Bankr. M.D. Fla. Local Rule 7026-1 — Discovery – General: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA (WITH AMENDMENTS EFFECTIVE AUGUST 15, 2025), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida alongside the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and any judge-specific procedures.
(a) General. This rule applies generally to all contested matters and adversary proceedings. Local Rule 7001-1 addresses numerous discovery issues in adversary proceedings and, if ordered by the Court, in complex contested matters. (b) Contested Matters. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the disclosure requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and the conference and reporting requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) do not apply in contested matters. Unless the Court orders otherwise, the parties may commence discovery immediately after service of the paper initiating the contested matter is effected under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004. (c) Discovery Papers Shall Not Be Filed With the Court. Consistent with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5, incorporated by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7005, the parties’ written disclosures under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) and (2) and the following discovery responses and requests shall not be filed with the Court until they are used in the case or proceeding or the Court orders their filing: depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents or tangible things or to permit entry onto land, and requests for admissions. (d) Parties Must Meet and Confer Prior to Filing Discovery Motions. Motions to compel and motions for protective order must include a certification at the beginning of the motion under the heading “Local Rule 7026-1(d) Certification” stating that the movant has in good faith conferred with the opposing party in an effort to resolve the issue without Court action, what specific actions were taken to confer, and whether the parties agree on the resolution of any portion of the motion. A motion that does not comply with this rule may be denied. Failure of the moving party to properly meet and confer, or the refusal of the non-moving party to meet and confer, may subject parties or their counsel to sanctions. Unless otherwise ordered, the requirement that a moving party confer with the opposing party requires that, at a minimum: (1) movant made at least two attempts to contact the non-moving party, one of which must be by telephone; and (2) movant’s first attempted contact must be at least 24 hours before filing the motion.
(a) General. This rule applies generally to all contested matters and adversary proceedings. Local Rule 7001-1 addresses numerous discovery issues in adversary proceedings and, if ordered by the Court, in complex contested matters. (b) Contested Matters. Unless otherwise ordered