Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, (D.Alaska 4-28-1983)

Rule 6. Time

Rule 7. Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions

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(2) The rules applicable to captions and other matters of form of pleadings apply to all motions and other papers provided for by these rules.

(3) All motions shall be signed in accordance with Rule 11.

Rule 11. Signing of Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers;Sanctions

Rule 16. Pretrial Conferences; Scheduling; Management

(1) expediting the disposition of the action;

(2) establishing early and continuing control so that the case will not be protracted because of lack of management;

(3) discouraging wasteful pretrial activities;

(4) improving the quality of the trial through more thorough preparation, and;

(5) facilitating the settlement of the case.

(1) to join other parties and to amend the pleadings;

(2) to file and hear motions; and

(3) to complete discovery.

(4) the date or dates for conferences before trial, a final pretrial conference, and trial; and

(5) any other matters appropriate in the circumstances of the case.

(1) the formulation and simplification of the issues, including the elimination of frivolous claims or defenses;

(2) the necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;

(3) the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof, stipulations regarding the authenticity of documents, and advance rulings from the court on the admissibility of evidence;

(4) the avoidance of unnecessary proof and of cumulative evidence;

(5) the identification of witnesses and documents, the need and schedule for filing and exchanging pretrial briefs, and the date or dates for further conferences and for trial;

(6) the advisability of referring matters to a magistrate or master;

(7) the possibility of settlement or the use of extrajudicial procedures to resolve the dispute;

(8) the form and substance of the pretrial order;

(9) the disposition of pending motions;

(10) the need for adopting special procedures for managing potentially difficult or protracted actions that may involve complex issues, multiple parties, difficult legal questions, or unusual proof problems; and

(11) such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the action.

Rule 26. General Provisions Governing Discovery

Rule 52. Findings by the Court

Rule 53. Masters

Rule 67. Deposit in Court

Rule 72. Magistrates; Pretrial Matters

Rule 74. Method of Appeal from Magistrate to District Judge underTitle28, U.S.C. § 636(c)(4) and Rule 73(d)

Rule 75. Proceedings on Appeal from Magistrate to District Judgeunder Rule 73(d)

(1) Composition. The original papers and exhibits filed with the clerk of the district court, the transcript of the proceedings, if any, and the docket entries shall constitute the record on appeal. In lieu of this record the parties, within 10West Page 183days after the filing of the notice of appeal, may file a joint statement of the case showing how the issues presented by the appeal arose and were decided by the magistrate, and setting forth only so many of the facts averred and proved or sought to be proved as are essential to a decision of the issues presented.

(2) Transcript. Within 10 days after filing the notice of appeal the appellant shall make arrangements for the production of a transcript of such parts of the proceedings as he deems necessary. Unless the entire transcript is to be included, the appellant, within the time provided above, shall serve on the appellee and file with the court a description of the parts of the transcript which he intends to present on the appeal. If the appellee deems a transcript of other parts of the proceedings to be necessary, within 10 days after the service of the statement of the appellant, he shall serve on the appellant and file with the court a designation of additional parts to be included. The appellant shall promptly make arrangements for the inclusion of all such parts unless the magistrate, upon motion, exempts the appellant from providing certain parts, in which case the appellee may provide for their transcription.

(3) Statement in Lieu of Transcript. If no record of the proceedings is available for transcription, the parties shall, within 10 days after the filing of the notice of appeal, file a statement of the evidence from the best available means to be submitted in lieu of the transcript. If the parties cannot agree they shall submit a statement of their differences to the magistrate for settlement.

(1) The appellant shall serve and file his brief within 20 days after the filing of the transcript, statement of the case, or statement of the evidence.

(2) The appellee shall serve and file his brief within 20 days after service of the brief of the appellant.

(3) The appellant may serve and file a reply brief within 10 days after service of the brief of the appellee.

