Southern District of Florida Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

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Civil cases

If a bona fide discovery dispute arises notwithstanding these guidelines, the parties must first confer in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute in compliance with S.D. Fla. L.R. 7.1(a)(3).

Summary: Before raising a discovery dispute, parties must confer in good faith as required by Local Rule 7.1(a)(3).

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Civil cases

if a good faith deposition scheduling dispute arises prior to a deposition, the service of the written notice of objections, followed by a good faith conference to resolve the dispute, will be sufficient to preserve the issues involved without fear of waiver prior to the Court resolving the dispute at a discovery conference.

Summary: A good faith conference following service of written notice of objections preserves deposition scheduling issues without waiver until the Court resolves the dispute at a discovery conference.

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Civil cases

Counsel must actually confer (in person or via telephone) and engage in reasonable compromise in a genuine effort to resolve their discovery disputes before filing a notice of a discovery hearing. In other words, there must be an actual conversation before a discovery hearing notice is filed. If counsel refuses to participate in a conversation, then the party seeking to set a discovery hearing shall so state in the required certificate of conference and outline the efforts made to have a conversation.

Summary: Parties must have actual conversation (in person or phone) before filing discovery hearing notice.

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Civil cases

No written discovery motions, including motions to compel, for protective order, or related motions for sanctions shall be filed unless specifically authorized by the Court.

Summary: Discovery motions (compel, protective order, sanctions) require Court authorization.

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Civil cases

The Court will strike any unauthorized discovery motions and memoranda.

Summary: Unauthorized discovery motions and memoranda will be stricken.

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Civil cases

The Court does not permit hybrid hearings. Thus, if a hearing is set as a Zoom hearing, then all counsel must participate on Zoom. If a hearing is set as an in-person hearing, then all counsel must attend in person.

Summary: No hybrid hearings - all counsel must participate via same method (Zoom or in-person).

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Civil cases

If the corporation or entity has any objections to the topics listed in the Rule 30(b)(6) notice, then its counsel shall first confer and try to resolve the deposition shall notice the dispute for a hearing before the Undersigned (following the same procedures outlined above) and obtain a ruling on the disputed topics before the Rule 30(b)(6) deposition occurs.

Summary: Objections to Rule 30(b)(6) topics must be resolved through conference or hearing before deposition.

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Civil cases

Fifth and finally, an objection to designated testimony may only be raised after a full, reasonable conferral between the parties on the issue in dispute as more fully set forth below.

Summary: Objections require full, reasonable conferral between parties before being raised.

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Civil cases

Counsel desiring to utilize laptop computers or other electronic equipment in the courtroom shall file a motion and submit a proposed order granting such use one week prior to the commencement of trial. The motion and proposed order should describe with specificity (1) the equipment, (2) the make and model of the equipment, and (3) the identity of the person who will bring the proposed equipment. A sample order permitting electronic equipment into the courtroom is available for viewing on the Court’s website at: http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov / content / judge-robin-l-rosenberg. Counsel shall contact the courtroom deputy at least one week prior to trial to discuss any special equipment (video monitor, etc.) that may require special arrangements.

Summary: Motion required one week before trial to use electronic equipment in courtroom.

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Civil cases

including motions to compel, for protective order, or for sanctions, without the consent of Magistrate Judge XXXX. Counsel must actually confer and engage in reasonable compromise in a genuine effort to resolve their discovery disputes before seeking the Court’s intervention. The Court may impose sanctions, monetary or otherwise, if it determines that a party has improperly sought or withheld discoverable material in bad faith. If, after conferring, the parties are unable to resolve their discovery dispute without Court intervention, they shall not file written motions. Rather, the parties shall follow Judge XXXX’s discovery practices and procedures to schedule the matter for a hearing.

Summary: Discovery disputes must be resolved through conference before filing motions; sanctions may be imposed for bad faith.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

If a discovery dispute arises, counsel must actually speak to one another (in person or via telephone) and engage in reasonable compromise in a genuine effort to resolve their discovery disputes before seeking Court intervention.

Summary: Counsel must attempt to resolve discovery disputes through direct communication before seeking court intervention.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

No discovery motions shall be filed until after the parties have engaged in this process.

Summary: Discovery motions cannot be filed until after attempting to resolve disputes through direct communication.

