Division 2
Phone: (504) 589-7630
500 Poydras Street Room B409 New Orleans, LA 70130
Wanda Dorsey, Judicial Assistant
Miles "Bailey" Casteel, Law Clerk
Lanie Bryant, Case Manager, (504) 589-7709
Communications with chambers may be by telephone (504) 589-7630 or e-mail to the Chamber’s address eFile-Currault@laed.uscourts.gov.
Email is not a substitute for filing a motion. The proper way to request action by the Court is through a properly filed motion.
Counsel must not send case-related e-mail communications directly to Judge Currault’s personal court e-mail address, unless specifically directed otherwise.
Submission - Motions are governed by Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 7 and Local Rule 7.
Ex parte or consent motions must include a proposed Order and are referred to chambers as soon as possible.
Contested motions must be noticed for submission/hearing on a regularly scheduled hearing date. Click this link for Judge Currault’s contested motion submission/hearing dates. Oral argument will not be held on the selected date unless a party timely files a Request for Oral Argument in accordance with Local Rule 78.1 or otherwise ordered by the Court.
Meet and Confer - Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(1), a motion to compel disclosure or discovery “must include a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make disclosure or discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action.” The Rule 37(a)(1) Certificate of Conference accompanying a Motion to Compel shall specify:
(1) how the required conference was scheduled, (2) who participated in the conference, (3) the date and time of the conference, (4) whether the conference was conducted by phone or in person, (5) the duration of the conference, (6) the specific topics that were addressed at the conference, and (7) whether any issues were resolved by the parties, and, if so, the terms of the resolution.
Counsel should meet and confer either in person or by telephone, not simply via email exchange.
Motions Resolved Pending Hearings/Oral Argument - It is the duty of the party that has filed a motion to notify the Court if the motion has been resolved or otherwise disposed of before the scheduled hearing date so that the matter may be removed from the Court's docket. Such notification must be in writing, either via letter or e-mail to the Chambers' e-mail address at eFile-Currault@laed.uscourts.gov, with a copy to all counsel of record.
Courtesy Copies Courtesy copies of contested motions and responses are required only when the filing and attachments exceed 50 pages. Hard copies should be delivered by mail or courier (not via fax or email) to Chambers. Courtesy copies of ex-parte motions are not necessary.
The attached is the model protective order which Judge Currault prefers to be used in civil cases. If any changes are made to the model protective order, a redlined version as well as the final pdf version must be filed.
Protective Order
At least ten days before the settlement conference, Plaintiff(s) must make a settlement demand, and Defendant(s) shall respond to that demand no later than one week before the conference. Should the conference be set with less than ten days’ notice, the parties must still make the required demand and response prior to the conference.
The parties shall be prepared to enter into meaningful and good-faith settlement negotiations at the conference. Persons with ultimate settlement authority must be personally present if the party resides or has a business address within 100 miles of the courthouse. Any party not within the designated geographic area shall have a person with ultimate settlement authority readily available by phone during the entire duration of the conference. Any party within the designated geographic area who seeks an exemption from the personal appearance requirement must seek approval from this Court, in writing, no later than three working days before the conference. Such request should be sent to eFile-Currault@laed.uscourts.gov, and the email subject line should read: “Request for non-appearance of a party in [Case Number] for Settlement Conference on [Date of Conference].”
At least two days before the conference, each party shall email, in confidence, a concise position statement, which shall be no longer than four pages, double spaced, and include a brief description of (1) any liability disputes, (2) the key evidence the party expects to produce at trial, (3) the damages at issue in the case, (4) the party’s settlement position,[1] including legal and factual weaknesses in each side’s case, (5) any pending dispositive motions; and (6) any other special issues that may have a material bearing upon settlement discussions (e.g., outstanding liens, particularly contentious litigation history, etc.). The position statement shall be emailed directly to Chambers eFile-Currault@laed.uscourts.gov and the subject line should read: “[Plaintiff’s or Defendant’s] Confidential Settlement Position Statement in [Case Number] on [Date of Conference].” Do not fax or mail copies of the position statement.
It is the duty of counsel for Plaintiff(s) to notify this Court if the case is continued, settled, or otherwise disposed of before the scheduled settlement conference so that the matter may be removed from the Court's docket. Such notification shall be sent to the Chambers’ email address eFile-Currault@laed.uscourts.gov.