(4) If the appellee has filed a cross-appeal, he may file a reply brief limited to the issues on the cross-appeal within 10 days after service of the reply brief of the appellant.

Rule 76. Judgment of the District Judge on the Appeal under Rule73(d) and Costs

CONSENT TO PROCEED BEFORE A UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE

ELECTION OF APPEAL TO DISTRICT JUDGE

III.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

(1) The amendments of Rules 7 and 11 are designed to minimize abuse in the signing of pleadings, motions and other papers through a more precise definition of the standards to be met by the signing party or attorney and a requirement that sanctions be imposed for violation of these standards.

(2) Rule 16, which deals with pre-trial conferences and orders, has been revised to insure closer and more effective judicial scheduling, management and control of litigation as a means of avoiding unnecessary delay and expense.

(3) The amendments of Rule 26 are aimed at protecting against excessive discovery and evasion of reasonable discovery demands. As amended Rule 26(b) would require the court, when certain conditions exist, to limit the frequency and extent of use of discovery methods. Rule 26(g) would impose upon each party or attorney the duty, before proceeding with respect to any discovery matter, to make a reasonable inquiry and to certify that certain standards have been met. A violation of this duty would result in the imposition of sanctions.

(4) The Rule 52(a) proposal makes clear that a trial judge may make oral recorded findings and conclusions in nonjury trials.

(5) The Rule 67 amendment would facilitate deposits of money in court by broadening parties' power to do so and requiring that deposited funds be invested in interest bearing accounts or instruments.

(6) The amendments of Rules 6, 53 and 72-76 seek to provide procedures that will conform to and implement the 1979 amendments to the Federal Magistrates Act.

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(b) MOTIONS AND OTHER PAPERS

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(2) The rules applicable to captions,

signing

, and other matters of form of pleadings apply to all motions and other papers provided for by these rules.

(3) All motions shall be signed in accordance with

Rule 11.

(a) PRETRIAL CONFERENCES; OBJECTIVES.

In any action, the court may in its discretion direct the attorneys for the parties

and any unrepresented parties

to appear before it for a conference

or conferences before trial

to consider

for such purposes as

(1) expediting the disposition of the action;

(2) establishing early and continuing control so that

the case will not be protracted because of lack of

management;

(3) discouraging wasteful pretrial activities;

(4) improving the quality of the trial through more

thorough preparation, and;

(5) facilitating the settlement of the case.

(1) to join other parties and to amend the pleadings;

(2) to file and hear motions; and

(3) to complete discovery.

(4) the date or dates for conferences before trial, a

final pretrial conference, and trial; and

(5) any other matters appropriate in the circumstances

of the case.

(1) the

formulation and

simplification of the issues,

including the elimination of frivolous claims or

defenses

;

(2) the necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;

(3) the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof,

stipulations regarding the authenticity of documents,

and advance rulings from the court on the admissibility

of evidence;

(4) the avoidance of unnecessary proof and of

cumulative evidence;

(5)

(4)

the

limitation of the number of expert

identification of

witnesses

and documents, the need and

schedule for filing and exchanging pretrial briefs, and

the date or dates for further conferences and for

trial

;

(6)

(6)

the advisability of a

preliminary reference of

referring

issues

matters

to a

magistrate or

master

for

findings to be used as evidence when the trial is to be

by jury;

(7) the possibility of settlement or the use of

extrajudicial procedures to resolve the dispute;

(8) the form and substance of the pretrial order;

(9) the disposition of pending motions;

(10) the need for adopting special procedures for

managing potentially difficult or protracted actions

that may involve complex issues, multiple parties,

difficult legal questions, or unusual proof problems;

and

(11)

(6)

such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the action.

to stimulate litigants to narrow the areas of inquiry and advocacy to those they believe are truly relevant and material. Time limits not only compress the amount of time for litigation, they should also reduce the amount of resources invested in litigation. Litigants are forced to establish discovery priorities and thus to do the most important work first.

