UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
Choose an item. DIVISION
, )
)
Choose an item., )
)
v. ) Case No.
)
, )
)
Choose an item.. )
INITIAL ORDER
GOVERNING ALL FURTHER PROCEEDINGS1
I. Discovery
The parties may commence discovery pursuant to the terms of Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 26. In cases removed from state court in which discovery requests
had been served before the removal, those discovery requests shall be deemed to
have been served on the date the parties file their Rule 26 report. Consistent with
Local Rule 5.3, the parties are instructed not to file discovery materials with the
Clerk of Court as a matter of course.
Before filing any motion relating to a discovery dispute, the moving party
must serve the opposing party with a letter identifying each issue or discovery
1
This order and Judge Borden’s other standard orders in civil cases are available at
http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov/content/magistrate-judge-gray-m-borden. The Local Rules of this
court may be accessed at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov. The court assumes that all attorneys and
pro se parties appearing in this case have read the Local Rules and will comply with them.
request in dispute, stating the moving party’s position with respect to each such issue
or request, and specifying the terms of the discovery order to be sought. Thereafter,
counsel for the parties must confer in person or by telephone in a good faith effort
to resolve the dispute without court intervention.
If the parties are unable to resolve their discovery dispute, they must prepare
a joint stipulation to be filed as an attachment to a motion to compel or another
motion. The motion should state the dispute and the requested relief. It should not
contain any argument. The attached joint stipulation must specifically identify all
issues or discovery requests in dispute and, with respect to each such issue or request,
state (1) the contentions of each party, (2) the legal authority supporting those
contentions, and (3) how each party proposed to resolve the dispute at the
conference. For example, if the sufficiency of an answer to an interrogatory is in
dispute, the stipulation must state (1) both the interrogatory and the allegedly
insufficient answer, verbatim; (2) each party’s contentions about the particular
interrogatory and the legal authority supporting those contentions, separately; and
(3) each party’s proposal for resolving the dispute, separately.
The joint stipulation should be a substitute for briefing so that the court can
rule on disputed discovery matters quickly, as case needs often require. For this
reason, the moving party should not make additional arguments in the discovery
motion that were not included in the joint stipulation and the opposing party should
2
not expect to have an opportunity to respond in writing to the motion.
The court will not consider any discovery motion without a joint stipulation
or a declaration from counsel for the moving party establishing that opposing
counsel refused to confer or to provide the opposing party’s portion of the joint
stipulation. Failure to cooperate in this process may result in the imposition of
sanctions.
II. Electronic Submissions
A. CM/ECF Record
The official record of this case is maintained electronically pursuant to
CM/ECF. Documents must be filed through CM/ECF except that a party appearing
pro se may file documents in person with the Clerk of Court. Except in extraordinary
circumstances, all filings must be consistent with the Civil Administrative
Procedures Manual.
B. Protected Information
Counsel and pro se filers must comply with the Administrative Procedures
Manual’s requirements for redacting personal identifiers (e.g., Social Security
numbers, drivers’ license numbers, birth dates, addresses, telephone numbers, and
bank account or credit card information) and other personal or sensitive information
in compliance with the E-Government Act.
When filing material under seal, all parties must comply with the Civil
3
Administrative Procedures Manual.
C. Communication with Chambers
The court does not permit ex parte email communications; all emails to the
chambers must show a copy to all opposing counsel or pro se parties. The address
for the chambers is
[email protected].
When filing a motion for protective order, the parties should email chambers
a copy of the proposed protective order in Word format.
D. Pro Se Parties
The court refers all pro se parties to the resources on the webpage for the
Northern District of Alabama, https://www.alnd.uscourts.gov/pro-se-parties,
particularly the Guide to Proceeding Without a Lawyer.
III. Motion Practice
All motions must comply with the requirements of this order. Except for good
cause shown, motions and briefs that do not conform with the requirements of this
order may be stricken. The following must appear on the first page of every motion
or brief directly below the case number in the caption of the pleading:
(1) requests for oral argument, if applicable; and (2) an indication of whether the
motion is OPPOSED or UNOPPOSED. Materials submitted after the close of the
submission schedule will not be considered absent leave of court.
