Lewis and Clark County District Court, Montana Document Filing Requirements

CRITICAL

Applies to

Email filing

Documents submitted under the email-filing guidelines must be properly signed and dated.

All documents must be properly signed and dated.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

Must include

proposed order

All motions filed conventionally, except for contested dispositive motions (e.g., motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions), shall include a proposed order with copies and addressed envelopes for all counsel of record. All such motions filed via e-filing shall include a proposed order that is submitted in .doc or .docx format.

All motions filed conventionally, except for contested dispositive motions (e.g., motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions), shall include a proposed order with copies and addressed envelopes for all counsel of record. All such motions filed via e-filing shall include a proposed order that is submitted in .doc or .docx format.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Omnibus memorandum

Discovery disputes do not justify refusing to complete an omnibus memorandum.

Disputes about discovery, however, are not a basis for refusal to complete an omnibus memorandum.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice of submittal

After a motion is fully briefed and any requested oral argument has been held, the movant must file a Notice of Submittal before the matter is deemed submitted for decision.

When any motion has been fully briefed and oral argument has been held (if requested), the movant shall advise the Court by filing and serving a “Notice of Submittal.” Until such notice has been filed and served, the matter will not be deemed submitted for decision.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

Must include

certificate of conference

A motion to compel discovery or for discovery sanctions must certify the movant's good-faith conference or attempted conference.

Any motion to compel discovery or for discovery sanctions shall certify that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the party failing to make discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion to extend scheduling order deadline

A motion to extend a scheduling-order deadline must state the trial date or, if no trial is scheduled, the pretrial conference date.

Motions to extend deadlines in scheduling orders must include a statement of when trial is scheduled (or if no trial is scheduled, the date of the pretrial conference).

CRITICAL

Applies to

Filing

A filing using the 6,500-word alternative must be accompanied by a certification stating the word count, line spacing, and the specified typeface and spacing details; the certification itself is excluded from the length calculation.

Filings may alternatively be limited to 6,500 words (excluding the caption, signature block, certificates of service or compliance, any tables of contents or authorities, and any appendices or exhibits) if accompanied by a certification of compliance which states the word count and the document’s line spacing and states either: (1) the document is proportionately spaced, together with the typeface and point size; or (2) the document uses a monospaced typeface, together with the number of characters per inch. A party may rely on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the brief. The certification is not included in calculating the document’s length.

INFO

Applies to

Reminder of submittal

A party affected by a matter under advisement for more than thirty days may file a Reminder of Submittal describing the matter and stating when it was taken under advisement.

If a judge has had any matter under advisement for more than thirty days, any party affected thereby may file and serve a “Reminder of Submittal,” describing the matter under advisement and stating the date it was taken under advisement.