(1) In General. Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or to the claim or defense of any other party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of any discoverable matter. It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

The frequency or extent of use of the discovery methods

set forth in subdivision (a) shall be limited by the

court if it determines that: (i) the discovery sought

is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or is

obtainable from some other source that is more

convenient, less burdensome, or less

West Page 215

expensive; (ii) the party seeking discovery has had

ample opportunity by discovery in the action to obtain

the information sought; or (iii) the discovery is

unduly burdensome or expensive, taking into account the

needs of the case, the amount in controversy,

limitations on the parties' resources, and the

importance of the issues at stake in the litigation.

The court may act upon its own initiative after

reasonable notice or pursuant to a motion under

subdivision (c).

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In an action in which any part of the relief sought is a judgment for a sum of money or the disposition of a sum of money or the disposition of any other thing capable of delivery, a party, upon notice to every other party, and by leave of court, may deposit with the court all or any part of such sum or thing,

whether

or not that party claims all or any part of the sum or

thing. The party making the deposit shall serve the

order permitting deposit on the clerk of the court.

Money paid into court under this rule shall be deposited and withdrawn in accordance with the provisions of Title28, U.S.C., §§ 2041, and2042; the Act of June 26, 1934, c. 756, § 23, asWest Page 226amended (48 Stat. 1236,58 Stat. 845), U.S.C., Title 31, § 725v; or any like statute.

The fund shall be

deposited in an interest-bearing account or invested in

an interest-bearing instrument approved by the court.

(a) NONDISPOSITIVE MATTERS. A magistrate to whom a

pretrial matter not dispositive of a claim or defense

of a party is referred to hear and determine shall

promptly conduct such proceedings as are required and

when appropriate enter into the record a written order

setting forth the disposition of the matter.

West Page 227

The district judge to whom the case is assigned shall

consider objections made by the parties, provided they

are served and filed within 10 days after the entry of

the order, and shall modify or set aside any portion of

the magistrate's order found to be clearly erroneous or

contrary to law.

(b) DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS AND PRISONER PETITIONS. A

magistrate assigned without consent of the parties to

hear a pretrial matter dispositive of a claim or

defense of a party or a prisoner petition challenging

the conditions of confinement shall promptly conduct

such proceedings as are required. A record shall be

made of all evidentiary proceedings before the

magistrate, and a record may be made of such other

proceedings as the magistrate deems necessary. The

magistrate shall enter into the record a recommendtion

for disposition of the matter, including proposed

findings of fact when appropriate. The clerk shall

forthwith mail copies to all parties.

A party objecting to the recommended disposition of the

matter shall promptly arrange for the transcription of

the record, or portions of it as all parties may agree

upon or the magistrate deems sufficient, unless the

district judge otherwise directs. Within 10 days after

being served with a copy of the recommended

disposition, a party may serve and file specific,

written objections to the proposed findings and

recommendations. A party may respond to another party's

objections within 10 days after being served with a

West Page 228

copy thereof. The district judge to whom the case is

assigned shall make a de novo determination upon the

record, or after additional evidence, of any portion of

the magistrate's disposition to which specific written

objection has been made in accordance with this rule.

The district judge may accept, reject, or modify the

recommended decision, receive further evidence, or

recommit the matter to the magistrate with

instructions.

(a) POWERS; PROCEDURE. When specially designated to

exercise such jurisdiction by local rule or order of

the district court and when all parties consent

thereto, a magistrate may exercise the authority

provided by Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c) and may conduct

any or all proceedings, including a jury or nonjury

trial, in a civil case. A record of the proceedings

shall be made in accordance with the requirements of

Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c)(7).

(b) CONSENT. When a magistrate has been designated to

exercise civil trial jurisdiction, the clerk shall give

written notice to the parties of their opportunity to

consent to the exercise by a

West Page 230

magistrate of civil jurisdiction over the case, as

authorized by Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c). If, within the

period specified by local rule, the parties agree to a

magistrate's exercise of such authority, they shall

execute and file a joint form of consent or separate

forms of consent setting forth such election.

