Mckeen-Chaplin v. Franklin Am. Mortgage Co., Case No. 10-cv-05243-SBA

Gina McKeen-Chaplin, individually, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff,

v.Franklin American Mortgage Company and DOES 1-50, inclusive, Defendants.

Case No. 10-cv-05243-SBA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DATED: May 1, 2011

Kenneth A. Weber (TN State Bar No. 15730)

BAKER, DONELSON, BEARMAN,

CALDWELL & BERKOWITZ, P.C.

Christian J. Rowley (CA State Bar No. 187293)

SEYFARTH SHAW LLP

Attorneys for Defendant

ORDER

Page 2

Defendant Franklin American Mortgage Company seeks leave to file a 35-page memorandum in support of its opposition to Plaintiff's motion to conditional class certification. Absent leave of court, the maximum length of an opposition memorandum is twenty-five pages. Civ. L.R. 7-4(b). As grounds for the request, Defendant assert the instant action is a "complex case in which Plaintiff has moved the Court to conditionally certify a nationwide FLSA collective." (Docket 45.) Moreover, Defendant maintain it has tried to limit its opposition's content to twenty-five pages, but believes it will not be able to do so. The Court finds that the reasons put forth by Defendant lack merit. Defendant should be aware that arguments presented in a direct and concise manner are generally more effective that those that are not. See Fleming v. County of Kane, State of Ill., 855 F.2d 496, 497 (7th Cir. 1988) ("Overly long briefs, however, may actually hurt a party's case, making it far more likely that meritorious arguments will be lost amid the mass of detail.") (quoting in part United States v. Keplinger, 776 F.2d 678, 683 (7th Cir.1985)); Weilert v. Health Midwest Development Group, 95 F. Supp.2d 1190, 1192 (D. Kan. 2000) ("Judicial economy and concise argument are purposes of the page limit."). Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT Defendant's motion to file an oversized brief is DENIED. Both parties are advised to avoid the excessive use of footnotes as a means of circumscribing the page limits specified in Civil Local Rules 7-2(a), 7-3(a) and 7-3(c).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

SAUNDRA B. ARMSTRON

Judge

United States District Court

Northern District of California