Judge Lauren Fleischer Louis
Individual Rules, Standing Orders & Policies
Limits & Logistics
Document Limits
Communication
Chambers
Page & Word Limits1 rule
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
Discovery motions and response briefs may not exceed ten pages; reply briefs may not exceed five pages. See S.D. Fla. L.R. 26.1(g)(3).
Summary: Discovery motions and response briefs limited to 10 pages; reply briefs limited to 5 pages.
Discovery Motion
10 pages
Applies to: Attorney
Opposition
10 pages
Applies to: Attorney
Reply Brief
5 pages
Applies to: Attorney
Document Format Requirements2 rules
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
If the parties file a joint motion for entry of a protective order, the parties shall promptly send to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov the proposed protective order in Word format. See S.D. Fla. CM/ECF Admin. Proc. 3I(6).
Summary: Proposed protective orders for joint motions must be in Word (DOCX) format.
DOCX
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
Labeling a Source Material as “Exhibit 1” or “Exhibit A” generally is not helpful for an Informal Discovery Hearing; please use specific, simple descriptions to title the Source Materials sent to chambers (i.e., “Plaintiff’s Supplemental Answers to Defendant’s Interrogatories”).
Summary: Source Materials sent to chambers for Informal Discovery Hearings must use specific, simple titles instead of generic 'Exhibit 1' or 'Exhibit A' labels.
Document Filing Requirements8 rules
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
Parties shall not make non-specific, boilerplate objections. Such objections violate the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of this District. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(4) (“The grounds for objecting to an interrogatory must be stated with specificity. Any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the court, for good cause, excuses the failure.”); Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(2)(B) (“For each item or category, the response must either state that inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested or state with specificity the grounds for objecting to the request, including the
Summary: Parties are prohibited from making non-specific, boilerplate objections to discovery requests; grounds must be stated with specificity.
Document Type
Discovery Objection
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
An objection that a discovery request is “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence” is an outdated type of objection that relies on a prior version of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This language no longer appears in the Federal Rules. The current version of Rule 26(b)(1) defines the scope of discovery as “any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case.” Information “need not be admissible in evidence” to be discoverable.
Summary: Objections based on “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence” are outdated and invalid; discovery scope is relevance and proportionality, not admissibility.
Document Type
Discovery Objection
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
a party who objects to a discovery request on the ground that the request is vague, overly broad, or unduly burdensome must explain—at the time the objection is first raised—the specific and particular ways in which the request is vague, overly broad, or unduly burdensome. If a party believes that a discovery request is vague, that party shall attempt to obtain clarification from opposing counsel before objecting on the ground of vagueness. An objection that a discovery request is irrelevant or disproportionate must include a specific explanation describing why the request lacks relevance or is disproportionate in consideration of the factors enumerated in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1).
Summary: Objections to discovery requests for vagueness/overbreadth/burden must explain specific ways; irrelevance/disproportionality objections must explain why; vagueness objections require prior clarification attempt.
Document Type
Discovery Objection
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
An objection stating that a discovery request is vague, overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, or disproportionate without explaining which part of the request is objectionable and why is meaningless and disregarded by the Court. In other words, a non-specific, boilerplate objection is the equivalent of no objection at all.
Summary: Non-specific, boilerplate objections to discovery requests are disregarded by the Court as meaningless.
Document Type
Discovery Objection
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
Under this Local Rule, counsel must certify that the parties made good faith efforts to resolve or narrow the dispute and identify the date(s) on which conferral occurred and the means of communication used. An adequate certificate of conference almost always requires at least one, if not more, live conversations between counsel. Live conversations may occur in-person or via telephone or video conference; email correspondence alone does not constitute sufficient conferral.
Summary: Discovery motions must include a certificate of conference attesting to good faith conferral with live conversation, dates of conferral, and means of communication.
Document Type
Discovery Motion
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
The Notice of Hearing shall set forth, with specificity, the substance of the discovery matter to be heard. While the Notice of Hearing should not advance any argument, the Notice must be sufficiently detailed to provide the Court with advance notice of each dispute to be heard. Two or three complete sentences describing each dispute to be heard usually will be ideal.
