a. Right to Reassignment Upon Consent.Upon consent of all the parties, and upon approval of the district judge to whom the case is assigned, a magistrate judge may conduct all proceeding in a civil case, including a jury or non-jury trial and entry of judgment in the case.
b. Notification to all Parties of Right to Consent.The Clerk of the court shall notify the parties in all civil cases that they may, but are not required to, consent to have a magistrate judge conduct any or all proceedings in a case and order the entry of a final judgment. Such notice shall be given by docket entry made at the time the case is filed. In the case of paper filed complaints the Clerk shall provide such notice by mail.
c. Procedure for Parties to Consent to Appear Before a Magistrate Judge. To signify their consent to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge the parties must jointly file a statement consenting to the reassignment. Forms of Consent to Exercise of Jurisdiction by a Magistrate Judge may be utilized for such purpose; however, any joint filing signifying the parties’ consent to have all proceedings handled by the magistrate judge (such as in an Initial Status Report or proposed Case Management Order) is sufficient provided all parties sign such consent.
d. Reassignment of Case Upon Consent.Any judge wishing to reassign a case pending on that judge’s calendar to a magistrate judge following the consent by all parties to have the magistrate judge conduct any and all proceedings in that case will transfer the case to the calendar of the designated magistrate judge.
e. Magistrate Judge Reassignment After Consent Occurs.If a case in which a consent has been filed is reassigned to a magistrate judge other than the magistrate judge designated pursuant to Local Rule 72.1, the parties may object within 21 days of such reassignment. If a timely objection is filed by any party, the case will be reassigned to the district judge before whom it was last pending. If no objection has been filed within 21 days, the parties will be deemed to have consented to the reassignment.
f. Party Added After Consent Occurs.A party added to a civil case after the case has been transferred to the magistrate judge on consent will be given an opportunity to consent to the continued exercise of case-dispositive authority by the magistrate judge. The Clerk will notify the additional party of the availability of a magistrate judge to exercise jurisdiction. A party choosing to consent must, within 30 days of appearance, file a statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge. The case will be returned to the district judge for all further proceedings unless a statement is properly signed and filed.
g. Limited consents. Parties may consent to the transfer of part of a proceeding to a magistrate judge to act pursuant to 28 U.S.C.§ 636(c). Such consents shall be filed in the same manner as the consents for a transfer of the entire proceeding. Upon notification of the filing of such consents by the parties, the district judge may transfer that portion of the case covered by the consents for reassignment to the calendar of the designated magistrate judge. Where such a reassignment is made, the case shall remain on the calendar of the district judge.
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