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Civil cases

If a discovery dispute arises, the parties must actually speak to one another, either in person, via telephone, or via Zoom (or equivalent conferencing/communication platform) to resolve their discovery disputes before seeking court intervention. E-mail correspondence alone does not constitute a sufficient conferral.

Summary: Parties must have good faith in-person, phone, or video conference before filing discovery motions.

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Civil cases

parties must first confer in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute in compliance with S.D. Fla. L.R. 7.1(a)(3). Counsel must under this Local Rule certify that good faith efforts were made. An adequate certificate of conference almost always requires at least one, if not more, personal communications between counsel. Note, especially, that un-responded to emails are not enough to satisfy counsel's obligations under this Rule. The Court will deem an issue waived if counsel fails to abide by this obligation or fails to certify compliance with the Rule.

Summary: Discovery disputes require good faith conference and certification under Local Rule 7.1(a)(3).

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Civil cases

Before requesting any relief related to a discovery dispute, the parties must first confer in a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute in compliance with Local Rule 7.1(a)(3). Under this Local Rule, counsel must certify that they made good-faith efforts to confer. An adequate certificate of conference requires at least one personal communication (in person, by videoconference, or by telephone), if not more, between counsel. The Court cautions counsel that sending an email demanding a response or position on the same day is insufficient to satisfy the conferral obligations

Summary: Parties must confer in good faith before seeking discovery relief, with at least one personal communication (in person, videoconference, or telephone).

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

If a discovery dispute arises, counsel must confer by actually speaking to one another (in person or via telephone) and engage in a genuine effort to resolve the discovery dispute before seeking Court intervention. Conferring via email or text message is not sufficient.

Summary: Discovery disputes require in-person or phone conference before seeking court intervention.

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Civil cases

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).

Summary: Parties must confer in good faith to resolve discovery disputes before bringing the dispute before the Court.

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Civil cases

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.

Summary: Sanctions motions must be filed in writing and cannot be resolved via Informal Discovery Hearing.

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Civil cases

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.

Summary: 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.

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Civil cases

The instructions attendant to the Informal Discovery Hearing procedure, which are set forth in the following section, do not apply to written discovery motions.

Summary: Informal Discovery Hearing procedures do not apply to written discovery motions.

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Civil cases

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.

Summary: Parties must confer and identify at least two available hearing dates within 14 days to use Informal Discovery Hearing procedure.

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Civil cases

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.

Summary: Pre-motion email requesting Informal Discovery Hearing must include required content and certification of good faith conference.

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Civil cases

If the parties are unable to resolve their discovery disputes without Court intervention, Judge Reid will set the matter for hearing without the need for filing a motion. Discovery hearings take place every Wednesday.

Summary: Discovery disputes are resolved via hearing set by Judge Reid without requiring a motion; hearings are held every Wednesday.

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Civil cases

No hearing shall be set unless the parties confirm a proper conferral or conferral attempt occurred.

Summary: Hearings are only set if parties confirm they conferred or attempted to confer.

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Civil cases

Personal conferral, in person or by phone, is required unless the opposing party or counsel—after providing a reasonable time to respond—refuses to confer, in which case the moving party should advise the Court of such good faith efforts to confer and the opposing party or counsel’s refusal.

Summary: Personal conferral (in person/phone) required unless opposing party refuses after reasonable time; moving party must advise court of refusal.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

If a discovery dispute arises, counsel must actually speak to one another (in person or via telephone or videoconference) in a genuine effort to resolve the disputed matter prior to seeking Court intervention.

Summary: Counsel must confer in good faith before seeking court intervention for discovery disputes.

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Civil cases

No party may file a disputed discovery motion, including a motion to compel, motion for confidentiality or protective order, or motion for discovery-related sanctions, unless the party has complied with the above procedures.

Summary: Discovery motions require compliance with pre-filing procedures.

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Civil cases

The Court will deny a discovery motion if the filing party has not complied with these procedures.

Summary: Non-compliant discovery motions will be denied.

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Civil cases

If a discovery dispute arises, the parties must actually speak to one another, either in person, via telephone, or via Zoom to resolve their discovery disputes before seeking court intervention. E-mail correspondence alone does not constitute a sufficient conferral. As such, counsel shall discuss the available options for resolving the dispute without court intervention and make a concerted, good faith effort to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.

Summary: Parties must confer in person, by phone, or via Zoom to resolve discovery disputes before filing a discovery motion; email alone is insufficient.

