Dish Network, L.L.C. et al v. Vasquez

Filing 13

ORDER regarding some responsibilities and obligations of a pro se litigant and directing compliance of pro se Defendant. Signed by Magistrate Judge Thomas E. Morris on 11/16/2011. (DLC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
DISH NETWORK, L.L.C.,
ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES L.L.C.,
and NAGRASTAR LLC,
Plaintiffs,
vs.

CASE NO. 3:11-cv-821-J-37TEM

ISRAEL VASQUEZ,
Defendant.
__________________________________

ORDER
This case is before the Court sua sponte. Review of the instant case discloses that
Defendant Israel Vasquez may be proceeding on a pro se basis in this action. Because
Defendant Vasquez may proceed pro se, the Court will take the opportunity to inform
Defendant of some, but not all, of the procedural rules with which he must comply. The
Court reminds Defendant 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.1 Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835, 837 (11th Cir. 1989).

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The parties are hereby reminded that 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
may be obtained 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.

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.
Defendant must timely respond to the motions filed by other parties in this case, for
if he does not timely respond to such a motion, the Court may assume that Defendant
does not oppose that motion and any relief requested therein.2 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 motion must be filed within 14 days after Defendant is served with that
motion by his opponent and may not exceed 20 pages.
Defendant 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.
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;

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Motions that Defendant must respond to include, but are not limited to, Motions to Compel
Discovery under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37 and Motions for Summary Judgment under Fed. R. Civ.
P. 56.
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Defendant’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 Defendant must bear
an original signature, or they will be rejected by the Court. Among other things, such
signature serves as Defendant'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. Defendant 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 Defendant’s
case.
All pleadings, motions, or other papers filed with the Court by Defendant must also
include a signed Certificate of Service. Such is Defendant’s certification that he has
complied 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).
As previously mentioned, all requests for relief from, or action by, the court must be
in the form of a motion. If Defendant seeks any relief from, or action by, the Court, or
seeks the entry of an order of any kind, Defendant must file a proper motion requesting

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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, Defendant is advised that prior
to filing most motions, Local Rule 3.01(g) requires him 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.
Lastly, Defendant is reminded that, if he proceeds pro se, he is not relieved of all
obligations that rest upon an attorney. There are still many requirements with which
Defendant must still comply, including those imposed by the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and the Local Rules of this Court. Defendant is warned that the failure to
comply with these requirements and obligations can have significant consequences. For
example, submission of a motion which does not meet the applicable requirements can
result in denial of that motion; failure to timely conduct a case management conference
and submit a case management report can result in dismissal of this case for lack of
prosecution. Defendant is additionally directed to review Local Rule 3.05.
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 Defendant’s duties and
obligations in litigating this case.

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Upon consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that Defendant 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 16th day of November, 2011.

Copies to counsel of record
and pro se parties

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