My colleague Andrew wrote a post long ago about all of the things you can stipulate to in D. Del., and all the things you can't. Take a moment to read it—I'll wait.
![[Editor's Note: In light of feedback, we've updated this image to make clear that the bird is not doing anything inappropriate for a professional blog, although it may be at risk of lung cancer.]](https://bd6f.s3.amazonaws.com/media/images/DALLE_2023-03-07_18.31.58_-_Photo_of_a_pa.m.max-640x360_lB2kniA.webp)
Aaaand we're back. You'll note one of the stipulations listed as "iffy" (legal term) was a stipulation to extend page limits. We got a good example of just how iffy those can be last week from Judge Noreika:
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Stipulation is DENIED. The request to extend page limits was filed seven minutes before the over-the-page limit brief was filed. The effect of this was that Plaintiff granted itself an extension without leave of Court and without respect for the Court and its rules. THEREFORE, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion for Preliminary Injunction is DENIED for failure to comply with the page limits. Counsel may re-file the motion with a brief that complies with the Court's rules.
Janssen Biotech, Inc. v. Amgen, Inc., C.A. No. 22-1549-MN (D. Del. Mar. 2, 2023) (Oral Order)
Obviously, it didn't help that the parties filed their stip just minutes before the relevant brief, giving the Court no opportunity to act on it. But it led me to wonder just how often these stipulations are denied in the normal course (for reference the extension was pretty run of the mill, an extra 10 pages for the opening brief on a PI motion).
So I took a look at the last 10 such stipulations and at first it seemed to be pretty much a coin flip -- 60% were granted, 40% denied.
Looking at it a bit closer, however, I noticed something interesting. All 6 of the granted stipulations were ordered by a Magistrate Judge, while all 4 of the denials were ordered by an Article III Judge. I'll give my usual spiel here about small sample sizes (also the last 10 don't include any orders from Judge Williams), but it's an interesting fact to note if you are considering moving to extend the page limits.
You should probably also do it a bit further ahead of time too, if you don't want to rewrite your brief.
If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to receive free e-mail updates about new posts.
