PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR CIVIL CASES
Judge Daniel D. Domenico
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
Courtroom A1002
Chambers A1038
Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse
901 19th Street
Denver, CO 80294
Telephone: (303) 335-2468
Email:
[email protected]
Revised: December 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. GENERAL PROCEDURES .............................................................. 1
A. Applicable Rules ......................................................................... 1
B. Communications with Chambers ............................................... 1
C. Citations ...................................................................................... 2
D. Typeface ...................................................................................... 2
E. Settlement ................................................................................... 2
II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES ........................................................ 3
A. Courtroom Operations ................................................................ 3
B. Recording of Proceedings ............................................................ 3
C. Exhibits ....................................................................................... 4
III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE ................................... 4
A. Length Limitations ..................................................................... 4
B. Responses and Replies ................................................................ 6
C. Proposed Orders.......................................................................... 7
D. Exhibits ....................................................................................... 7
E. Emergency Motions .................................................................... 8
F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials ................................. 8
G. Preliminary Motions – Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 .................................. 9
H. Motions to Amend Pleadings – Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 ..................... 9
I. Motions for Summary Judgment – Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ............. 10
J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony – Fed. R. Evid. 702 .... 13
K. Untimely or Noncomplying Papers .......................................... 14
IV. TRIALS ............................................................................................ 14
A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation ........................................... 14
B. Jury Trials................................................................................. 15
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I. GENERAL PROCEDURES
A. Applicable Rules
1. Those appearing in the District Court must know and follow:
a. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
b. The Federal Rules of Evidence;
c. The Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado;
d. The Electronic Case Filing Procedures (Civil Cases) of the
United States District Court for the District of Colorado; and
e. These Practice Standards for Civil Cases.
2. Failure to comply with the foregoing rules or procedures or these
Practice Standards may result in appropriate sanctions.
B. Communications with Chambers
1. Please do not call Chambers. Instead, inquiries to Chambers
(e.g., questions about procedure or clarifications to these Practice Stand-
ards) should be made via email to Domenico_Chambers@cod.
uscourts.gov. Email messages to Chambers should identify the case
number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record.
Chambers staff cannot give legal advice or grant informal requests not
made via motion, so please do not contact Chambers about substantive
matters.
2. For questions about filing documents electronically, please con-
tact the ECF Help Desk at (303) 335-2050, (866) 365-6381, or cod_
[email protected]. For other case filing and docketing ques-
tions, please contact the Court’s Case Administration Specialist at
(303) 335-2074.
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C. Citations
1. Citation and formatting may be in Bluebook form or in any form
that consistently, accurately, and understandably conveys the authori-
ties necessary to support a party’s legal argument.
2. These Practice Standards may be cited as “DDD Civ. P.S. XX”
(e.g., “DDD Civ. P.S. III(A)(1)”).
3. Whenever practicable, a citation to an unpublished opinion
should include its Westlaw® citation. If an unpublished opinion is not
readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to
the brief or other paper.
D. Typeface
1. All papers filed with the Court must be in a proportionally spaced,
serif font.
E. Settlement
1. If a settlement is reached, the parties must file a notice of settle-
ment that includes the anticipated time required to file dismissal papers
or other papers sufficient to resolve the matter. If a partial settlement
is reached, the parties must file a notice of the partial settlement or a
stipulation of dismissal specifying the claims, counterclaims, cross-
claims, defenses, or parties affected by the partial settlement.
2. If a settlement is reached on the eve of a hearing or trial, please
also promptly advise Chambers via email copying all counsel of record,
with a subject line containing “Settlement” and the case number and
name. No deadline, hearing, or trial is vacated or continued unless and
until the Court issues an order. If a settlement is reached after noon on
the last business day before a jury trial, jury costs may be assessed in
accordance with Local Civil Rule 54.2.
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3. The Court generally will not retain jurisdiction (including
through open-ended administrative closure) over cases that have been
settled. The proper mechanism for enforcing a settlement agreement is,
in almost all cases, through a new action. Any motion or stipulation for
dismissal requesting that the Court retain jurisdiction after dismissal
must explain in detail the circumstances necessitating such an ap-
proach.
II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES
A. Courtroom Operations
1. For information regarding the courtroom, including instructions
on how to proceed by telephone conference or video teleconference, court-
room equipment and technology, courtroom protocol, trial preparation
and submission of trial exhibits, and the use of exhibits and deposition
transcripts at hearings or trial, please contact the Courtroom Deputy,
Robb Keech, at
[email protected].
B. Recording of Proceedings
1. To order transcripts of proceedings, please contact the Court Re-
porter, Tamara Hoffschildt, at
[email protected]. Re-
quests for real-time, daily, or hourly copy must be made at least thirty
days before the trial or hearing.
