NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
April 14, 2023
New Civil Local Rules. Last month we highlighted some of the changes to the Criminal Local Rules of Practice that recently went into effect. This month we focus on changes to the Civil Local Rules.

D.S.D. Civ. LR 43.1 has been amended to clarify that counsel has a responsibility to retain and preserve all physical exhibits, not just those offered at trial or in a hearing. Similar changes were made to D.S.D. Crim. LR 57.3. Civ. LR 83.9 was also amended consistent with the Supplemental Rules for Social Security.

D.S.D. Civ. LR 7.1.1 is a new rule prompted by changes to Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1. It requires all non-governmental organizational parties or intervenors in civil cases to file within 14 days of the party’s first pleading or entry of appearance either a corporate disclosure statement or a certificate that Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1 is not applicable. Two new events have been added to CM/ECF in response to this rule change. If a corporate disclosure statement is not applicable in a case, counsel will need to file the new text-only (no document is attached) event within the required 14-day period. This event is located under Civil → Other Filings → Other Documents → Certificate of Non-Applicability re D.S.D. Civ. L.R. 7.1.1. The attorney’s final docket entry will read as follows:

I have reviewed Rule 7.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requiring nongovernmental corporate parties or nongovernmental corporations that seek to intervene to file a disclosure statement that identifies any parent corporation and any publicly held corporation owning 10 percent or more of its stock and certify that it does not apply to [Party Name].

If an attorney misses the 14-day deadline, the clerk’s office will docket the second new event created in CM/ECF entitled “Notice of Noncompliance.” After this event is docketed, the attorney will receive an NEF advising as follows:

NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE (Corporate Disclosure Statement not filed). D.S.D. Civ. L.R. 7.1.1 requires non-governmental organizational parties or intervenors to file either a Corporate Disclosure Statement or a Certificate that Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1 is not applicable within 14 days of the party or intervenors first pleading or entry of appearance. The deadline has passed and PARTY NAME has not complied. Said party has three business days to comply. Compliance may be achieved by docketing the statement or certificate in CM/ECF using the Corporate Disclosure Statement or Certificate of Non-Applicability event.

Identical events have also been added pursuant to D.S.D. Crim. L.R. 12.4.

New Event for Diversity Cases. The January newsletter outlined all of the changes to Rule 7.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure not just those addressed by D.S.D. Civ. LR 7.1.1. We have added a new event in CM/ECF for parties or intervenors in diversity cases consistent with Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1(a)(2). This event is located under Civil → Other Filings → Other Documents → Citizenship Disclosure Statement in Diversity Cases re Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1.