Wallace v. Dukes Properties et al
Filing
6
ORDER regarding some obligations and responsibilities of a pro se litigant. Signed by Magistrate Judge Thomas E. Morris on 6/28/2011. (DLC)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
PAULA SUE WALLACE,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CASE NO. 3:11-cv-577-J-25TEM
DUKES PROPERTIES,
LAUREL SMITH,
Defendants.
__________________________________
ORDER
This case is before the Court sua sponte.
The Court has noted Plaintiff is
proceeding in this action as a pro se litigant. Thus, the Court will take the opportunity to
inform Plaintiff of some, but not all, of the procedural rules with which she must comply.
The Court reminds Plaintiff of these obligations because a pro se litigant is subject to the
same law and rules of court as a litigant who is represented by counsel, including the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”), and the Local Rules of the Middle
District of Florida. Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835, 837 (11th Cir. 1989).
All filings with the Court must be made in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and the Local Rules of the United States District Court, Middle District of
Florida. The Local Rules are available for review on the public website for the Middle
District Court of Florida at www.flmd.uscourts.gov and from the Clerk's Office. The Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure are available for review in the law libraries of the state and federal
courthouses and at the website www.uscourts.gov/rules.
All documents filed with the Court must be in the form of a pleading, see Fed. R.
Civ. P. 7(a), or of a motion, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(b). Each pleading, motion, notice, or
other paper shall be presented in a separate document. All requests for relief from, or
action by, the court must be in the form of a motion. If Plaintiff seeks any relief from, or
action by, the Court, or seeks the entry of an order of any kind, Plaintiff must file a proper
motion requesting such, which motion must meet the requirements of all applicable rules,
including the Local Rules and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Among other things,
all motions must be accompanied by a legal memorandum with citation of authorities in
support of the relief requested, see Local Rule 3.01(a), which the combined document of
the motion and memorandum cannot exceed 25 pages in length.
Further, Plaintiff is advised that prior to filing most motions, Local Rule 3.01(g)
requires her to confer with opposing counsel. The Court would note that Local Rule 3.01
sets forth several other important requirements and rules governing motions filed with the
Court, and that failure to comply with such requirements and rules can form the basis for
denial of a motion.
Plaintiff must timely respond to the motions filed by other parties in this case, for if
she does not timely respond to such a motion, the Court may assume that Plaintiff does
not oppose that motion and any relief requested therein.1 If a party has missed a filing
deadline, the party must file motion seeking leave of Court to file the document out of time.
Local Rule 3.01(b) further requires that any brief or legal memorandum in opposition to a
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Motions that Plaintiff must respond to include, but are not limited to, Motions to Dismiss
under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b) and Motions for Summary Judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56.
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motion must be filed within fourteen (14) days after Plaintiff is served with that motion by
her opponent and may not exceed 20 pages, including all attachments.
Plaintiff shall not correspond with the Court or any Judge or Magistrate Judge of the
Court in letter form. In keeping with their sworn duty to maintain complete impartiality in
the exercise of their judicial duties, the Judges of this Court will only deliver their decisions
and opinions in response to those documents filed with the Clerk’s Office in accordance
with the governing rules of procedure. Any such correspondence sent to judicial officers
will not be responded to, will be stricken from the case file, and will be returned to Plaintiff.
All documents filed with the Court must include a caption (the same as is set forth
on Plaintiff’s Complaint); a brief title which describes the nature of the document; Plaintiff’s
name and signature; and a Certificate of Service. These last two items are explained
below.
All pleadings, motion, or other papers filed with the Court by Plaintiff must bear an
original signature, or they will be rejected by the Court. Among other things, such
signature serves as Plaintiff's certification, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 (b), that said
document is not submitted for any improper purpose; that the claims or defenses presented
therein are warranted by existing law; and that there exists reasonable factual support for
allegations or assertions made therein. Plaintiff is advised to review and become familiar
with Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, as the failure to comply with its provisions can result in the
imposition of sanctions, including monetary fines or dismissal of Plaintiff’s case.
All pleadings, motions, or other papers filed with the Court by Plaintiff must also
include a signed Certificate of Service. Such is Plaintiff’s certification that he has complied
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with the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 5 by serving on every other party to the action (or
its attorney) a copy of the particular pleading, motion, or other paper filed with the Court.
At a minimum, a Certificate of Service must state the date upon which a copy of the
particular document was served on the other parties to the action (or their attorneys) and
the means by which such service was made (e.g., U.S. Mail; Federal Express; hand
delivery). Plaintiff is further reminded, that in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4, she is
responsible for obtaining and completing a summons, that must be presented to the Clerk
of Court for signature and seal after it is properly completed, and that must be served with
the complaint upon each named defendant. Service of process of the summons and
complaint must be completed within 120 days after the complaint is filed. Fed. R. Civ. P.
4(m).
Lastly, Plaintiff is reminded that, although she is now proceeding pro se, she is not
relieved of all obligations that rest upon an attorney. There are still many requirements
with which Plaintiff must still comply, including those imposed by the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and the Local Rules of this Court. Plaintiff is warned that the failure to comply
with these requirements and obligations can have significant consequences. Plaintiff’s
attention is directed to Local Rule 3.05, which provides information concerning case
management including the conduct of a case management conference.
While the Court has set forth some of the more prominent procedural obligations
and requirements of litigants in this Court, this Order does not purport to set forth all of
those requirements and should not be relied upon as limiting Plaintiff's duties and
obligations in litigating this case.
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Upon consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED:
Plaintiff shall review and comply with the provisions of this Order, as well as the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Local Rules of the Middle District, and any applicable
statutes and regulations.
DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida this 28th day of June, 2011.
Copies to pro se plaintiff
and counsel of record, if any
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