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D.N.J. · Judge Donio · Practice Guide

Hon. Ann Marie Donio

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) ↗

Lead counsel requirements
👤 Judge Donio — standing order

4. Personal Appearance of Parties Required: All parties, adjusters for insured defendants, and other party representatives with full and complete settlement authority, as well as the principal attorneys responsible for the litigation, shall appear in person and remain available for the duration of the settlement conference.

Settlement notification
👤 Judge Donio — standing order

3. Settlement Memoranda: Counsel shall submit settlement memoranda directly to Chambers no later than one (1) week prior to the settlement conference via email at njdnef_donio@njd.uscourts.gov. These settlement memoranda shall not be electronically filed, but shall be exchanged between the parties no later than one (1) week prior to the settlement conference.

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) ↗

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 Donio — standing order
Standing order

Copies of Papers – Magistrate Judge Donio requires that a courtesy copy of briefs, letter memoranda, motion papers, and proposed orders be submitted to chambers for the Court's convenience.

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) ↗

👤 Judge Donio — standing order

Copies of Papers – Magistrate Judge Donio requires that a courtesy copy of briefs, letter memoranda, motion papers, and proposed orders be submitted to chambers for the Court's convenience.

Filing under seal
👤 Judge Donio — standing order

Motions to Seal – In addition to filing materials subject to a motion to seal with the Clerk pursuant to L. Civ. R. 5.3, a copy of such materials should be submitted to chambers in a sealed envelope marked "Courtesy copies of documents designated as confidential materials filed pursuant to L. Civ. R. 5.3."

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) ↗

Remote appearances
👤 Judge Donio — standing order

Telephone Conferences – Magistrate Judge Donio is amenable to telephone conferences in lieu of formal in-court hearings on motions and may conduct initial and status conferences by telephone.

Continuances & calendar conflicts
👤 Judge Donio — standing order

Adjournment Requests - The party seeking an adjournment should attempt to gain the adversary's consent before submitting the request. The adjournment request should be made in writing and should set forth the date of the conference, the basis for the adjournment request, whether the request is being made with consent, and the length of adjournment being sought.

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) ↗

Discovery dispute procedure
👤 Judge Donio — standing order

Discovery Letters and Motions - Counsel shall meet and confer in a good faith attempt to informally resolve all discovery or case management disputes before seeking the Court's intervention. See Local Civil Rule 37.1(a)(1). Absent exigent circumstances, the Court expects parties to "meet and confer" in-person, via telephone, or video conference before making a discovery application. Any dispute not resolved shall be brought to the Court's attention by letter after counsel's good faith attempt to resolve the dispute has failed and shall set forth in detail the specific efforts that were made to resolve the dispute before contacting the Court. No discovery motion shall be made without prior leave of Court. See Local Civil Rule 37.1(b).

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