A memorandum in opposition is the written brief you file to persuade a judge to deny a motion the other side has filed against you. Winning one depends on three things working together: filing on time, following your court’s formatting rules exactly, and answering the movant’s facts and law with evidence and authority rather than disagreement. Get any of those wrong and the court can grant the motion without ever weighing your position.
Figure Out Your Deadline Before Anything Else
The deadline for an opposition in federal court usually comes from the district’s local rules rather than the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Common windows run 14 to 21 days after the motion is served, and some districts count backward from the hearing date instead. Open the local rules the day the motion lands.
Count the days using the federal rule: exclude the day of service, count every day after that including weekends and holidays, and if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday the deadline rolls to the end of the next business day. If service was by mail rather than electronic, add three days.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers
If the date is impossible, file a motion for extension of time before the deadline runs. Courts can grant extensions for good cause, but asking after the clock has expired is a much weaker position.
Read the Local Rules and the Judge’s Standing Orders
The Federal Rules set the broad frame; local rules and individual judges fill in the specifics that actually govern your filing. These cover page or word limits, font and spacing, margins, paper size, and whether a table of contents, table of authorities, or proposed order has to be attached.
Most districts expect a readable serif font such as Times New Roman at 12 or 14 points, double spacing, one-inch margins, and 8.5-by-11 paper. Page limits for opposition briefs commonly sit between 15 and 25 pages, though some courts measure by word count instead. Longer briefs usually trigger the table requirements. None of this appears in the Federal Rules themselves, so your only reliable source is the local rules of your court and the standing orders of your assigned judge.
Caption, Title, and the Order of the Document
Every filing opens with a caption identifying the court, the parties, and the case number.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 10 – Form of Pleadings Give the document a title that tells the judge exactly what it is, like “Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment.” Generic titles cause filing errors in the electronic docket.
The body generally runs in this order:
- Introduction. A short overview of the case and why the motion should fail, usually no more than a page.
- Statement of Facts. A responsive factual account with record citations.
- Argument. The legal analysis under point headings.
- Conclusion. A short request that the court deny the motion.
Close with a signature block showing the signer’s name, bar number if applicable, address, and contact information, with the date beside or below the signature. Self-represented parties sign themselves and include the same information.
Write the Statement of Facts as a Response, Not a Narrative
This is where most oppositions fall apart, so treat it seriously. The Statement of Facts is not argument. Go through the moving party’s numbered factual assertions one by one and label each as undisputed, disputed, or undisputed but immaterial to the motion.
When you dispute a fact, you have to do more than say so. Present your version and anchor it to a specific place in the record: the deposition page, the paragraph of the affidavit, the exhibit number. Writing “denied” with nothing behind it is close to writing nothing.
Rule 56 makes the consequence explicit. If you fail to properly cite evidence contradicting the movant’s facts, the court may treat those facts as undisputed and use them as the basis for granting summary judgment.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56 – Summary Judgment The EEOC’s sample opposition shows the technique: where the movant claimed an employee had never served in management, the response cited specific record pages showing service as acting program manager.4U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Sample Draft Response to Motion for Summary Judgment
Match Your Argument to the Right Legal Standard
The strategy for your opposition depends on what motion you are facing. The two most common require different work.
Opposing a Motion to Dismiss
A motion under Rule 12(b)(6) argues that, taking everything in your complaint as true, you still have not stated a valid legal claim.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections You are working only with the pleadings, not with evidence. Your opposition has to show the complaint contains enough factual content to make the claim plausible, not merely possible. If the complaint is thin, consider seeking leave to amend rather than defending language that cannot be saved.
Opposing a Motion for Summary Judgment
A summary judgment motion asks the court to decide the case without a trial on the ground that there is no genuine dispute about any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56 – Summary Judgment Your job is to show that at least one material fact is genuinely disputed and that a fact-finder has to resolve it at trial. The court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to you as the non-moving party, which is a real advantage when you have evidence to point to.
Build the Legal Argument Section
Organize the argument under point headings that read like mini-conclusions. “Summary Judgment Should Be Denied Because Genuine Disputes Exist Regarding Whether the Employer’s Stated Reason Was Pretextual” is useful to a judge; “Argument” is not.
Within each point, state the rule, explain how controlling cases interpret it, apply it to your facts, and reach a conclusion. Every legal assertion needs a citation to authority: case name with volume, reporter, and page; statute with title and section. Give pinpoint cites. Sending a judge into a 40-page opinion to find your point is not helpful; direct the court to the exact page or paragraph.
Answer the movant’s arguments directly. If the other side relies on a case, explain why it is distinguishable or why it actually cuts your way. Judges notice when an opposition walks around the movant’s strongest points, and the silence counts against you.
Support Your Facts With Admissible Evidence
At the summary judgment stage, Rule 56 lets you cite depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits, declarations, stipulations, admissions, interrogatory answers, and other materials in the record.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56 – Summary Judgment
Declarations are usually the most practical way to put new facts in front of the court. An unsworn written declaration signed under penalty of perjury carries the same weight as a sworn affidavit in federal court, with no notary required.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1746 – Unsworn Declarations Under Penalty of Perjury The declaration has to be based on personal knowledge, state facts that would be admissible as evidence, and show that the declarant is competent to testify on those matters.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56 – Summary Judgment A declaration that argues law or recites things the declarant did not personally see will be disregarded.
Label exhibits clearly (Exhibit A, Exhibit B) and reference them in both the facts and the argument. If deposition testimony is doing work for you, attach the relevant transcript pages rather than expecting the judge to go find them.
Filing and Service
Most federal courts require electronic filing through the CM/ECF system, which accepts motions and briefs uploaded online.7United States Courts. Electronic Filing (CM/ECF) Upload text-searchable PDFs. A flat scan of a printed page may be rejected or flagged, so convert from the word processor rather than running paper through a scanner when you can.
Serve a copy on every other party. Service on a represented party goes to the attorney, not the client. Filing through CM/ECF automatically serves all registered users; parties not registered take service by hand delivery, mail, or another method they have consented to in writing.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5 – Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers File a certificate of service confirming who was served, when, and how.
What Happens If the Opposition Is Late, Missing, or Weak
Not filing on time does not automatically lose the motion, but it comes close. The court can grant the motion without weighing arguments you never made. Even where judges accept late papers, the delay signals disorganization and costs credibility.
The factual failures are their own category. Under Rule 56, if you don’t properly address the movant’s factual assertions with evidence, the court may treat those facts as undisputed; if the undisputed facts entitle the movant to judgment, summary judgment can be entered against you on that record alone.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56 – Summary Judgment
Rule 11 adds another layer. By signing and filing, you certify that the paper is not filed for an improper purpose, that the legal arguments are supported by existing law or a good-faith argument to change it, and that the factual assertions have evidentiary support. An opposition that misstates facts or raises arguments without legal basis can draw sanctions, including an order to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees.9Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions Filing something thin just to buy time is a strategy that can get expensive fast.