4
A. Format for All Motions and Briefs
The parties’ motions and briefs must be in Times New Roman font and
14-point type. Footnotes must be in 12-point type. Documents must be double-
spaced except that footnotes and indented quotations may be single-spaced.
Citations to the record must refer to the document number and paragraph or
line number, where available. If the parties are unable to cite to a specific paragraph
or line number, they should cite the document number and page number.
B. Summary Judgment Motion Requirements
1. Briefing Schedule
The parties will receive a scheduling order with a deadline for filing
dispositive motions. Any motion for summary judgment, supporting brief, and
evidentiary materials will be due on or before that deadline. The responsive
submission of the party opposing the motion for summary judgment is due no later
than 21 days after the motion for summary judgment is filed, unless otherwise
ordered by the court. The movant’s reply brief, if any, must be filed no later than 14
days after the date on which the opponent’s responsive brief was due, unless
otherwise ordered by the court.
2. Page Limitations
Initial and response briefs are limited to 30 pages, exclusive of exhibits.
Reply briefs are limited to 15 pages.
5
C. Non-Summary Judgment Motion Requirements
A party filing a non-summary judgment motion shall either incorporate into
the motion the arguments and authorities upon which the motion relies or
simultaneously file a separate brief.
Initial and responsive briefs for dispositive motions other than summary
judgment are limited to 15 pages, exclusive of exhibits. Reply briefs are limited to
10 pages.
D. Requirements for Evidentiary Materials
Simultaneously with their briefs, the parties must file all evidentiary materials
(e.g., affidavits, exhibits, deposition transcripts, etc.) in support of or in opposition
to a motion, except that materials included in the moving party’s initial evidentiary
submission may be referenced by any party opposing the motion without
resubmitting additional copies of the same materials.
While the court reserves the right to consider evidentiary materials that are
not specifically referenced in the brief, no party has a right to assume that the court
will consider such materials. A specific reference must include the exhibit number,
page, and line number when appropriate.
Each volume of evidentiary material must include a table of contents that
includes a brief narrative description of each document (e.g., Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1,
the Deposition of John Doe). For ease of citation, each affidavit, exhibit, deposition,
6
etc. must be separately identified by a capital letter or number (e.g., Exhibit A or
Exhibit 1); and, if the exhibit contains more than one page, each page must be
separately numbered. Parties are directed to submit ENTIRE depositions, even if
relying only on an excerpt, in travel-transcript format consisting of no more than
four pages of deposition text per page.
E. Motions to Withdraw as Counsel
A motion to withdraw as counsel must include a certification that the moving
attorney has served a copy of the motion on his or her client and has informed the
client of the right to file an objection with the court within 14 days of the date of the
notification.
F. Courtesy Copies
Counsel should provide courtesy copies of dispositive motions, briefs, and
evidentiary materials in support of those motions. No other courtesy copies are
required. Courtesy copies should be in a three-ring binder with exhibits clearly
marked with dividing tabs. The filing party must submit to the Clerk’s office, within
three business days of the filing, an exact courtesy copy of the submission, reflecting
the CM/ECF case number, document number, date, and page stamp on each page.
Deliveries are not accepted in the court’s chambers.
IV. Alternative Dispute Resolution
All parties should give early consideration to the possibility of settlement to
7
avoid unnecessary costs and fees. The court requires that all attorneys, along with
their clients, make an early analysis of the case and prepare to discuss settlement at
an early date. The parties also shall consider and discuss whether this action may be
suitable for mediation, whether with a private mediator or another magistrate judge
of this court. At any stage, a party may make a written request for a settlement
conference with the court if the party believes it would be conducive to settlement.
V. Particular Cases
If a party anticipates that it may—for any reason other than as a sanction under
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure—seek an award of fees from the opposing party
pursuant to a statute or common law or an agreement between the parties, then the
party must comply with the mandatory rules of fee shifting cases. Failure to comply
may result in denial of a request for attorneys’ fees. Judge Borden’s webpage
contains standard orders for fee shifting cases and cases that involve EEOC charges.
DONE and ORDERED on September 11, 2025.
_________________________________
GRAY M. BORDEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
8