2. Not later than five business days before any hearing, trial, or
other proceeding, counsel and any pro se party must file a glossary of
any difficult, unusual, scientific, or technical words, names, places,
terms, or phrases.
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C. Exhibits
1. Counsel must confer and agree from the commencement of dis-
covery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and duplication,
and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit
for deposition and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue
would be the same exhibit with the same number for all depositions and
at trial). All exhibits should be identified by number only (e.g., “Ex-
hibit 1,” not “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1”). Numbers for trial exhibits need not
be consecutive.
2. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden-
tified for the record at a hearing or trial. The case number must appear
on each exhibit sticker or label.
III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE
A. Length Limitations
1. Excluding motions filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56
or 65(a) or (b) and papers filed in AP Cases (see Local AP R. 1.1(c)), all
motions, objections (including objections to the recommendations or or-
ders of United States Magistrate Judges), responses, and briefs must
not exceed 4,000 words. Reply briefs must not exceed 2,700 words. If
a party elects to file more than one preliminary motion under Rule 12,
the motions and response briefs must not exceed 4,000 words total for
all such motions/briefs (not each such motion/brief) filed by each party;
reply briefs must not exceed 2,700 words total.
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2. Motions for summary judgment or partial summary judgment,
motions for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order, and
related response briefs must not exceed 5,500 words. Reply briefs must
not exceed 2,700 words. If a party elects to file more than one Rule 56
motion, the motions and response briefs must not ex-
ceed 5,500 words total for all such motions/briefs (not each such mo-
tion/brief) filed by each party; reply briefs must not ex-
ceed 2,700 words total.
3. In social-security appeals, the length limitations of paragraph (1)
above apply to motions, and the length limitations of Local AP
Rule 16.1(c)(2) apply to appellate briefs. In bankruptcy appeals, the
length limitations of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8013(f) ap-
ply to motions, and the length limitations of Rule 8015(a)(7) apply to
appellate briefs. In appeals of agency action under 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706,
the length limitations of paragraph (1) above apply to motions, and the
length limitations of paragraph (2) above apply to appellate briefs.
4. These length limitations include footnotes, but exclude the case
caption, any table of contents or table of authorities, signature block,
certificate of service, and certificate of compliance with the applicable
length limitation. Motions and opening briefs must be combined in a
single document and will be considered one paper for purposes of the
applicable length limitation.
5. All motions, objections, responses, and briefs must contain a sep-
arate statement, immediately after the signature block, certifying that
the paper complies with the applicable length limitation set forth in
these Practice Standards (e.g., “I hereby certify that the foregoing paper
complies with the length limitation set forth in DDD Civ.
P.S. III(A)(1).”).
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6. A party may file a motion to exceed the applicable length limita-
tion explaining the reasons why additional length is necessary. Any such
motion must be filed no later than three business days before the date
the motion, response, reply, or other paper is due.
7. For any party who does not have access to a word-processing sys-
tem with a word-count function, typewritten or legibly handwritten pa-
pers are subject to page limits instead of the word limits of para-
graphs (1) and (2) above. The following equivalents should be used:
a. 2,700 words = 10 pages;
b. 4,000 words = 15 pages; and
c. 5,500 words = 20 pages.
B. Responses and Replies
1. A response must clearly and completely identify by title and
CM/ECF docket number the antecedent motion, objection, or other pa-
per to which the response is made. Similarly, a reply must clearly and
completely identify by title and CM/ECF docket number the antecedent
paper the reply supports and the antecedent response to which the reply
is made. No sur-reply or supplemental brief is permitted without leave
of Court.
2. A party may respond to another party’s objections to a magistrate
judge’s recommended disposition of a dispositive pretrial matter as pro-
vided by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b)(2). A party may respond
to another party’s objections to a magistrate judge’s order on a nondis-
positive pretrial matter within fourteen days after being served with a
copy of the objections. No reply is permitted without leave of Court.
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3. A notice of supplemental authority may be filed if new relevant
authority is issued after briefing closed on a motion, objection, or other
pending issue. Such a notice must be limited to (a) a citation to the new
authority including the date of issuance, and (b) a single-sentence refer-
ence to the issue to which the filing party believes the new authority
pertains (including a citation to the location(s) in previously filed brief-
ing where the issue was raised). If the new authority is not readily avail-
able on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the notice.
No comment, briefing, or response as to the significance or interpreta-
tion of the new authority is permitted without leave of Court. No notice
of supplemental authority regarding any authority that issued before
the close of briefing may be filed without leave of Court.
C. Proposed Orders
1. Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Prac-
tice or at the direction of the Court must be filed via CM/ECF and
emailed to
[email protected] in editable Word for-
mat, copying all counsel of record. The subject line of the email should
identify the case number and name and the CM/ECF docket number of
the underlying motion.
D. Exhibits
1. Exhibits to motions, objections, responses, and briefs must be la-
beled in the CM/ECF system both by exhibit number and by name (e.g.,
“Exhibit 1 - Smith Affidavit”).
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2. Copies of documents attached as exhibits to a motion, objection,
or other opening brief should not be attached as exhibits to the response,
and copies of documents attached as exhibits to a response should not
be attached as exhibits to a reply. Any additional exhibit should be at-
tached to the corresponding response or reply and consecutively num-
bered.
3. Voluminous exhibits are discouraged. Parties should limit exhib-
its to essential portions of documents.
E. Emergency Motions
1. Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent,
irreparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure
that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “Emergency”;
(2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu
option entitled “Emergency” on the docket-text modification screen; and
(3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email to Domenico_Cham-
[email protected] and copying all counsel of record, with a subject
line containing “Emergency Motion,” the case number and name, and
the CM/ECF docket number of the motion.
F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials
1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hear-
ings and trials will be determined pursuant to Rogers v. Andrus Trans-
portation Services, 502 F.3d 1147 (10th Cir. 2007) and United States v.
West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). Oral or written motions
to continue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained
by the Court. Stipulated motions for continuance are not effective unless
and until approved by the Court.
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G. Preliminary Motions – Fed. R. Civ. P. 12
1. Rule 12 motions are discouraged if the defect is correctable by the
filing of an amended pleading. Except in cases where a party is proceed-
ing pro se, counsel must confer prior to the filing of a motion under
Rule 12(b), (c), (e), or (f) to discuss whether an asserted deficiency is cor-
rectable by amendment (e.g., failure to plead fraud with specificity) and
should exercise their best efforts to stipulate to appropriate amend-
ments. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute(s), the moving
party must describe in the motion, or in a certificate attached to the mo-
tion, the specific efforts taken to comply with this duty to confer and the
position of each party at the time the conferral process broke down.
2. If matters outside the pleadings are submitted in support of or
opposition to a Rule 12 motion, the filing party must address the basis
for the Court to consider such matters. Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c) motions
should not be stated in the alternative as a Rule 56 motion for summary
judgment.
H. Motions to Amend Pleadings – Fed. R. Civ. P. 15
1. When a party seeks leave to amend a pleading on or before the
applicable scheduling-order deadline, the Court will freely grant leave
to amend. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Parties are discouraged from op-
posing a timely request to amend a pleading on the basis of futility of
the proposed amendment; futility arguments are better addressed
through an appropriate Rule 12 motion filed after the amended pleading
is in place.
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I. Motions for Summary Judgment – Fed. R. Civ. P. 56
1. Rule 56 motions must comply with the following:
a. In a section of the brief required by Local Civil Rule 56.1(a)
styled “Statement of Undisputed Facts,” the movant must set forth
in simple, declarative sentences, separately numbered and para-
graphed, each material fact that the movant believes is not in dispute
and that supports the movant’s claim that the movant is entitled to
judgment as a matter of law. Each material fact must be accompa-
nied by a specific reference to material in the record that establishes
that fact. General references to pleadings, depositions, or documents
are usually insufficient if the document is more than one page in
length. A general reference is sufficient only if the nature of the ma-
terial fact does not permit a specific reference (e.g., “The contract con-
tains no provision for termination.”).
2. Responses to Rule 56 motions must comply with the following:
a. In a section of the response brief styled “Response to State-
ment of Undisputed Facts,” the opposing party must admit or deny
each of the movant’s asserted material facts. Each admission or de-
nial must be made in a separate paragraph numbered according to
the corresponding paragraph in the movant’s “Statement of Undis-
puted Facts.” Any denial must be accompanied by a brief factual ex-
planation of the reason(s) for the denial and a specific reference to
material in the record supporting the denial.
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b. If the party opposing the motion believes that there are addi-
tional material facts that have not been adequately addressed in its
“Response to Statement of Undisputed Facts” (e.g., facts concerning
an affirmative defense), the party must, in a separate section of the
brief styled “Statement of Additional Facts,” set forth in simple, de-
clarative sentences, separately paragraphed and numbered continu-
ing from the previous list, each additional material fact that under-
cuts the movant’s claim that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of
law. Each such fact must be accompanied by a specific reference to
material in the record establishing the fact or demonstrating that it
is in genuine dispute.
3. Any reply brief in support of a Rule 56 motion must comply with
the following:
a. In a section of the brief styled “Reply Concerning Undisputed
Facts,” the movant must include any factual reply it cares to make
regarding the facts asserted in its motion to be undisputed, sup-
ported by specific references to material in the record. Each reply
must be made in a separate paragraph numbered according to the
corresponding paragraph in its motion and the opposing party’s re-
sponse.
b. If the response brief contains a “Statement of Additional
Facts” pursuant to subparagraph (2)(b) above, the movant must, in a
separate section of the reply brief styled “Response to Statement of
Additional Facts,” with respect to each additional fact the opposing
party asserts or claims to be in dispute, either admit the fact or that
it is in genuine dispute or supply a brief factual explanation for its
position that the fact is undisputed, supported by a specific reference
to material in the record establishing the fact is undisputed. This
must be done in separate paragraphs numbered according to the cor-
responding paragraphs in the opposing party’s response.
