Western District of Washington Adjournment & Extension Requirements

Continuance requests require prior contact with chambers to obtain an approved trial date, followed by a stipulated motion.

Source text: Please contact the Courtroom Deputy at KKEcrd@wawd.uscourts.gov before requesting a continuance of a trial date to a future date certain, to ensure the Court’s availability. After the parties obtain an approved new trial date from the Courtroom Deputy, the parties may file a stipulated motion for a continuance.

Motions to continue must be filed timely; failure to do so constitutes waiver.

Source text: Counsel must file motions to continue in a timely manner. For example, absent good cause, motions to continue the pretrial motions deadline must be filed before that deadline; 'a failure to timely raise a pretrial objection required by Rule 12, absent a showing of good cause, constitutes a waiver.' United States v. Ghanem, 993 F.3d 1113, 1120 (9th Cir. 2021) (cleaned up).

Extension motions must be filed 3 business days before deadline.

Source text: Motions for extensions of time shall be filed at least three (3) business days in advance of the expiration of the relevant deadline.

Counsel must remain within 20 minutes of courthouse during jury deliberations.

Source text: Throughout jury deliberations, Counsel must remain within 20 (twenty) minutes of the courthouse in order for the Court to expeditiously respond to any jury notes or a verdict. Counsel who choose not to remain in the immediate vicinity of the courtroom must provide the Courtroom Deputy with a telephone number where they can be contacted.

Motions for extension of time must be filed 3 business days before deadline, response due within 2 days, no replies

Source text: Motions for Extension of Time 3 business days before any deadline; response due within 2 days of the motion; no replies

Motions to continue trial date must be filed before pretrial motions deadline

Source text: Motions to Continue Trial Date Prior to the pretrial motions deadline

Extension motions must be filed 3 business days before deadline.

Source text: Motions for extensions of time shall be filed at least three (3) business days in advance of the expiration of the relevant deadline.

Reschedule motions must be filed 5 business days before hearing.

Source text: Motions to reschedule are discouraged because of their impact on the Court's calendar. If rescheduling is necessary, the motion shall be filed no later than five (5) business days before the scheduled hearing.

Discovery and non-dispositive motions must be noted no earlier than the 3rd Friday after filing; dispositive motions and preliminary injunction motions must be noted no earlier than the 4th Friday after filing.

Source text: Special Noting Rules where a party is confined All discovery and non-dispositive motions shall be noted no earlier than the 3rd Friday after filing and service. All dispositive motions and motions seeking preliminary injunctions shall be noted no earlier than the 4th Friday after filing and service. See Local Rule CR 7(d)(2).

14-day deadline to file appeal motion for magistrate rulings not covered by other procedures.

Source text: Any ruling by a magistrate judge, which by law is reviewable by a district judge, but as to which no review procedure is otherwise prescribed, shall be subject to review upon a motion filed within fourteen days of the entry of the ruling.

Time periods extend to next business day if deadline falls on weekend/holiday; ECF system failures after 5pm or >2 hours extend deadlines to next business day.

Source text: When the Local Rules or a court order permits a party to act within a period of time stated in days or a longer unit of time and the last day of the period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, as defined by Fed. R. Civ. P. 6, the time period continues to run until the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. “Following day” is determined by counting only forward in time. If an order of the court sets a specific calendar date by which a party must act, the date is not extended even if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday unless otherwise ordered by the court. If access to the electronic filing system is not available due to failure of the court’s filing system(s) for a period longer than two hours, or any period after 5pm, or if the courthouse is closed for unanticipated reasons, filing deadlines are extended to the next business day. If the closure results in a party having additional time to file a response to a motion, then the deadline for the party filing a reply shall be extended by the same number of days.

Over-length motion requests must be filed 3 days before deadline; limited to 700 words/2 pages

Source text: Motions seeking approval to file an over-length motion or brief are disfavored but may be filed subject to the following: (1) The motion shall be filed as soon as possible but no later than three days before the underlying motion or brief is due, and shall be noted for consideration for the day on which it is filed, pursuant to LCR 7(d)(1). (2) The motion shall be no more than 700 words or, if written by hand or with a typewriter, two pages in length and shall request a specific number of additional words or pages.

Motion for reconsideration must be labeled and filed within 14 days of order

Source text: A motion for reconsideration shall be plainly labeled as such. The motion shall be filed within fourteen days after the order to which it relates is filed.

Motions for relief from deadlines must be filed in advance to allow ruling before deadline.

Source text: A motion for relief from a deadline should, whenever possible, be filed sufficiently in advance of the deadline to allow the court to rule on the motion prior to the deadline. Parties should not assume that the motion will be granted and must comply with the existing deadline unless the court orders otherwise.

Emergency deadline extensions require adverse party contact, meet-and-confer, and stipulation.

Source text: If a true, unforeseen emergency exists that prevents a party from meeting a deadline, and the emergency arose too late to file a motion for relief from the deadline, the party should contact the adverse party, meet and confer regarding an extension, and file a stipulation and proposed order with the court. Alternatively, the parties may use the procedure for telephonic motions in LCR 7(i).

Moving party can renote own motion before response; after response requires stipulation or court order.

Source text: A moving party may renote its own pending motion itself by promptly filing a document titled Notice of Motion Renoted and changing the noting date in CM/ECF before any opposing party files a response to the motion. Once a response has been filed, the motion may be renoted only by filing a stipulation signed by all parties or by order of the court.

Withdrawing motion after noting date requires immediate phone call to chambers; failure may result in sanctions.

Source text: A moving party may withdraw its own pending motion by filing a Notice to Withdraw Pending Motion. If the noting date for the motion has already passed, the party must also immediately telephone the assigned judge's chambers to notify his or her staff that the pending motion has been withdrawn; the failure to do so may result in the imposition of sanctions.

Judgment must be entered within 30 days after bench trial unless court orders otherwise for good cause.

Source text: Judgment shall be entered within 30 days after a bench trial, except as ordered by the court for good cause.

Cases pending over 9 months without record proceedings may be dismissed for lack of prosecution; plaintiff gets opportunity to show cause; dismissal operates as adjudication on merits unless court orders otherwise.

Source text: (1) Any case that has been pending in this court for more than nine months without any proceeding of record having been taken may be dismissed by the court on its own motion for lack of prosecution. The plaintiff in any such action will be given an opportunity to show cause in writing, or at the court’s election in open court, why the case should not be dismissed. A dismissal under this subparagraph will operate as an adjudication on the merits, as provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b), unless the court orders otherwise.

Motion for costs must be filed within 21 days of judgment.

Source text: The party in whose favor a judgment is rendered, and who seeks to recover costs, shall, within twenty-one days after the entry of judgment, file and serve a motion for costs and necessary disbursements, also known as a bill of costs.

Appeal of costs decision must be filed within 7 days.

Source text: The taxation of costs by the clerk shall be final, unless modified on appeal to the district court judge or magistrate judge to whom the case was assigned. An appeal may be taken by filing a motion to retax which shall be filed and served within seven days after costs have been taxed and which shall specify the ruling(s) of the clerk to which the party objects.

Written notice (14 days) required before default motion if defaulting party has appeared.

Source text: However, in the case of a defaulting party who has entered an appearance, the moving party must give the defaulting party written notice of the requesting party’s intention to move for the entry of default at least fourteen days prior to filing its motion and must provide evidence that such notice has been given in the motion for entry of default.

Attorney has 30 days to respond to Order to Show Cause for reciprocal discipline

Source text: (ii) an order directing the attorney to show cause within 30 days why reciprocal discipline should not be imposed by this court;

Attorney has 30 days to respond to Order to Show Cause for criminal conviction

Source text: (iii) an order directing the attorney to show cause within 30 days why the criminal conviction or underlying facts do not affect the attorney’s fitness to practice law, and why discipline should not be imposed by this court;

Defendants must be served within 90 days of filing complaint.

Source text: The defendant(s) must be served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, as established by FRCP 4(m).

Service must be completed within 90 days of filing the complaint.

Source text: You must perfect service within 90 days from the date the complaint has been filed, or your case may be dismissed.

Extension requests must be filed at least 3 business days before deadline.

Source text: Motions for extensions of time shall be filed at least three (3) business days in advance of the expiration of the relevant deadline.

Rescheduling motions must be filed at least 5 business days before hearing.

Source text: Motions to reschedule are discouraged. If rescheduling is necessary, the motion shall be filed no later than FIVE (5) business days before the scheduled hearing.

Extension motions must be filed at least 3 business days before the deadline; opposition due within 2 business days.

Source text: Motions for extensions of time shall be filed at least three (3) business days in advance of the expiration of the relevant deadline. Any opposition must be filed within two (2) business days of the motion. Untimely motions or responsive pleadings may be summarily denied, stricken, or ignored.

Oppositions due 21 days after motion, replies due 14 days after opposition.

Source text: Instead, oppositions shall be filed no later than TWENTY−ONE (21) days after a motion is filed. A moving party's reply shall be filed no later than FOURTEEN (14) days after an opposition has been filed.

Extension motions must be filed at least 3 business days before deadline.

Source text: Motions for extensions of time shall be filed at least THREE (3) business days in advance of the expiration of the relevant deadline.

Rescheduling motions must be filed at least 5 business days before hearing.

