Judge Marilyn J. Horan’s standing order sets the judge-specific procedures that govern civil cases on her docket in the Western District of Pennsylvania, sitting on top of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the district’s local rules. It controls how you request extensions, how long your briefs can be, what certificates must accompany your motions, and how summary judgment papers are formatted. Read it the day your case is assigned. Getting a detail wrong can mean a stricken filing.
Where to Find the Current Version
The standing order is posted on Judge Horan’s individual judge page on the Western District of Pennsylvania’s website as a downloadable PDF.1United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Marilyn J. Horan, District Judge The most recent version is dated October 2024. Older versions circulate in search results and cached copies, so confirm you are working from the document currently linked on her individual page rather than a general standing orders index.2United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Orders
Meet-and-Confer Certificates Come First
The recurring requirement in the standing order is that counsel must talk before asking the court to intervene. Filing without the required certificate of conferral is the most common way to lose a motion on procedure alone.
Discovery Motions
Before any discovery motion, counsel must meet and confer in a genuine effort to resolve the dispute. The motion itself has to include a certificate confirming that reasonable effort.3United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice If the disagreement survives the conferral, counsel should then confer by phone or in person to narrow the scope and contact chambers to request a telephone status conference. Many discovery issues are resolved on those calls, so a formal motion filed without going through the informal process is both procedurally wrong and tactically weak.
Rule 12(b) Motions to Dismiss
The conferral obligation extends to motions to dismiss. Before filing under Rule 12(b), counsel must confer with the opposing side to determine whether the pleading defect can be cured by amendment, and the motion must be accompanied by a certificate of conferral describing that good-faith effort.3United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice If a quick amendment would fix the issue, the court would rather see that than a dispositive motion.
Extension Requests
Every motion to extend a deadline must include a written certificate of conferral stating whether the non-moving party consents or opposes.3United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice If the non-moving party opposes, the certificate must also state whether that party intends to file a separate response. Extension motions are decided under the court’s scheduling discretion and are more likely to be resolved without waiting for a full response.
The proposed order accompanying an extension request has to address every downstream deadline the change affects. A single moved date usually cascades through the rest of the scheduling order, and the court expects the moving party to account for that up front rather than filing piecemeal requests later. The proposed order should include the new dates you are requesting, or blank spaces for the judge to fill in where you are leaving the timing to the court.
Summary Judgment Procedures
Rule 56 motions carry a second layer of requirements. Before filing, the parties must meet and confer to determine whether any claims can be dismissed or any issues resolved by stipulation.4United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice
Consolidated Concise Statement of Material Facts
The moving party files a concise statement of material facts and provides an electronic Word copy to the opposing side. The non-moving party’s response reproduces each numbered paragraph followed immediately by its response, with any additional material facts placed at the end of the same document.4United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice If the moving party replies to those additional facts, the reply follows the same format. The final filed document is a single consolidated record containing every party’s statements and responses, and the court reviews only the last-filed version when deciding the motion.
Response Deadline and Exhibits
Responses to summary judgment motions are due 28 days from the date the motion is served. The non-moving party may supplement the moving party’s exhibits but should not duplicate them; where possible, cite exhibits by their ECF docket number and page reference rather than attaching redundant copies.4United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice Both sides must provide Word copies of their concise statement filings so the opposing party can build the consolidated document.
Brief Page Limits and Formatting
Brief lengths are capped, excluding tables and exhibits:
- Supporting and opposing briefs on dispositive motions (dismiss or summary judgment): 25 pages.
- Supporting and opposing briefs on all other motions: 10 pages.
- Reply briefs on dispositive motions: 15 pages.
- Reply briefs on all other motions: 10 pages.
All text, including footnotes, must be 12-point font with one-inch margins. Body text is double-spaced; footnotes may be single-spaced.3United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Standing Order and Procedures on Civil Motion Practice Factual background sections should avoid argumentative language and cite specifically to the pleadings or record. The order discourages lengthy recitations of settled legal standards for Rule 12 and Rule 56 motions.
Motions to Amend a Pleading
A motion to amend must attach the proposed amended pleading as an exhibit, with all changes marked in redline. A clean copy alone is not enough. Missing the redline is a preventable reason for a motion to be returned unfiled.
What Non-Compliance Can Cost You
Rule 37 gives the court broad authority to sanction parties who fail to comply with discovery orders. Available sanctions include deeming disputed facts established against the non-compliant party, prohibiting the introduction of certain evidence, striking pleadings, dismissing claims, and entering default judgment. The court can also hold a party or attorney in contempt and require payment of the opposing party’s reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, caused by the failure.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make or Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions
How the Standing Order Fits With Other Rules
Three layers apply at once. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure set the baseline for every federal civil case.6United States Courts. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure The Western District of Pennsylvania’s local rules add district-wide requirements.7United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. Local Rules Judge Horan’s standing order adds judge-specific procedures on top. When they conflict, the federal rules control, then the local rules, then the standing order. In practice the standing order rarely conflicts with the higher layers; it fills in the details they leave open, such as the exact structure of a certificate of conferral or the format of the concise statement of material facts.