Rule 27. Motions
(1) Application for Relief. An application for an order or other relief is made by motion unless these rules prescribe another form. A motion must be in writing unless the court permits otherwise.
(2) Contents of a Motion.
(A) Grounds and relief sought. A motion must state with particularity the grounds for the motion, the relief sought, and the legal argument necessary to support it.
(B) Accompanying documents.
(C) Documents barred or not required.
(A) Time to file. Any party may file a response to a motion; Rule 27(a)(2) governs its contents. The response must be filed within 10 days after service of the motion unless the court shortens or extends the time. A motion authorized by Rules 8, 9, 18, or 41 may be granted before the 10-day period runs only if the court gives reasonable notice to the parties that it intends to act sooner.
(B) Request for affirmative relief. A response may include a motion for affirmative relief. The time to respond to the new motion, and to reply to that response, are governed by Rule 27(a)(3)(A) and (a)(4). The title of the response must alert the court to the request for relief.
(4) Reply to Response. Any reply to a response must be filed within 7 days after service of the response. A reply must not present matters that do not relate to the response.
(b) Disposition of a Motion for a Procedural Order. The court may act on a motion for a procedural order — including a motion under Rule 26(b) — at any time without awaiting a response, and may, by rule or by order in a particular case, authorize its clerk to act on specified types of procedural motions. A party adversely affected by the court's, or the clerk's, action may file a motion to reconsider, vacate, or modify that action. Timely opposition filed after the motion is granted in whole or in part does not constitute a request to reconsider, vacate, or modify the disposition; a motion requesting that relief must be filed.
(c) Power of a Single Judge to Entertain a Motion. A circuit judge may act alone on any motion, but may not dismiss or otherwise determine an appeal or other proceeding. A court of appeals may provide by rule or by order in a particular case that only the court may act on any motion or class of motions. The court may review the action of a single judge.
(A) Reproduction. A motion, response, or reply may be reproduced by any process that yields a clear black image on light paper. The paper must be opaque and unglazed. Only one side of the paper may be used.
(B) Cover. A cover is not required, but there must be a caption that includes the case number, the name of the court, the title of the case, and a brief descriptive title indicating the purpose of the motion and identifying the party or parties for whom it is filed. If a cover is used, it must be white.
(C) Binding. The document must be bound in any manner that is secure, does not obscure the text, and permits the document to lie reasonably flat when open.
(D) Paper size, line spacing, and margins. The document must be on 8½ by 11 inch paper. The text must be double-spaced, but quotations more than two lines long may be indented and single-spaced. Headings and footnotes may be single-spaced. Margins must be at least one inch on all four sides. Page numbers may be placed in the margins, but no text may appear there.
(E) Typeface and type styles. The document must comply with the typeface requirements of Rule 32(a)(5) and the type-style requirements of Rule 32(a)(6).
(2) Length Limits. Except by the court's permission, and excluding the accompanying documents required by Rule 27(a)(2)(B):
(3) Number of Copies. An original and 3 copies must be filed unless the court requires a different number by local rule or by order in a particular case.
(e) Oral Argument. A motion will be decided without oral argument unless the court orders otherwise.
(1) Responses. Although any party may file a response to a motion, a party need not respond to a motion until requested to do so by the Court. The three-day mailing period permitted by FRAP 26(c) does not apply to responses requested by the Court or clerk by letter wherein a response date is set forth in the request. A Disclosure of Corporate Affiliations statement must accompany any response to a motion unless previously filed with the Court.
See FRAP 26.1 and Local Rule 26. If the Court acts upon a motion without a response, any party adversely affected by such action may by application to the Court request reconsideration, vacation or modification of the Court's action.
(2) Replies. The Court will not ordinarily await the filing of a reply before reviewing a motion and response. If movant intends to file a reply and does not want the Court to actively consider the motion and response until a reply is filed, movant shall notify the clerk in writing of the intended filing of the reply and request that this Court not act on the motion until the reply is received.
(1) Motions for Summary Affirmance or Reversal. Motions for summary affirmance or reversal filed prior to completion of briefing should include a showing that the issues raised on appeal are in fact manifestly unsubstantial and appropriate for disposition by motion. Absent such a showing, the Court will defer action on the motion until briefing is complete.
(2) Motions to Dismiss. Motions to dismiss based upon the ground that the appeal is not within the jurisdiction of the Court or on other procedural grounds should be filed within the time allowed for the filing of the response brief. The Court may also sua sponte summarily dispose of any appeal at any time.
(3) Suspension of Briefing. Suspension of briefing pending ruling on a motion to summarily affirm, reverse, or dismiss should be requested by separate motion.