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4. In any admission or denial, the party must admit or deny the fac-
tual substance of the other party’s assertion, unless doing so would vio-
late a recognized privilege. To this end, the following restrictions apply:
a. A party may not deny an assertion on grounds of inadmissibil-
ity. A party “may object that the material cited to support or dispute
a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evi-
dence,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2), and any party so objecting must in-
clude a concise explanation of its objection, but the party must still
admit or deny the factual substance of the assertion.
b. The opposing party may not deny an assertion for lack of
knowledge, unless the party states within the body of its response a
well-grounded request for additional discovery under Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 56(d) and attaches to the response the affidavit or
declaration required by that Rule.
c. A party may not admit an assertion in terms such as “admitted
that John Doe claims such-and-such,” unless the assertion itself is
framed in terms of what John Doe “claims.”
d. A party may not respond that a quoted or summarized docu-
ment “speaks for itself,” or similar phrases. When faced with such
assertions, the opposing party must address their substance, includ-
ing, for example, an admission or denial that the relevant portion of
the document has been quoted or summarized accurately or com-
pletely.
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5. The sole purpose of these procedures is to establish facts and de-
termine which of them are in genuine dispute. Legal argument is not
permitted in the sections of the briefs submitted pursuant to subpara-
graphs (1)-(3) above, and instead should be reserved for separate por-
tions of the briefs. If, for example, a party believes that an established
fact is immaterial, that belief should be expressed in the part of the brief
devoted to legal argument, and the fact should be admitted. If, on the
other hand, a party believes that the reference to material in the record
does not support the claimed fact, that fact may be denied, and factual
argument may appropriately be made pursuant to these procedures.
6. Failure to follow these procedures may result in an order striking
or denying the motion or brief, and it will have to be re-submitted. Re-
peated failures may result in an order granting other proper relief.
J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony – Fed. R. Evid. 702
1. A party objecting to the admissibility of opinion testimony by an
expert witness must file a written motion seeking its exclusion. If a
deadline for filing such motions is not set in the scheduling order, such
motions must be filed thirty days after the deadline for disclosure of
rebuttal expert witnesses. The time for filing responses and replies is
governed by Local Civil Rule 7.1(d). Failure to raise an issue concerning
a putative expert witness (whether under Federal Rule of Evidence 401,
403, 702, and/or 704) in the time and manner set forth herein will con-
stitute a waiver or forfeiture of the issue.
2. The motion must identify with specificity each opinion the moving
party seeks to exclude. The motion must also identify the specific
ground(s) on which each opinion is challenged, e.g., qualifications, help-
fulness, sufficiency of facts or data, reliability of methodology or its ap-
plication. See Fed. R. Evid. 702.
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3. If the opinion was disclosed in a written expert report pursuant
to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), a complete copy of the
report must be attached as an exhibit to the motion.
K. Untimely or Noncomplying Papers
1. Motions, objections, responses, replies, briefs, or other papers
that are untimely, noncomplying, or filed without a certification when
required under Local Civil Rule 7.1(a) or these Practice Standards may
be denied without prejudice or stricken sua sponte.
IV. TRIALS
A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation
1. The Court generally will contact the parties to set a trial date and
Final Pretrial Conference/Trial Preparation Conference date(s) after the
dispositive-motions deadline has passed and the Court has issued rul-
ings on all pending motions. If there are no pending motions and the
Court has not contacted the parties or issued an order regarding trial
scheduling within one month after the dispositive-motions deadline has
passed, counsel and pro se parties may email Chambers at Domenico_
[email protected] and politely inquire regarding trial sched-
uling. Such email messages should identify the case number and name
in the subject line and copy all counsel of record.
2. In most cases, the Court will set the Federal Rule of Civil Proce-
dure 16(e) Final Pretrial Conference approximately three to four weeks
before trial and a separate Trial Preparation Conference the week before
trial. Counsel who will try the case must attend both conferences.
3. The Court will issue a trial preparation order specifying the pre-
trial tasks to be completed (e.g., proposed Final Pretrial Order, motions
in limine, proposed jury instructions, etc.) and the deadlines for those
tasks.
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B. Jury Trials
1. Challenges pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986),
must be made after peremptory challenges have concluded and before
the jury is sworn. A party that wants to preserve a Batson challenge
should request that the Court not release any jurors subject to the chal-
lenge.
2. Jurors will be permitted to take notes during the trial.
3. Each juror will be given a copy of the written jury instructions for
use during deliberations.
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