(a) Form Generally. All pleadings, motions, and other documents that a party
presents for filing, whether in paper form or in electronic form, shall meet the following
requirements:
1. all text, whether in the body of the document or in footnotes, must be a minimum
of 12-point type.
2. all documents must have one-inch margins on all four sides of the page.
3. all text in the body of the document must be double-spaced.
4. the text in block quotations and footnotes may be single-spaced.
5. extensive footnotes must not be used to circumvent page limitations.
6. compacted or other compressed printing features must not be used.
7. pages must be consecutively numbered.
(b) Additional requirements for all pleadings, motions, and other documents that a
party presents for filing in paper form:
1. all documents must be on 8 ½ x 11-inch white paper of good quality.
2. all text must be plainly and legibly written, typewritten, printed or reproduced
without erasures or interlineations materially defacing them.
3. all documents must be in black or blue ink.
4. pages of all documents must be stapled (or in some other way fastened) together.
5. all documents must be single-sided.
6. the Court, at its discretion, may require the electronic submission of any
document in a Word-compatible or WordPerfect-compatible format.
The Court may strike documents that do not comply with the above-listed requirements.
(c) Information required. The following information must appear on each
document that a party files:
1. Each document must contain a caption for the specific case to which it pertains.
The caption must include the title of the Court, the title of the action, the civil
action number of the case, the initials of the assigned judge(s), and the name or
nature of the paper in sufficient detail for identification. If a litigant has more than
one action pending in this Court, any and all papers filed in a case must contain
and pertain to one civil action number, unless the civil actions have been
consolidated by the Court. Any motion or other papers purporting to relate to
more than one action will not be accepted for filing and may be stricken by the
Court. This Rule shall not apply, as noted below, to notices of change of address
filed by attorneys of record and pro se litigants. The parties must separately
caption affidavits and declarations and must not physically attach them to
the Notice of Motion or Memorandum of Law.
2. Each document must identify the person filing the document. This identification
must include an original or electronic signature of the attorney or pro se litigant;
the typewritten name of that person; the address of a pro se litigant, including zip
code; and the bar roll number, office address, telephone number, and e-mail
address of the attorney. A pro se litigant’s complete mailing address in the
signature block is required on all documents filed with the court and shall also
appear on the face of the docket. Telephone numbers of non-prisoner pro se
parties are required to be displayed on the docket for purposes of scheduling court
proceedings. See General Order # 22 for signature requirements.
All attorneys of record and pro se litigants must immediately notify the Court
of any change of address and/or telephone number. Parties must file the notice
of change of address with the Clerk and serve the same on all other parties to the
action. The notice must identify each and every action to which the notice shall
apply. In addition, the notice shall be clearly entitled, “Notice of Change of
Address.” Attorneys shall update their bar record within (14) days of a
change, including their address, email address, and telephone number
through www.pacer.gov. Detailed instructions to update the bar record are
available on the Court's website at www.nynd.uscourts.gov.
Failure to keep this information current will result in removal from the roll of the
Court.
3. All documents submitted for filing by non-ECF filers via MFT must be submitted
in PDF format and comply with L.R. 10.1(c)(1) and (2) above, which specify
formatting requirements for pleadings and other papers. All documents submitted
in support of a complaint must be filed concurrently with the complaint.
Subsequent submissions of documents or exhibits supporting a pleading will not
be accepted unless accompanied by a proposed amended complaint relying on
those documents or exhibits, in compliance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 15 and L.R. 15.1.
All documents submitted in support of a motion must be filed concurrently with
the motion and must comply with L.R. 7.1. Each exhibit to a motion must be
clearly labeled with a numerical exhibit number and identified by exhibit number
within the motion papers.
Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in the document being stricken
from the docket or terminating the filer’s MFT submission privileges.
Any documents submitted for filing via MFT after 4:45 pm will not be reviewed
until 8:45 am on the next business day.
(d) The Court conducts its reviews and deliberations in English. Unless otherwise
directed by the Court, any document that a party transmits to the Court (including one in the
record on appeal) that is in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English
translation that the translator has certified as true and accurate, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
Any party who disputes a translation must file notice of its intention to challenge the translation
with the Court and all other parties within seven (7) days of receiving the Notice of Electronic
Filing for the translation, or, if a non-Filing User, within seven (7) days of receiving the
translation. Upon receipt of a notice to challenge a translation, the Court shall establish the
procedure and applicable time periods for the challenge to be heard.
