UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
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INITIAL ORDER
GOVERNING ALL FURTHER PROCEEDINGS1
I. Discovery
The parties may begin discovery pursuant to the terms of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
26. In cases removed from state court in which discovery requests were served before removal,
those discovery requests shall be deemed to have been served on the date the parties file their Rule
26 report. The parties are instructed to review Local Rule 5.3 regarding the non-filing of discovery
materials in civil cases.
Before filing any motion regarding a discovery dispute, the moving party must serve the
opposing party with a letter identifying each issue or discovery 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 shall confer in person or by
telephone in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute in whole or part without court intervention.
If the parties are unable to resolve their discovery dispute, they shall prepare a joint
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This Order, along with Judge England’s other standard orders in civil cases, is available at
http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov/content/magistrate-judge-john-h-england-iii. The Local Rules of
this court may be accessed at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov. The court assumes that each attorney
and pro se party who appears in this case has read the Local Rules and is prepared to comply with
them.
stipulation to be filed as an attachment to a motion to compel or other motion. The motion may
describe the dispute and the requested relief, but it should not contain any argument. The joint
stipulation shall specifically identify all issues or discovery requests in dispute and, with respect
to each such issue or request, shall 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 shall state (1) both the interrogatory and the allegedly insufficient answer, verbatim;
(2) each party’s contentions as to that particular interrogatory and the legal authority supporting
those contentions, separately; and (3) each party’s proposal for resolution of the dispute at the
conference, separately.
The joint stipulation will be a substitute for briefing on the issues in dispute and is intended
to allow the court to 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 not expect to have an
opportunity to respond in writing to the motion.
The court will not consider any discovery motion in the absence of 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 of counsel to comply
with or cooperate in the foregoing 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 in PDF (Portable Document Format), unless submitted
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by a party appearing pro se, in which instance documents should be filed with the Clerk of Court.
Except in extraordinary circumstances, all filings shall be consistent with the Court’s Civil
Administrative Procedures Manual found on the court’s website.2
B. Protected Information
Counsel are reminded to comply with the court’s Administrative Procedures Manual for
electronic filing with respect to redacting personal identifiers (e.g., Social Security numbers,
drivers’ license numbers, birth dates, addresses, telephone numbers, bank account and credit card
information) and other personal or sensitive information, in compliance with the E-Government
Act.
When filing material under seal, parties MUST comply with the Administrative Procedures
Manual.
C. Required Electronic Submissions to Chambers
Counsel must e-mail to chambers copies of all proposed orders in Word Format. The
address for the undersigned judge’s chambers is
[email protected]. Ex parte
communications are not allowed. All communications to the chambers’ email address must
show a copy to all opposing counsel or pro se parties.
III. Motion Practice
All motions MUST comply with all requirements of this Order. Except for good cause
shown, motions and/or briefs that do not conform to 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
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The Administrative Procedures Manual is available under the “CM/ECF Info” tab, or at:
http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov/sites/alnd/files/forms/Civil%20Administrative%20Procedures%20
Manual%206-13.pdf
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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.
A. Format Applicable to All Motions and Briefs
The parties’ motions and briefs shall be in Times New Roman font and 14 point type.
Footnotes may be in 12 point type. Documents shall be double-spaced; footnotes and indented
quotations that exceed three lines 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 shall
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 twenty one (21) calendar days after the motion for summary judgment
is filed. The movant’s reply brief, if any, must be filed no later than fourteen (14) calendar 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 thirty (30) pages. Reply briefs are limited to fifteen
(15) pages.
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C. Non-Summary Judgment Motion Requirements
1. Briefing Schedule
A party filing a non-summary judgment motion shall either incorporate in the motion the
arguments and/or authorities upon which it relies or simultaneously file a separate brief with its
motion. The opponent’s responsive brief shall be filed no later than fourteen (14) calendar days
thereafter, unless otherwise ordered by the court. The movant’s reply brief, if any, must be filed
no later than seven (7) calendar days after the date on which the opponent’s responsive brief was
due, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
2. Page Limitations
Initial and responsive briefs for dispositive motions other than summary judgment shall be
limited to fifteen (15) pages, exclusive of exhibits. Reply briefs are limited to ten (10) pages.
D. Requirements for Evidentiary Materials
Simultaneously with their briefs, the parties must file all evidentiary materials (e.g.,
affidavits, exhibits, depositions, etc.) relied upon in support of or opposition to a motion, except
those 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 when appropriate, the line number.
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, etc. must be separately identified by a
capital letter or number (i.e., “Exhibit A” or “Exhibit 1”); and, if the exhibit contains more than
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one page, each page must be separately numbered. Parties are DIRECTED to submit ENTIRE
depositions, even if only relying on an excerpt, in travel transcript format consisting of no more
than four pages of deposition text per 8 ½ by 11 inch 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 fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of the notification.
F. Courtesy Copies
For all submissions exceeding thirty (30) pages (including exhibits), the filing party must
submit, within three (3) business days of filing, an exact courtesy copy of the submission,
reflecting the CM/ECF case number, document number, date, and page stamp on each page,
to the Clerk’s office for delivery to chambers. Deliveries are not accepted in the court’s chambers.
Additionally, the parties must email a copy of any brief filed with the court to chambers in
Microsoft Word format.
IV. Suitability of Action for Alternative Dispute Resolution
All parties should give early consideration to the possibility of settlement to avoid
unnecessary costs and fees. The court requires that all attorneys, along with their clients, make an
early analysis of the case and be prepared to discuss settlement at an early date. The parties shall
also consider and discuss whether this action may be suitable for mediation, whether under the
court’s ADR plan or otherwise. 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.
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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.
The undersigned’s webpage contains standard orders for fee shifting cases and cases that
involve EEOC charges. The parties may access the Court’s website at
http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov/content/magistrate-judge-john-h-england-iii.
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