Summary: Notice of Hearing must detail each discovery dispute with 2-3 sentences per dispute, no argument.
Document Type
Notice Of Hearing
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Mandatory?
By no later than 12:00 P.M. two business days before the Informal Discovery Hearing, each party shall send an email to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov, attaching copies of all materials relevant to the discovery dispute(s) (“Source Materials”) and a proposed order setting forth the specific relief desired for each discovery request / category of discovery requests at issue.
Summary: Proposed order required to be sent with pre-hearing email for Informal Discovery Hearing.
Document Type
Proposed Order
Machine summary. Not checked yet.Note?
I will omit from a protective order any proposed provision that would allow a party to bypass Local Rule 5.4’s requirements for filing material under seal.
Summary: The Court will omit any provision in a protective order that allows bypassing Local Rule 5.4’s sealing requirements.
Document Type
Proposed Order
Filing & Service rules
Electronic Filing Rules
Movants with CM/ECF credentials must file Notice of Hearing and calendar Discovery Hearing via CM/ECF system.
Within twenty-four (24) hours of the Court confirming the hearing, the movant shall file a Notice of Hearing and simultaneously calendar a “Discovery Hearing” when prompted by the CM/ECF system. If the movant lacks CM/ECF filing credentials, the Court will notify the movant of the obligation to file a Notice of Hearing within two (2) business days of receiving confirmation from the Court of the hearing date.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
Discovery disputes must be raised in a timely manner per Local Rule 26.1(g)(2), which the Court strictly enforces.
Discovery disputes must be timely raised as required by Local Rule 26.1(g)(2). The Court strictly enforces this Rule.
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Page 5 | III. DISCOVERY DISPUTE PROCEDURES, A. Timing
All discovery including dispute resolution must be completed before the discovery cut-off date; no court intervention is available after the cut-off date even if parties agree to additional discovery.
The Court also enforces Local Rule 26.1(d), which requires that all discovery, including resolution of discovery disputes, be fully completed prior to expiration of the discovery cut-off date. By virtue of the rule, no Court intervention or remedy will be available to either party after the cut-off date even if the parties agree to engage in discovery after the cut-off date.
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Page 5 | III. DISCOVERY DISPUTE PROCEDURES, A. Timing
Notice of Hearing must be filed within 24 hours of Court confirmation (or 2 business days if no CM/ECF credentials) and calendared in CM/ECF.
Within twenty-four (24) hours of the Court confirming the hearing, the movant shall file a Notice of Hearing and simultaneously calendar a “Discovery Hearing” when prompted by the CM/ECF system. If the movant lacks CM/ECF filing credentials, the Court will notify the movant of the obligation to file a Notice of Hearing within two (2) business days of receiving confirmation from the Court of the hearing date.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Service and Proof of Service Rules
Request email for Informal Discovery Hearing must copy all parties.
The movant shall send one (1) email, copying all parties, to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov. The subject line of the email shall include: “Request for Discovery Hearing.” The email shall provide the case number, case caption, the jointly proposed dates for the hearing, and the anticipated duration of the hearing. The email shall certify that the parties have conferred in a good faith attempt to resolve their dispute but have been unable to do so.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Filing Bundling Requirements
Source Materials for Informal Discovery Hearings must be filed as separate documents.
separate documents.
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Page 9 | III. DISCOVERY DISPUTE PROCEDURES
Pre-Motion Conference Requirements
Failure to confer in good faith is an independent basis to deny discovery motion relief; opposing party's failure to confer is considered for fee awards if motion is granted.
The duty to confer in good faith is reciprocal. The failure to comply with this Rule constitutes an independent basis on which the Court may deny the relief sought. Similarly, failure by the opposing party to engage in good faith efforts to resolve or narrow the discovery dispute will be considered by the Court in deciding whether an award of fees is appropriate if the motion is granted.
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Page 6 | III. DISCOVERY DISPUTE PROCEDURES
Parties must confer in good faith to resolve discovery disputes before bringing the dispute before the Court.
