Judge Robbenhaar’s Procedures for Civil Discovery, Settlement Matters, and Discovery
Disputes
General Matters
1. For any opposed motion, counsel should indicate in their briefing whether they request a
hearing on the motion and, if so, whether they request it be conducted telephonically or
in person.
2. If materials must be sent to the Court for any reason, they should be sent electronically
to
[email protected] (link sends e-mail) or by mail to: Judge
John F. Robbenhaar, United States District Court, Pete V. Domenici United States
Courthouse, 333 Lomas Blvd. NW, c/o Clerk’s Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico,
87102. Please do not send by facsimile. Opposing counsel must be copied on all written
or email communications that counsel conduct with the Court with the exception of the
confidential letter sent in anticipation of a settlement conference.
3. Proposed orders must be sent to
[email protected] (link sends
e-mail) after the filing of any unopposed motion. They should be submitted in Microsoft
Word format (as .docx files), should have 1” margins, be non-justified, and use Times
New Roman Font, size 12. In civil cases, the case number should be presented as
follows: Case No. ###-cv-### [Presiding Judge initials] / [Referral Judge initials].
Further, they should indicate the approval of all parties by including the electronic
signature of all parties at the end of the document.
4. Parties must clearly label all exhibits attached to a filing on CM/ECF. For example,
rather than merely labeling an exhibit “Exhibit A,” parties must provide additional
description, such as “Exhibit A: Deposition of Plaintiff Jones,” or “Exhibit A: Defendant
Smith’s Responses to Interrogatories.”
5. For telephonic conferences or hearings, counsel must call into the conference line no
later than five (5) minutes before the conference or hearing begins. Unless otherwise
stated, the Webex conference telephone number is 855-244-8681, Access Code 2319
590 6841.
Settlement Matters and In-Person Zoom Video Information
6. Unless otherwise requested and ordered, all settlement conferences with Judge
Robbenhaar are held in the Pecos courtroom, Room 340, in the Pete V. Domenici U.S.
Courthouse in Albuquerque.
7. The Court does not provide interpreters for settlement conferences. If a participant
requires an interpreter, counsel must ensure one is present.
8. Individualized, private Zoom instructions will be sent to the parties by email shortly in
advance of the hearing.
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Extensions of Time
9. Even if stipulated, parties seeking an extension in excess of ten (10) days for any filing
deadline must file a Motion to Extend with the Court by the day of the original deadline.
If the parties agree to a filing extension of less than ten (10) days which does not
interfere with other established case management deadlines, they must file a notice as
required by Local Rule 7.4(a).
Informal Discovery Hearings
10. Judge Robbenhaar is available to resolve discovery disputes informally, and is willing to
resolve problems occurring during a deposition, if he is available. Motions to compel
will not be accepted unless the parties first utilize this informal resolution procedure.
11. Informal matters should be of a narrow or discrete nature; e.g. instructing a witness not
to answer, protective orders, scheduled depositions, or production of discovery.
12. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(3)(B)(v), “before moving for an order
relating to discovery, the movant must request a conference with the court” to attempt to
informally resolve the dispute. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(3)(B)(v). Discovery motions may
be summarily denied if a movant fails to conform to this requirement. If the parties
engage in motion practice, the “[m]ovant must determine whether a motion is opposed,
and a motion that omits recitation of a good-faith request for concurrence may be
summarily denied.” D.N.M.LR-Civ. 7.1. Further, the Court will not entertain any
motion to resolve a discovery dispute pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 through 37, or a
motion to quash or modify a subpoena pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(c), unless the
attorney for the moving party has conferred or has made reasonable effort to confer with
opposing counsel concerning the matter in dispute prior to the filing of the motion. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1) (explaining that any motion for an order compelling disclosure
or discovery must include a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or
attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make disclosure or discovery in an
effort to obtain it without court action). Every certification required by Fed. R. Civ. P.
26(c) and 37 and this rule related to the efforts of the parties to resolve discovery or
disclosure disputes must describe with particularity the steps taken by all attorneys to
resolve the issues in dispute. A “reasonable effort to confer” means more than mailing
or faxing a letter to the opposing party. It requires that the parties in good faith converse,
confer, compare views, consult, and deliberate, or in good faith attempt to do so. Absent
exceptional circumstances, parties should converse in person or telephonically.
13. If the meet-and-confer process does not resolve a dispute, counsel shall email chambers
to coordinate a telephonic status conference with the judge. When emailing, counsel
should give a brief summary of the issue and the availability of all counsel. The Court
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will permit the parties to extend the 21-day time limit for filing a motion to compel
pursuant to Local Rule 26.6, as long as the extension does not impact the court-ordered
discovery motions deadline. No later than two business days before the status conference
(or as otherwise ordered by the Court), counsel should submit a joint, written summary
of the dispute (no more than 6 pages in length) to chambers’ proposed text address,
[email protected], outlining the dispute(s) and the parties’
respective positions, arguments, and supporting authority. Counsel should set forth the
nature of the issue to be resolved by the Court, and if specific written discovery and/or
objections are at issue, counsel should also submit a copy of the specific discovery
requests and responses. Counsel should not use the written request as an opportunity to
chastise or criticize opposing counsel. The Court will consider the discovery disputes at
the telephonic conference after hearing counsel’s arguments, and will endeavor to
explain how it would likely rule if the matter were presented to the Court by way of
formal motion.
14. These rules are also incorporated directly into all Judge Robbenhaar’s Initial Scheduling
Orders and Orders Adopting the Joint Status Report and Provisional Discovery Plan and
Setting Case Management Deadlines, i.e., Scheduling Orders.
Consent
15. Counsel are reminded that when Judge Robbenhaar is assigned as the discovery/referral
judge, the parties may consent to him presiding over the case pursuant to Local Rule
73.2. Should the parties wish to do so, they must fill out Form AO 85 – “Notice,
Consent, and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge.” The form must be
returned to the Clerk’s Office and should not be sent directly to either assigned judge. A
link to the consent form is provided on Judge Robbenhaar’s webpage within the
“Resources” tab or through the “Court Forms” link to “Consent to Proceed/Refusal to
Consent to Proceed Before a United States Magistrate Judge.”
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