Opinion
CASE NO.' CV409-172
09-28-2011
KARINE L. MAIER, as surviving spouse of James R. Maier and as Executrix of the Estate of James R. Maier, Plaintiff, v. GREEN EYES USA, INC.; FAUSTINO JIMENEZ; CANAL INSURANCE COMPANY; SHELLY, MIDDLEBROOKS & O'LEARY, INC.; AEQUICAP INSURANCE COMPANY; K. v. CARRIER SERVICES, INC.; JAKE KANONITZ; KANNON & KANNON INSURANCE, INC.; DOT SERVICES CORP.; and AEQUICAP PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS, INC; Defendants.
ORDER
Before the Court is Defendant K.V. Carrier Services, Inc.'s ("KV") Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 152) and accompanying Brief in Support {Doc. 164). The Court has invested significant resources in an attempt to rule on this dispositive motion, but finds the task wholly insurmountable given the present state of Defendant KV s accompanying brief. Fundamentally, this Court applies Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 to summary judgment motions, not O.C.G.A. § 9-11-56 and the Georgia Civil Practice Act. (Doc. 164 at 2.) Defendant's counsel is specifically advised that motions must contain citations to aid the Court in deciding a case. Citations to the record should be to document and page numbers as assigned by the Clerk of Court. S.D. Ga. L.R. 7.1. Further, the Local Rules of this Court provide that pleadings should be double-spaced. S.D. Ga. L.R. 83.6.
Most importantly, however, briefs should aid, and not inhibit, the Court in deciding the motions before it. String citations without pincites or parentheticals are unhelpful, as is haphazard highlighting throughout a document. Transitionless jumps between unsupported facts devoid of any citation to record, and legal summaries related to this case in topic alone, leave this Court with far from a clear picture of Defendant's contentions. In fairness, Plaintiff should not be required to respond to such an incohesive document.
For the reasons above, Defendant is afforded the opportunity to file a Second Motion for Summary Judgment and proper, corrected brief within thirty days of the date of this order. Plaintiff is granted twenty-one days to respond, after which normal reply briefing deadlines will apply. Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 152) is DISMISSED.
WILLIAM T. MOORE, JR .
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA