District of Delaware Filing Rules
873 individual rules extracted from judicial documents in DED
These rules are extracted from individual judges' practices, standing orders, and policies published by the District of Delaware. They supplement the court's local rules and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Requirements vary significantly between judges in the same district, so always verify the specific rules for your assigned judge.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
Any submission using a word-count limit must include a certification of total word count.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Citations to intrinsic evidence must be in Joint Claim Construction Brief.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Motions to join parties or amend pleadings must be filed by specified deadline
- Judge Sherry R. Fallon
Additional expert reports require consent or court leave
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) must be made within 5 days of order entry.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
When a page limit is set by order or rule, parties may use a word-count alternative calculated at 250 words per page.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Discovery dispute letters limited to 3 pages; 48-hour and 24-hour filing deadlines.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Seeking party must file 3-page letter outlining dispute and position.
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Maximum number of interrogatories permitted per side.
- Judge Mary Pat Thynge
Defendant's answering brief limited to 30 pages.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Courtesy copy of sealed documents must be provided within one hour of e-filing.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Two hard copies required within 1 hour of e-filing.
- Judge Mary Pat Thynge
Two courtesy copies required for all briefs and supporting documents
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Two courtesy copies required for discovery letters
- Judge Christopher J. Burke
Two courtesy copies required for briefs and supporting documents; one copy for other documents.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
Absent a case-specific order, responses to pre-trial or post-trial motions are due in 21 calendar days, and any reply is due 10 calendar days after the response.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Pre-motion letter (max 3 pages) required for discovery disputes, with 7-day and 5-day filing deadlines.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Contact Case Manager to schedule in-person conference for discovery disputes.
- Judge Mary Pat Thynge
Letter filing deadline: 72 hours before conference, max 4 pages, double-spaced, 12pt font
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Joint letter required for discovery disputes after meet-and-confer
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
Citations must appear in body text rather than in footnotes or endnotes.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Jury documents must be submitted in Word format to specified email address.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Hard copies must comply with formatting requirements in paragraphs 10 and 14.
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Joint Claim Construction Chart must be in Word format and emailed to specific address.
- Judge Christopher J. Burke
Parties must highlight important portions of exhibits in yellow.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Sealed papers require original and copy to Clerk; redacted version due within 7 days.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Sealed documents require 1 original + 2 copies to Clerk; electronic redacted version within 7 days.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
Sealed courtesy copies no longer required in sealed envelopes.
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Technology tutorials may be filed under seal.
- Judge Mary Pat Thynge
ADR communications are confidential and disclosure is prohibited except by court authorization or party agreement.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
All phone calls to Chambers must include local counsel.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Contact Case Manager to schedule in-person conference for discovery disputes.
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Parties must notify court by joint letter about testimony request and time allocation for claim construction hearing
- Judge Mary Pat Thynge
Telephonic Rule 16 status conference scheduled with specific coordination requirement
- Judge Sherry R. Fallon
Counsel must discuss discovery issues before seeking court intervention
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
In limine requests must be included in proposed pretrial order with page limits.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Multiple motions relying on different facts must be filed separately
- Judge Gregory B. Williams
Motions in limine must be included in proposed pretrial order with page limits and combined submissions.
- Judge Christopher J. Burke
ADR/mediation communications must not be filed or docketed.
- Judge Sherry R. Fallon
ADR/mediation communications must not be filed or docketed.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
Either party may request a change to the presumptive response/reply schedule upon a showing of good cause.
- Judge Richard G. Andrews
Objections to expert reports must be raised within one week of submission.
- Judge Colm F. Connolly
Claim construction hearing: no testimony without prior approval, max 3 hours total.
- Judge Sherry R. Fallon
Objections to magistrate judge decisions are due within 14 days of service of R&R or Order
- Judge Eleanor G. Tennyson
Motions to join parties or amend pleadings must be filed by specified date.
- Judge Maryellen Noreika
The Court encourages attorneys with fewer than seven years of practice to participate in oral argument and trial proceedings, and welcomes notice when they will do so.
- Judge Christopher J. Burke
Judge encourages newer attorneys to argue motions they contributed to briefing for.