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Civil cases

If a discovery dispute arises, the parties must confer either in person or via telephone to resolve their discovery disputes before seeking court intervention. Email correspondence alone does not constitute a sufficient conferral.

Summary: Parties must confer in person or by phone before filing discovery motion.

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Civil cases

If a discovery dispute arises, the parties must confer either in person, by videoconference, or by telephone, and engage in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute before seeking Court intervention. Email correspondence alone is insufficient. Counsel must certify that they engaged in such good faith efforts in attempting to resolve the dispute in compliance with Local Rule 7.1(a)(3).

Summary: Parties must confer in good faith (in person, video, or phone, not just email) before seeking court intervention for discovery disputes.

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Civil cases

The parties shall not raise discovery disputes by motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 absent leave of the Court. All discovery motions filed without leave will be stricken. This restriction on filing motions does not apply to motions to stay discovery or to motions seeking additional time or changes to the deadlines to respond to discovery. Those motions are to be filed on the docket for the District Judge’s consideration.

Summary: Discovery motions under Rule 37 are prohibited without court leave; exceptions for stay discovery or extension of time to respond to discovery motions, which go to District Judge.

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Civil cases

If the Court enters an order that differs from the proposed order and the parties have an objection to the order as entered, they must follow the procedures for scheduling a discovery hearing so that objections may be heard by the Court without the need for the filing of a motion.

Summary: Objections to Court-entered orders differing from proposed order must use discovery hearing procedures, no motion required.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

Within 21 days of the filing of a response to the complaint by a Defendant in this matter, the parties must meet and confer regarding discovery and scheduling issues, as set out in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) and Local Rule 16.1(b).

Summary: Parties must meet and confer within 21 days of defendant's response.

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Civil cases

The parties must file responses and replies to discovery motions no later than seven days after a motion, or response, is filed.

Summary: Responses and replies to discovery motions due within 7 days.

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Civil cases

Discovery motions (which must contain the Local Rule 7.1(a)(3) certification of good-faith conference) will be handled on an expedited briefing schedule and with a shortened page limitation, to prevent delay to the pretrial schedule.

Summary: Discovery motions require good-faith conference certification and have expedited briefing with shortened page limits.

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Civil cases

Sending an email or telefax to opposing counsel with a demand that a discovery response or position be provided on the same day will rarely, if ever, be deemed a good faith effort to confer before filing a discovery hearing notice.

Summary: Email/telefax demands for same-day response are not good faith confer efforts.

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Civil cases

The Court holds a regular discovery calendar every Friday afternoon.

Summary: Discovery hearings scheduled every Friday afternoon.

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Civil cases

When counsel (or a pro se party) seeking the discovery hearing contacts Chambers, he or she must disclose whether the attorneys who will be arguing at the hearing are local (i.e., located in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, or Palm Beach County) or not local.

Summary: Must disclose if attorneys are local (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) or not local when scheduling discovery hearing.

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Civil cases

Chambers will provide available dates for the party to confer with opposing counsel and confirm his or her availability for the discovery calendar.

Summary: Chambers provides available dates for parties to confer and confirm availability.

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Civil cases

For those discovery disputes which are particularly complex (and there are not many of those) and which a party believes will require briefing, a motion for leave to file a discovery motion or memoranda may be filed. The motion should briefly explain the

Summary: Motion for leave to file discovery motion/memoranda may be filed for complex disputes.

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Civil cases

The Court will review sua sponte any motions (other than those referred to the Magistrate Judge) and determine which motions are appropriate for a hearing.

Summary: Court will sua sponte review motions and determine which require hearings.

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Civil cases

The Court’s sua sponte setting of hearings on motions does not preclude the parties from requesting oral argument, as appropriate, on filed motions.

Summary: Parties may still request oral argument even if Court sets hearings sua sponte.

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Civil cases

The Informal Discovery Hearing procedure is not mandatory.

Summary: Participation in the Informal Discovery Hearing procedure is optional.

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Civil cases

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).

Summary: 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.

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Civil cases

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.

Summary: Rule 37(a) motions to compel discovery may be resolved via Informal Discovery Hearing.

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Civil cases

The parties may file joint motions, such as a joint motion for entry of a stipulated confidentiality or protective order, without complying with the above procedures.

Summary: Joint motions exempt from pre-filing procedures.