Opinion
2:22-cv-01262-DJA
11-29-2022
Suzanne Michaels, Plaintiff, v. Kilolo Kijakazi, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Defendant.
ORDER
DANIEL J. ALBREGTS UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion to exceed the page limit of her brief in this matter. (ECF No. 20). Plaintiff asks for seventeen additional pages over the typical thirty, totaling fortyseven pages. (Id.). Plaintiff explains that the record in this case is over 2,300 pages and includes over 1,500 pages in medical records. (Id. at 1). She explains that the case involves multiple arguments related to the errors she asserts the Agency made in denying her benefits, which requires a lengthy brief. (Id.).
The Commissioner objects to Plaintiff's motion, arguing that seventeen pages is excessive and would place an undue burden on the Commissioner and her attorneys to respond to the lengthy brief. (ECF No. 21). The Commissioner also points out that, while the record is longer than some Social Security cases in this district, it is not out of the ordinary. (Id. at 2). And in other cases with similarly large records, parties regularly adhere to the thirty-page limit. (Id.). The Commissioner adds that she would be willing to extend time to allow Plaintiff to edit her brief down to the authorized thirty pages. (Id.).
Under Local Rule 7-3(a), motions for summary judgment are limited to thirty pages. Under Local Rule 7-3(c), a party must show good cause to exceed page limits and must state in detail the reasons for, and number of additional pages requested. Here, the Court finds Plaintiff to have demonstrated good cause for an extension, but not for an extension of seventeen pages.
Instead, it grants an extension of ten pages. While a record spanning 2,300 pages is substantial, it is not unusual enough to support good cause for seventeen additional pages. And Plaintiff's other explanation-that the arguments are complex-is too general to support an extension of the extent Plaintiff seeks. Nonetheless, the Court finds that Plaintiff has met her burden of demonstrating good cause for a more modest extension of ten pages.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion to exceed the page limit (ECF No. 20) is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff may file a brief forty pages in length.