Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO: 3:13-CV-68
08-08-2014
ESTATE OF WAYNE A. JONES, by Robert L. Jones and Bruce A. Jones, Administrators of the Estate of Wayne A. Jones, Plaintiff, v. THE CITY OF MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, DOES 1 TO 25, Pfc. Erik Herb, Pfc. Daniel North, Ptlm. William Staubs, Ptlm. Paul Lehman, and Pfc. Eric Neely, Defendants.
(JUDGE GROH)
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO INCREASE NUMBER OF PAGES IN BRIEF
Currently pending before the Court is the Defendants' motion [Doc. 117] requesting leave to file a forty-page memorandum supporting a motion for summary judgment. They assert that they need a memorandum of this length because they will be presenting an implied immunity defense that requires detailed facts.
A supporting memorandum may not exceed twenty-five pages. N.D.W. Va. L. R. Civ. P. 7.02(a). "[F]or good cause shown," a court may allow a supporting memorandum to exceed this limit. Id. Memoranda exceeding page limits, however, are the exception rather than the rule. See Dag Petroleum Suppliers, LLC v. BP P.L.C., Civil Action No. 1:05cv1323, 2006 WL 2345908, at *2 (E.D. Va. Aug. 9, 2006) (denying excess pages because "conclusory references to the complexity of this case [were] an utterly insufficient basis to waive the page limitations imposed by the local rules"). Indeed, the twenty-five page limit is "sufficient except in the most extraordinary circumstances." Surrett v. Consol. Metco, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:11cv106, 2012 WL 1340548, at *3 (W.D.N.C. Apr. 18, 2012).
Here, the Court does not find good cause to allow the Defendants to exceed the page limit. The Defendants have only conclusorily asserted that they must present "detailed facts" to support a defense. They have not shown that this presents extraordinary circumstances. Accordingly, the Court DENIES the Motion to Increase Number of Pages in Brief.
It is so ORDERED.
The Clerk is directed to transmit copies of this Order to all counsel of record.
DATED: August 8, 2014
/s/_________
GINA M. GROH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE