• Ella Morris
• Room 1988
  (312) 435-5675

• Michael Wing
• Room 1906
  (312) 408-5075

• Laura LaCien
• Room 1902
  (312) 408-5032

Effective Immediately

Judge Der-Yeghiayan's Motion Schedule:
Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday at 9:00 a.m.
Courtesy Copy to Judge's Chambers
3 Day notice required.

Unless the Court has notified the parties, by phone or by order, that an appearance is not required, the parties are expected to be present at all hearings including Status Hearings and Motion Hearings irrespective of whether the motion was joint, uncontested or agreed.

The The Court will set all newly filed cases for status approximately 60 days from the filing of complaint. At least four working days before the initial status hearing, the parties shall conduct a FRCP 26(f) conference and file a joint written Initial Status Report, not to exceed five pages in length, and file the Joint Jurisdictional Status Report. The Court has issued a standing initial status report and joint jurisdictional status report identifying what subjects need to be addressed in the reports. These standing initial reports may be obtained from this website or from the Courtroom Deputy.

Initial Status Report	Joint Jurisdictional Status Report	Joint Jurisdictional Status Report
	(Case Originally Filed in this Court)	(Case Removed to this Court)

Counsel for all parties must be present at all Court noticed status hearings. Pursuant to Local Rule 41.1 An order of dismissal for want of prosecution or an order of default may be entered if a party or counsel fails to respond to a call of the case set by order of court.

Motions and supporting documents must be filed no later than three (3) full business days before presentment. For example, motions filed on Monday will be heard on Thursday. A courtesy copy of all motions and supporting documents shall be delivered to the Courtroom Deputy Room 1906 within 24 hours of being filed. Joint, uncontested, and agreed motions should be so identified in the title and body of the motion.

Unless the Court has notified the parties, by phone or by order, that an appearance is not required, the parties are expected to be present at the motion hearing irrespective of whether the motion was joint, uncontested or agreed.

Counsel shall not respond to motions by correspondence with the Court.

Motions for change in trial dates and motion for extensions of discovery cutoff dates will not be entertained unless filed in writing. Such motions, whether uncontested or contested, will generally require a Court appearance. 

Emergency matters must be of such a nature that a delay in hearing them would cause serious harm to one or more of the parties. Requests to set a hearing on an emergency motion shall be made to the Courtroom Deputy (Room 1906) with as much advance notice as possible. All reasonable efforts must be made to give actual notice to opposing counsel. 

The Court believes that parties can and should work out most discovery disputes and thus discourages the filing of discovery motions. The Court will not hear or consider any discovery motion unless the movant has complied with the "meet and confer" requirement of Local Rule 37.2. The motion must state with specificity when and how the movant complied with Local Rule 37.2. Parties are reminded that compliance with Local Rule 37.2 requires a good faith effort to resolve discovery disputes and communication that takes place face to face or by telephone. The exchange of correspondence will not normally be sufficient to comply with Local Rule 37.2.

All parties should be fully prepared to argue any discovery motion on the date that it is presented. The Court most often will rule on discovery motions after hearing argument at the motion call and without briefing. If after hearing argument, the Court believes that the motion requires briefing, the Court normally will set an expedited briefing schedule so that the matter can be resolved promptly.

Parties are reminded that there is no requirement that discovery occurs in any given order, and that one party's failure or inability to respond to discovery will not excuse any other party's prompt compliance. Parties are also reminded that the pendency of a motion, such as a motion to dismiss, does not operate as a stay of discovery.

All motions for summary judgment and answers to such motions in cases other than social security appeals must comply with Local Rule 56.1. All Local Rule 56.1 statements of material facts, statements of additional material facts, and the responses to those statements of facts shall be filed separately from the memoranda of law. All evidentiary citations in support of such statements of fact or responses must cite to the evidentiary record and cannot cite to briefs filed by the parties or to other Local Rule 56.1 statements of fact or responses. Each Local Rule 56.1 statement of fact or response shall include the page number where the supporting material may be found in the record and it is improper to cite vaguely to an entire exhibit without including a page number.

In addition, all Local Rule 56.1 responses must first state each paragraph of the statement of material facts or statement of additional material facts in its entirety before providing a response to that paragraph. A response to a statement of material facts or statement of additional material facts that does not include the text of the statement of facts in question and only includes the responses is not sufficient. Failure to comply with this order may result in an order striking the Local Rule 56.1 statement of facts or response in its entirety and a ruling by the court in the absence of such a statement or response.

The parties should comply with the 15 page limitation on all memoranda as provided for in Local Rule 7.1. Any motion to extend the 15 page limit shall contain specific reasons for requesting such an exception.

Parties must attach any cited authority that is unpublished and so note it in the brief.

Illinois cases should be cited to N.E.2d.

Briefing schedules are generally set by Court order. A motion for extension of time will not be granted except on a showing of good cause. The circumstances warranting an extension shall be set forth in specific detail by written motion.

The Court will also consider motions at scheduled status hearings, provided that the notice requirements of Local Rule 5.3 have been met.

Trial dates are firm.

It is essential that parties follow all of the court’s guidelines for pre-trial orders to ensure that the trial proceeds in an orderly fashion. See Bryant v. Union Pacific R. Co., 2004 WL 1336379 (N.D. Ill. 2004)(Der-Yeghiayan, J.)(striking trial date due to inadequate pre-trial order). Failure to follow the prescribed guidelines may result in delays and sanctions.

Pretrial Order

Litigants should be aware in certain cases and under appropriate circumstances, the Court may agree to have a trial be conducted by a Magistrate Judge after all litigants have consented.

Magistrate Judge Consent Form 

Briefs on appeals from the United States Bankruptcy Court must be filed within 15 days of the entry of judgment by the Bankruptcy Court. Any motions to extend time must be filed within the 15-day period. Briefs are limited to 15 pages each. 

This Court urges parties to undertake settlement negotiations at the earliest practicable point in the litigation. Parties who believe a settlement conference maybe productive should request one individually, in open court, or by telephone from the courtroom deputy. 

Instructions to Settlement Conferences for cases before Judge Der-Yeghiayan

Persons requesting a daily or hourly transcript of a trial or other evidentiary hearing that may reasonably be expected to last more than one day should contact the Court Reporter at least five business days prior to the first day of such proceedings. Judge Der-Yeghiayan's Court Reporter, Laura LaCien, can be reached at (312) 408-5032.

Proposed Orders are technically not to be "filed." Rather, they are to be "submitted" to the judge to consider, to modify, if appropriate, and to enter electronically. For example, proposed orders such as stipulated protective orders require court approval before actually being given full effect. To prevent confusion, such proposed orders must be attached to an e-mail sent to the e-mail address of the assigned judge, Proposed_Order_Der-Yeghiayan@ilnd.uscourts.gov  The subject line of the e-mail must include the case number and name, the docket number of the corresponding motion, if any, and the title of the order that is proposed as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF). All such documents must be submitted to the court in a format compatible with WordPerfect, which is a "Save As" option in most word processing software. Such proposed orders should also be served on all parties.