No district judge, magistrate, or other court official

shall attempt to persuade or induce a party to consent

to a reference of a civil matter to a magistrate under

this rule, nor shall a district judge or magistrate be

informed of a party's response to the clerk's

notification, unless all parties have consented to the

referral of the matter to a magistrate.

The district judge, for good cause shown on his own

motion or under extraordinary circumstances shown by a

party, may vacate a reference of a civil matter to a

magistrate under this subdivision.

(c) NORMAL APPEAL ROUTE. In accordance with

Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c)(3), unless the parties otherwise agree

to the optional appeal route provided for in

subdivision (d) of this rule, appeal from a judgment

entered upon direction of a magistrate in proceedings

under this rule will lie to the court of appeals as it

would from a judgment of the district court.

(d) OPTIONAL APPEAL ROUTE. In accordance with

Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c)(4), at the time of reference to a

magistrate, the parties may consent to appeal on the

record to a judge of the district court and thereafter,

by petition only, to the court of appeals.

(a) WHEN TAKEN. When the parties have elected under

Rule 73(d) to proceed by appeal to a district judge

from an appealable decision made by a magistrate under

the consent provisions of Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c)(4),

an appeal may be taken from the decision of a

magistrate by filing with the clerk of the district

court a notice of appeal within 30 days of the date of

entry of the judgment appealed from; but if the United

States or an officer or agency thereof is a party, the

notice of appeal may be filed by any party within 60

days of such entry. If a timely notice of appeal is

filed by a party, any other party may file a notice of

appeal within 14 days thereafter, or within the time

otherwise prescribed by this subdivision, whichever

period last expires.

The running of the time for filing a notice of appeal

is terminated as to all parties by the timely filing of

any of the following motions with the magistrate by any

party, and the full time for appeal from the judgment

entered by the magistrate commences to run anew from

entry of any of the following orders: (1) granting or

denying a motion for judgment under Rule 50(b); (2)

granting or denying a motion under Rule 52(b) to amend

or make additional findings of fact, whether or not an

alteration of the judgment would be required if the

motion is granted; (3) granting or denying a motion

under Rule 59 to alter or amend the judgment; (4)

denying a motion for a new trial under Rule 59.

An interlocutory decision or order by a magistrate

which, if made by a judge of the district court, could

be appealed under any provision of law, may be appealed

to a judge of the district court by filing a notice of

appeal within 15 days after entry of the decision or

order, provided the parties have elected to appeal to a

judge of the district court under Rule 73(d). An appeal

of such interlocutory decision or order shall not stay

the proceedings before the magistrate unless the

magistrate or judge shall so order.

Upon a showing of excusable neglect, the magistrate may

extend the time for filing a notice of appeal upon

motion filed not later than 20 days after the

expiration of the time otherwise prescribed by this

rule.

(b) NOTICE OF APPEAL; SERVICE. The notice of appeal

shall specify the party or parties taking the appeal,

designate the judgment, order or part thereof appealed

from, and state that the appeal is to a judge of the

district court. The clerk shall mail copies of the

notice to all other parties and note the date of

mailing in the civil docket.

(c) STAY PENDING APPEAL. Upon a showing that the

magistrate has refused or otherwise failed to stay the

judgment pending appeal to the district judge under

Rule 73(d), the appellant may make application for a

stay to the district judge with reasonable notice to

all parties. The stay may be conditioned upon the

filing in the district court of a bond or other

appropriate security.

(d) DISMISSAL. For failure to comply with these

rules or any local rule or order, the district judge may take

such action as is deemed appropriate, including

dismissal of the appeal. The district judge also may

dismiss the appeal upon the filing of a stipulation

signed by all parties, or upon motion and notice by the

appellant.

