**IMPORTANT NEW PROCEDURE**
Consistent with the Court's General Order No. 20-0012
entered March 12, 2020 by Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in response to the COVID-19
public health emergency, Magistrate Judge Fuentes will conduct all civil court
proceedings by telephone or video conferencing where practicable, including
settlement conferences. Civil status hearings will be held on Tuesdays
starting at 9:30 a.m. in 15-minute intervals at times set by the Court for
teleconferences. Civil motion hearings will be held on Tuesdays starting
at 10:30 a.m. in 60-minute intervals at times set by the Court for
teleconferences. Parties may contact the Courtroom Deputy, Jenny
Jauregui, at 312-818-6514 to attempt to make a motion hearing appointment or to
adjust a status hearing interval, and the Court will make every effort to
accommodate such requests without guaranteeing that it will be able to do
so. Parties and their counsel are requested to be flexible with Court
staff during this time. These practices shall be in effect until further
notice and at least until April 3, 2020, or further order of the District
Court. This notice supersedes any conflicting information in the
Standing Order for Civil Cases Before Magistrate Judge Fuentes.
Communications with Chambers: For case related matters, the Court strongly prefers email communication with the courtroom deputy, with a copy to opposing counsel. Counsel may jointly contact the courtroom deputy at jenny_jauregui@ilnd.uscourts.gov.
Three Business Day Notice Requirement for Motions: Motions shall be filed by the third business day preceding the date of presentment.
Motions noticed for Tuesdays should be filed the preceding Thursday.
Motions noticed for Wednesdays should be filed the preceding Friday.
Motions noticed for Thursdays should be filed the preceding Monday.
Courtesy Copies: Courtesy copies are not required unless the electronic filing, including exhibits, exceeds 15 pages. Courtesy copies should be delivered to Judge Fuentes' courtroom deputy Jenny Jauregui within 24 hours of the filing. Please do not leave courtesy copies in the drop box in the lobby. Courtesy copies should include the printed CM/ECF header at the top of every page. All electronically filed documents should be made word searchable before being filed on the CM/ECF system.
Telephone Appearances: The Court will consider requests for leave to appear telephonically at routine hearings that will not require substantive argument when counsel has an office outside the Northern District of Illinois. Counsel may request to appear by telephone by sending an email, with a copy to opposing counsel, to Jenny Jauregui at jenny_jauregui@ilnd.uscourts.gov at least one day prior to the hearing. The email must include the case name and number, the date and time of the hearing, the name of the attorney seeking to appear by telephone, the name of the party he or she represents, and a direct telephone number where he or she can be reached when the case is called.
