IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
STANDING ORDER AND PROCEDURES RE: CIVIL MOTION PRACTICE
Judge Robert J. Colville
In addition to the rules set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Court’s
Local Rules, the parties shall follow the procedures set forth below in making or responding to
motions in any case assigned to this member of the Court. This Order supersedes any prior Order
on these matters in this action, and is applicable to all pending civil proceedings unless otherwise
ordered by the Court.
1. Motions
a. A motion shall consist of a document setting forth, in a short and plain statement, the
specific relief sought, the factual and legal grounds for the relief sought, and shall
affirmatively state whether the motion has been discussed with all other parties, and their
position as to the relief sought.
b. Other than routine administrative/scheduling motions, each substantive motion shall be
supported by a separate brief in support that contains the factual and legal support for the
relief sought. Evidentiary materials in support of, or in opposition to, a motion should be
plainly marked and may be attached to the motion or brief, or compiled and filed in a
separate document. Counsel should furnish only the evidentiary materials that are
necessary for deciding the motion.
c. A proposed order setting forth the specific relief requested shall be filed as a separate
attachment.
2. Requirement to Confer
a. Prior to filing a motion to modify a scheduling order, counsel shall comply with the
requirement to confer as set forth in Local Rule 16.1.B.5, including the filing of a certificate
of conferral.
b. The Court requires that, prior to filing a discovery motion, counsel shall meet and confer
in an effort to resolve their disputes. The Court requires that discovery motions be
accompanied by a certificate of conferral to be filed by the movant stating that all parties
made a reasonable effort to reach agreement on the issue raised by the motion. E-mail
1
communications, while not discouraged, are not alone sufficient. If the matter is still
unresolved after meeting and conferring, then the parties shall contact the Court to request
a telephone discovery conference prior to filing any discovery motion. See Section 3(b).
c. Given that motions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) are discouraged if
the pleading defect is curable by amendment, Counsel shall meet and confer prior to the
filing of such a motion to determine whether it can be avoided. The Court requires that all
such motions be accompanied by a certificate of conferral stating that the moving party has
made good faith efforts to confer with the nonmovant(s) to determine whether the identified
pleading deficiencies may be cured by amendment.
3. Case Management and Discovery Motions
a. Each case management or discovery motion shall affirmatively state: 1) that the motion
has been discussed with all parties; 2) the position of each party as to the motion; and 3)
the relief it seeks. If the non-moving party or parties do not oppose the motion, or the
motion is of a type that normally does not implicate the substantial rights of a non-moving
party (e.g., motion to withdraw as counsel, motion to set a conference, most motions for
extension of time), the non-moving party shall so state in its response. No response need
be filed to a joint or unopposed motion. The Court may decide motions that do not
implicate the substantial rights of the opposing party, or which state that the motion is either
joint or not opposed by all parties, without a response. Absent such action by the Court, a
response should be filed for all motions. Letters do not constitute motions or responses.
Failure to respond in a timely fashion may be deemed as conceding the grounds for any
motion.
b. In the Court’s experience, many discovery and case management disputes can be promptly
resolved in a conference with the Court and counsel. Therefore, in the event of such a
dispute, lead counsel shall confer in person or by telephone, agree on the scope and nature
of the dispute, and then contact the involved law clerk or the Courtroom Deputy Clerk to
request a telephone status conference. This applies to all discovery motions. The Court
may set a status conference as soon as practicable, usually within three (3) days, and, more
often than not, the dispute will be resolved at that time. The Court may, in situations
involving more substantive matters, direct counsel to file the appropriate motion for relief.
c. All motions to amend a pleading or document must attach as an exhibit the proposed
amended document.
4. Responses to Motions
a. The opposing party shall file a separate response to every motion. A brief shall also be
filed with any response to a substantive motion. A proposed order shall be filed as a
separate attachment.
b. Deadlines for Responses:
i. Responses to non-dispositive motions, such as discovery or other case management
pretrial motions, shall be filed within ten (10) days from the date of service of the
2
motion. Should the moving party believe that there is particular urgency to the
grant or denial of a motion requiring expedited treatment due to the particular facts
or circumstances of the matter (an uncommon situation in the Court’s experience),
they should so state in the motion.
ii. Responses to motions to dismiss and responses to motions for judgment on the
pleadings shall be filed within twenty-one (21) days from the date of service of the
motion.
iii. Responses to motions for summary judgment shall be filed within thirty (30) days
from the date of service of the motion.
iv. Unless otherwise stated in a specific Order, responses to all motions other than
those referenced in i., ii., and iii. above shall be filed within fourteen (14) days from
the date of service of the motion.
v. Unless the Court issues a specific briefing order, the parties should proceed as set
forth in this Order upon the filing of a motion.
5. Reply Briefs. A reply brief is defined as the second brief advocating a party’s position on the
same motion filed after the non-moving party’s response. Reply briefs shall be filed within
seven (7) days (and within fourteen (14) days for replies in summary judgment matters) from
the date of service of the non-moving party’s response. Surreply briefs, or other briefs, may
be filed only with leave of court, obtained in advance of filing.
6. Oral Argument. Motions may be decided with or without oral argument as determined by
the Court. Any party believing that oral argument will materially advance the decisional
process may so advise the Court and request oral argument.
7. Joint Motions. Joint, consent, or uncontested motions on matters that do not implicate the
substantial rights of the parties are encouraged and will be promptly decided. A joint,
consent, or uncontested motion shall identify itself as such in its title. Joint motions in cases
with more than two parties that have the consent of fewer than all the parties shall so state
such on the first page. Counsel’s informed representation that a motion is joint or consented
to is sufficient.
8. Page Limits
a. Briefs respecting discovery and case management motions shall be limited to 10 pages.
b. Briefs respecting motions in limine shall be limited to 10 pages.
c. Briefs respecting motions to dismiss, motions for judgment on the pleadings, and summary
judgment motions shall be limited to 20 pages, excluding tables.
d. Briefs in support of and opposing all other motions shall be limited to 15 pages.
3
e. Reply briefs respecting motions to dismiss or summary judgment motions shall be limited
to 15 pages; and respecting all other motions shall be limited to 10 pages.
f. All text in briefs shall be in 12-point font (footnotes in at least 10-point font), with one-
inch margins. Text must be double-spaced; footnotes may be single-spaced.
g. Any party seeking to exceed the page limits set forth above must seek leave of Court.
9. Citations in Briefs. The argument portion of every brief in support of or in response to a
motion shall cite to current authority from the Supreme Court of the United States or the United
States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Otherwise, citation to current authority from a
district court in this circuit or another court of appeals, if available, that establishes the legal
point argued is most appropriate. When citing to unpublished opinions, the Court prefers that
counsel use the Westlaw citation rather than the LEXIS citation.
10. Courtesy Copies. Counsel should not submit any courtesy copies unless requested by the
Court. In the event that the Court requests courtesy copies of filings that contain voluminous
exhibits, such courtesy copies shall be the filed documents printed from ECF so as to contain
the docketing information at the top of each page. Any courtesy copy should be 3-hole
punched and placed in one or more standard black presentation binder(s) (no thicker than three
(3) inches). The binder’s front cover and spine should be labeled with the case name, case
number, and the subject matter of the materials.
11. Other Deadlines. This Order does not alter response deadlines set by any federal statute or
the computation of time under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
12. Discretion to Modify. The Court may alter any of these provisions by Order, or by notice
from court staff at the Court’s direction, in the interests of justice.
SO ORDERED this 31st day of January, 2020.
_s/Robert J. Colville__________
Robert J. Colville
United States District Judge
cc: All counsel of record
4
