US · rules
D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 7.1
Application and Motion Practice
(a) No Prefiling Applications
No applications will be entertained by a Judge in any action until the action has been filed, allocated and
assigned.
(b) All Motions
(1) Unless a Judge advises the attorneys otherwise, all motions, regardless of their complexity and
the relief sought, shall be presented and defended in the manner set forth in L.Civ.R. 7.1.
(2) The Notice of Motion and all papers in support of or in opposition to the motion, including
briefs, must be filed electronically with the Clerk.
(3) Motions filed electronically by ECF Registered Users shall also comply with the Policies and
Procedures that govern Electronic Case Filing for the District of New Jersey.
(4) The procedure for requesting and scheduling oral argument is set forth in L.Civ.R. 78.1.
(c) Motion Days
(1) The regular motion days for all vicinages are set forth in L.Civ.R. 78.1. All applications, other
than applications under L.Civ.R. 65.1, by notice of motion or otherwise, shall be made returnable before the
Judge to whom the case has been assigned on the first regular motion day which is at least 24 days after the date
of filing.
(2) If a motion is noticed for any day other than a regular motion day, unless such day has been fixed
by the Court, the Clerk shall list the disposition of the motion for the next regular motion day and notify all
parties of the change in date.
(d) Filing Motion Papers
(1) No application will be heard unless the moving papers and a brief, prepared in accordance with
L.Civ.R. 7.2, and proof or acknowledgment of service on all other parties, are filed with the Clerk at least 24
days prior to the noticed motion day. The brief shall be a separate document for submission to the Court, and
shall note the motion day on the cover page.
(2) The brief and papers in opposition to a motion, specifying the motion day on the cover page,
with proof or acknowledgment of service thereof on all other parties, must be filed with the Clerk at least 14
days prior to the original motion day, unless the Court otherwise orders, or an automatic extension is obtained
pursuant to L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(5).
(3) If the moving party chooses to file papers in reply, those papers including a reply brief specifying
the motion day on the cover page, with proof or acknowledgment of service thereof on all other parties, must be
filed with the Clerk at least seven days prior to the motion day. No reply papers shall be filed, unless permitted
by the Court, relating to the following motions: Cross under L.Civ.R. 7.1(h); Reconsideration under L.Civ.R.
7.1(i); Case Management under L.Civ.R. 16.1(g)(2); and Discovery under L.Civ.R. 37.1(b)(3).
(4) In lieu of filing any brief pursuant to L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(1), (2) or (3), a party may file a statement
that no brief is necessary and the reasons therefor.
(5) The original motion day of a dispositive motion may be adjourned once by a party opposing the
motion, without the consent of the moving party, the Court, or the Clerk. To obtain the automatic extension
a party must file with the Clerk, and serve upon all other parties, a letter stating that the originally noticed
motion day has not previously been extended or adjourned and invoking the provisions of this rule before
the date on which opposition papers would otherwise be due under L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(2). That letter shall set
forth the new motion day, which shall be the next available motion day following the originally noticed date.
All parties opposing the motion shall file their opposition papers at least 14 days prior to the new motion
day, and the moving party shall file its reply papers, if any, at least seven days prior to the new motion day.
No other extension of the time limits provided in L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(2) and (3) shall be permitted without an
Order of the Court, and any application for such an extension shall advise the Court whether other parties
have or have not consented to such request.
(6) No sur-replies are permitted without permission of the Judge to whom the case is assigned.
(7) The Court may reject any brief or other paper not filed within the time specified.
(e) Preparation of Order
All filed motions shall have annexed thereto a proposed order. If the proposed order does not adequately
reflect the Court’s ruling, the prevailing party, if directed by the Court, shall submit an order within seven days
of the ruling on the motion on notice to all other parties. Unless the Court otherwise directs, if no specific
objection to that order with reasons therefor is received within seven days of its receipt by the Court, the order
may be signed. If such an objection is made, the matter may be listed for hearing at the discretion of the Court.
(f) Certain Motions Regarding Additional Pleadings
(1) Upon filing of a motion for leave to file a complaint in intervention, the moving party shall
attach to the motion a copy of the proposed pleading and shall state whether the motion is opposed. If leave to
file is granted, the moving party shall file the original forthwith. Service shall be accomplished consistent with
the Fed. R. Civ. P. and these Rules.
(2) Provisions relating to the filing and service of motions for leave to file an amended pleading are
set forth in L.Civ.R. 15.1.
(g) Courtesy Copies
In addition to the filing of all papers, including briefs, in support of or in opposition to a motion, the filer
must submit forthwith to the Judge’s chambers one courtesy copy of each filed paper or brief in paper form,
unless otherwise directed by the judicial officer. These documents shall be clearly marked as courtesy copies.
(h) Cross-Motion
A cross-motion related to the subject matter of the original motion may be filed by the party opposing
the motion together with that party’s opposition papers and may be noticed for disposition on the same day as
the original motion, as long as the opposition papers are timely filed. Upon the request of the original moving
party, the Court may enlarge the time for filing a brief and/or papers in opposition to the cross-motion and
adjourn the original motion day. A party filing a cross-motion shall serve and file a combined brief in
opposition to the original motion and in support of the cross-motion, which shall not exceed 40 pages. No reply
brief in support of the cross-motion shall be served and filed without leave of the assigned Judge. The original
moving party shall file a single combined reply brief in support of its motion and in opposition to the
crossmotion, which shall not exceed 40 pages (in contrast to the 15-page limit for replies as provided in
L.Civ.R. 7.2(b)). The provisions of L.Civ.R. 7.1(d)(5) apply to dispositive cross-motions.
(i) Motions for Reconsideration
Unless otherwise provided by statute or rule (such as Fed. R. Civ. P. 50, 52 and 59), a motion for
reconsideration shall be served and filed within 14 days after the entry of the order or judgment on the original
motion by the Judge. A brief setting forth concisely the matter or controlling decisions which the party believes
the Judge has overlooked shall be filed with the Notice of Motion.
History
Amended: March 31, 1999; February 24, 2005; December 13, 2007; March 1, 2010; October 14, 2010; March 8, 2012; June 19, 2013; May 10, 2014.
Provenance
- Source
- www.njd.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-18
- Edition
- fed-district-2026-09-18
- Content hash
c565b27b0cd68fcb150a72255b729ef6d94a06217a39c096f892eff3e49765bc
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.