Opinion
Civil Action No. 15-10517
07-09-2015
KIMBERLY A. STOLECKI, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
Honorable Marianne O. Battani
ORDER STRIKING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [R. 12]
On July 3, 2015, plaintiff Kimberly Stolecki filed a motion for summary judgment [R. 12] that violates the Local Rules of this District and fails to comply with the Court's Text-Only Order dated June 11, 2015.
The Local Rules for the Eastern District of Michigan provide that the length of a supporting brief may not exceed 25 pages and that the type size of all text must be no smaller than 14 point font. E.D. Mich. LR 5.1(a)(3), 7.1(d)(3). Stolecki's brief is 41 pages and in 12 point font. Furthermore, the margins of her brief appear to be non-standard and in violation of the Local Rules' requirement that all margins be one-inch. See E.D. LR 5.1(a)(2). Stolecki also failed to comply with the Court's Text-Only Order requiring that:
Motions or briefs shall cite to the administrative record using the following format: docket number-docket subpart, transcript page number. So, for example, if a party is citing to a portion of the ALJ's decision, the citation would look something like: [R. 13-2, Tr. 29]. Motions and briefs that do not use this format will be stricken and must be corrected before refiling.[Text-Only Order, June 11, 2015].
The Comments to E.D. Mich. LR 5.1 and 7.1 warn that "[a]ttempts to circumvent the LR in any way may be considered an abusive practice which may result in papers being stricken as well as sanctions being imposed under LR 11.1." Although Stolecki was not necessarily attempting to circumvent the Local Rules, the Court urges counsel to review the requirements of the Local Rules to ensure compliance going forward.
Pursuant to LR 7.1(d)(3), a party may apply ex parte in writing to file a longer brief. Since the administrative record in this action is extraordinarily long, the Court waives the requirement to seek leave to file a longer brief. The parties' respective briefs may not exceed 40 pages, and Stolecki's reply brief may not exceed 10 pages.
Stolecki's motion for summary judgment [R. 12] is STRICKEN. She must file an updated motion that complies with the Local Rules and uses the citation format illustrated above by July 17 , 2015 . Defendant's motion for summary judgment is now due August 17 , 2015 , and Stolecki's reply is due August 31 , 2015 .
IT IS ORDERED.
s/Elizabeth A. Stafford
ELIZABETH A. STAFFORD
United States Magistrate Judge
Dated: July 9, 2015
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court's ECF System to their respective email or First Class U.S. mail addresses disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on July 9, 2015.
s/Marlena Williams
MARLENA WILLIAMS
Case Manager