Before the parties are permitted to bring a discovery dispute before the Court, the parties must first confer in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute in compliance with Local Rule 7.1(a)(3).
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Page 6 | III. DISCOVERY DISPUTE PROCEDURES
Sanctions motions must be filed in writing and cannot be resolved via Informal Discovery Hearing.
Motions for sanctions (including for the exclusion of undisclosed material) cannot be resolved at an Informal Discovery Hearing. Such motions must be made in writing.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Informal Discovery Hearing procedures do not apply to written discovery motions.
The instructions attendant to the Informal Discovery Hearing procedure, which are set forth in the following section, do not apply to written discovery motions.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Pre-motion email requesting Informal Discovery Hearing must include required content and certification of good faith conference.
The movant shall send one (1) email, copying all parties, to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov. The subject line of the email shall include: “Request for Discovery Hearing.” The email shall provide the case number, case caption, the jointly proposed dates for the hearing, and the anticipated duration of the hearing. The email shall certify that the parties have conferred in a good faith attempt to resolve their dispute but have been unable to do so.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Parties must confer and identify at least two available hearing dates within 14 days to use Informal Discovery Hearing procedure.
The parties shall confer and identify at least two (2) dates within the next fourteen (14) days at which they are available for a hearing.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Any party may file a written discovery motion without leave of Magistrate Judge Louis; motions are considered in ordinary course unless expedited consideration is warranted.
Any party can file a written discovery motion without seeking Magistrate Judge Louis’s leave. Unless expedited consideration is warranted, the Court will consider the written motion in the ordinary course. See S.D. Fla. L.R. 7.1(d).
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Page 6 | III. DISCOVERY DISPUTE PROCEDURES, C. Raising a Discovery Dispute, 1. Written Discovery Motion
Rule 37(a) motions to compel discovery may be resolved via Informal Discovery Hearing.
For the avoidance of doubt, a motion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)—Motion for an Order Compelling Disclosure or Discovery—can be adjudicated at an Informal Discovery Hearing.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Participation in the Informal Discovery Hearing procedure is optional.
The Informal Discovery Hearing procedure is not mandatory.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Chambers Communication Rules
Parties filing a joint motion for protective order must promptly send the proposed order to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov via email.
If the parties file a joint motion for entry of a protective order, the parties shall promptly send to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov the proposed protective order in Word format. See S.D. Fla. CM/ECF Admin. Proc. 3I(6).
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Page 1 | I. AGREEMENTS FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF DISCOVERY
Parties may not send materials to chambers via email for hearings on written discovery motions.
For example, if the Court decides to set a hearing on a written discovery motion, the parties are neither required nor permitted to send materials to my chambers via email.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Request for Informal Discovery Hearing must be sent via email to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov.
The movant shall send one (1) email, copying all parties, to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov. The subject line of the email shall include: “Request for Discovery Hearing.” The email shall provide the case number, case caption, the jointly proposed dates for the hearing, and the anticipated duration of the hearing. The email shall certify that the parties have conferred in a good faith attempt to resolve their dispute but have been unable to do so.
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Page 7 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Each party must email relevant materials and proposed order to chambers by 12:00 PM two business days before Informal Discovery Hearing.
By no later than 12:00 P.M. two business days before the Informal Discovery Hearing, each party shall send an email to louis@flsd.uscourts.gov, attaching copies of all materials relevant to the discovery dispute(s) (“Source Materials”) and a proposed order setting forth the specific relief desired for each discovery request / category of discovery requests at issue.
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Page 8 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure
Only relevant materials may be sent to chambers; send only Answers if they include original requests.
Do not send any materials that are not relevant to the noticed dispute(s). I do not require separate copies of “Interrogatories” and “Answers to Interrogatories” if the Answers contain the language of each interrogatory therein; please send only the Answers. The same is true with respect to Requests for Production and Responses to Requests for Production; just send the Responses.
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Page 8 | 2. Informal Discovery Hearing Procedure