(a) APPLICABILITY. In proceedings under

Title28, U.S.C. § 636(c), when the parties have previously

elected under Rule 73(d) to appeal to a district judge

rather than to the court of appeals, this rule shall

govern the proceedings on appeal.

(b) RECORD ON APPEAL.

(1) Composition. The original papers and exhibits filed

with the clerk of the district court, the transcript of

the proceedings, if any, and the docket entries shall

constitute the record on appeal. In lieu of this record

the parties, within 10 days after the filing of the

notice of appeal, may file a joint statement of the

case showing how the issues presented by the appeal

arose and were decided by the magistrate, and setting

forth only so many of the facts averred and proved or

sought to be proved as are essential to a decision of

the issues presented.

(2) Transcript. Within 10 days after filing the notice

of appeal the appellant shall make arrangements for the

production of a transcript of such parts of the

proceedings as he deems necessary. Unless the entire

transcript is to be included, the appellant, within the

time provided above, shall serve on the appellee and

file with the court a description of the parts of the

West Page 237

transcript which he intends to present on the appeal.

If the appellee deems a transcript of other parts of

the proceedings to be necessary, within 10 days after

the service of the statement of the appellant, he shall

serve on the appellant and file with the court a

designation of additional parts to be included. The

appellant shall promptly make arrangements for the

inclusion of all such parts unless the magistrate, upon

motion, exempts the appellant from providing certain

parts, in which case the appellee may provide for their

transcription.

(3) Statement in Lieu of Transcript. If no record of

the proceedings is available for transcription, the

parties shall, within 10 days after the filing of the

notice of appeal, file a statement of the evidence from

the best available means to be submitted in lieu of the

transcript. If the parties cannot agree they shall

submit a statement of their differences to the

magistrate for settlement.

(c) TIME FOR FILING BRIEFS. Unless a local rule or

court order otherwise provides, the following time

limits for filing briefs shall apply.

(1) The appellant shall serve and file his brief within

20 days after the filing of the transcript, statement

of the case, or statement of the evidence.

(2) The appellee shall serve and file his brief within

20 days after service of the brief of the appellant.

(3) The appellant may serve and file a reply brief

within 10 days after service of the brief of the

appellee.

(4) If the appellee has filed a cross-appeal, he may

file a reply brief limited to the issues on the

cross-appeal within 10 days after service of the reply

brief of the appellant.

(d) LENGTH AND FORM OF BRIEFS. Briefs may be

typewritten. The length and form of briefs shall be

governed by local rule.

(e) ORAL ARGUMENT. The opportunity for the Darties to

be heard on oral argument shall be governed by local

rule.

(a) ENTRY OF JUDGMENT. When the parties have elected

under Rule 73(d) to appeal from a judgment of the

magistrate to a district judge, the clerk shall

prepare, sign, and enter judgment in accordance with

the order or decision of the district judge following

an appeal from a judgment of the magistrate, unless the

district judge directs otherwise. The clerk shall mail

to all parties a copy of the order or decision of the

district judge.

(b) STAY OF JUDGMENTS. The decision of the district

judge shall be stayed for 10 days during which time a

party may petition the district judge for rehearing,

and a timely petition shall stay the decision of the

district judge pending disposition of a petition for

rehearing. Upon the motion of a party, the decision of

the district judge may be stayed in order to allow a

party to petition the court of appeals for leave to

appeal.

(c) COSTS. Except as otherwise provided by law or

ordered by the district judge, costs shall be taxed

against the losing party; if a judgment of the

magistrate is affirmed in part or reversed in part, or

is vacated, costs shall be allowed only as ordered by

the district judge. The cost of the transcript, if

necessary for the determination of the appeal, and the

premiums paid for bonds to preserve rights pending

appeal shall be taxed as costs by the clerk.

CONSENT TO PROCEED BEFORE A UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE

ELECTION OF APPEAL TO DISTRICT JUDGE