Source text: Motions to reschedule are discouraged because of their impact on the Court's calendar. If rescheduling is necessary, the motion shall be filed no later than FIVE (5) business days before the scheduled hearing.

Motions to continue trial date only allowed for exceptional circumstances.

Source text: Judge Robart will not consider motions or stipulations to continue the trial date absent exceptional circumstances.

Motions to extend deadlines must be filed well in advance; deadlines remain in effect until ruling.

Source text: Deadlines remain operational until the Court has ruled on a motion to extend those deadlines, so parties should file motions to extend a deadline well in advance of the deadline. The Court will not prioritize such motions simply because the parties have waited until a deadline is imminent before filing a motion to extend.

Contact Victoria Ericksen by email to request continuance of initial scheduling deadlines.

Source text: Should the parties wish to request a continuance of the deadlines set forth in the Court’s Order Regarding Initial Disclosures and Joint Status Report, counsel are directed to contact the Court’s courtroom deputy, Victoria Ericksen, by email at victoria_ericksen@wawd.uscourts.gov.

Meet and confer required before requesting continuance.

Source text: The parties who have already appeared in this matter are required to meet and confer before contacting the Court to request an extension.

Filing written motions/stipulations for continuance is prohibited.

Source text: Unless otherwise instructed, the parties are directed to refrain from filing a written motion or stipulation to request a continuance of these deadlines.

Parties may request amendment to amended case schedule deadlines within 14 days if irreconcilable conflicts exist.

Source text: If the Court grants the stipulated motion for a continuance, it will issue an amended case schedule using its standard offset dates (in the table below). If any of the deadlines in the amended case schedule cause an irreconcilable conflict, the parties may request amendment within 14 days after the amended case schedule is entered.

Parties should maintain or increase time between deadlines per Section I; Judge will not decrease time between SJ/limine noting and trial without extraordinary basis.

Source text: In proposing new deadlines, the parties should endeavor to provide at least as much time between deadlines as shown in the scheduling template in Section I. Judge King will not decrease the amount of time between the summary judgment motion noting date and the trial date, or between the motion in limine noting date and the trial date, unless the parties set forth an extraordinary basis for doing so.

Trial continuances require good cause beyond normal litigation; discovery delays or settlement discussions don't qualify.

Source text: Judge Cartwright disfavors trial continuances and will not grant them absent good cause beyond the normal process of litigation. A failure to complete discovery within the time allowed or a decision to engage in settlement discussions does not on its own create good cause, although Judge Cartwright will consider requests for brief continuances where the parties have secured a mediation date or where there is a compelling reason that discovery could not be completed as scheduled.

Failure to respond to Order to Show Cause may be deemed acquiescence

Source text: (iii) notification that failure by the attorney to file a timely response to the Order to Show Cause may be deemed acquiescence to reciprocal discipline.

Failure to respond to Order to Show Cause may be deemed acquiescence for criminal conviction

Source text: (iii) notification that failure by the attorney to file a timely response to the Order to Show Cause may be deemed acquiescence to discipline based upon the criminal conviction.

Exemption requests must be submitted in writing one week before conference.

Source text: A request to be exempt from this requirement should be submitted to the Court in writing no later than one week prior to the conference. Please address any request to [insert name], Judicial Law Clerk to Magistrate Judge Fricke, at: [insert email]. The email subject line should include your case number and 'Request for non-appearance of a party.'

Motions to reschedule hearings must be filed at least 5 business days before the hearing with alternative dates.

Source text: Motions to reschedule are discouraged. If rescheduling is necessary, the motion shall be filed no later than FIVE (5) business days before the scheduled hearing. The motion shall contain alternative dates and times which are available for all parties.

Schedule modifications require extraordinary justification to shorten the 90-day period.

Source text: Judge Jones will not modify this schedule unless the parties set forth an extraordinary basis for modifying the scheduling order to decrease the period between the dispositive motion cutoff and the trial date to less than 90 days.

Parties may agree to extend deadline to answer or respond to pleadings without court order, absent extraordinary delay or special circumstances.

Source text: Absent extraordinary delay or other special circumstances, the parties are free to agree among themselves to extend the deadline to answer or otherwise respond to claims, counterclaims, or crossclaims contained in a pleading without a Court order.

Transfer or remand orders become effective 14 days after filing unless otherwise ordered.

Source text: Unless otherwise ordered by the court, an order transferring a case to another district or remanding a case shall become effective 14 days after the date the order is filed.

Opposition and reply to costs motion follow LCR 7(d)(3) timing.

Source text: A party objecting to any item of costs shall file opposition papers at the time set forth in LCR 7(d)(3). The moving party shall file a reply, if any, at the time set forth in LCR 7(d)(3).