion for summary judgment unaccompanied by a statement of material facts not in dispute shall be dismissed. D.N.J. Civ. R. 56.1 (a) (emphasis added). Additionally, the Court will not consider any assertion of a fact that is not supported by a citation to the record. A litigant opposing summary judgment must state in similar paragraph form whether that litigant agrees or disagrees that the fact(s) as stated by the moving litigant are undisputed. If a litigant contends that a fact is in dispute, citation must be made to the record evidence that supports the litigant’s view of that particular fact. Failure to address the moving party’s factual contentions in this manner will lead to the Court’s consideration of the moving party’s factual assertion(s) as undisputed. Source ↗

content assembled from published local rules & standing orders · click any section in the rail for the full treatment
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