Copies of Papers - Courtesy copies of filings made through mandatory e-filing should be sent to Chambers only when the exhibits number more than 100 pages or upon request of the Court.

Contested Matters - Parties should comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 (a)(2) in contested matters. 

Communication For Proposed Orders - Counsel should send a courtesy email to the Judge’s law clerk to alert Chambers that a proposed order (whether new or amended) has been uploaded or filed, after a hearing.

Communication For Emergencies - Counsel should send a courtesy email to the Courtroom Deputy when filing a motion to shorten time to respond and request for an immediate hearing.

Judge Catliota is amenable to telephonic appearances. Requests for telephonic appearance are to be made by contacting the Courtroom Deputy at least 24 hours in advance of a hearing. Counsel appearing by telephone assume the risk of disconnection or miscommunication, and are strongly encouraged to use a land line and not a cellular phone, speaker phone, or hands-free device. Counsel may not examine witnesses or introduce evidence when appearing by telephone.

Courtroom 3E in Greenbelt has the necessary equipment to electronically present evidence.  When controlled by the presenter at the podium, the system will concurrently display evidence on monitor screens for the witness, law clerk, courtroom deputy, Judge, counsel tables, and on a projection screen. The system has the following capabilities:

VHS/DVD combination player - You can play a DVD or VHS cassette. You can also use the input on this system to play back audio if you provide an audio device.

Laptop - If you have a laptop computer, you can attach it to the podium system and present from it.

PC - A PC is located inside the cabinet and you can use that to display various files - Word Perfect, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, etc. With software on the PC in the podium, you can annotate what is being presented. However, neither the PC nor laptop option will have Internet access.

Document camera - This device allows you to display a document or any other item that can be placed on the display tray.

Please contact the ITServiceDesk@mdb.uscourts.gov for training. After you are trained, you need to contact the Courtroom Deputy at least 24 hours prior to a hearing if you intend to use this equipment to receive approval.

Click Here for Motion Hearing Dates

Motions for Relief from the Automatic Stay:  Judge Catliota hears motions for relief from the automatic stay on Mondays at 10:00 a.m.  Movant’s counsel must call or send an email message to the Courtroom Deputy by the immediately preceding Friday by 12:00 p.m. to alert the Court that the matter is to be withdrawn, to be continued, resolved by consent or should be taken off the calendar as a “no response.”  In the absence of notification to the Courtroom Deputy, the motion will be called at the scheduled date and time even if no response has been filed.

Motions to Approve Short Sales in Chapter 13 Cases:  In the absence of unusual circumstances, the movant must file with the motion an order approving the sale and providing that all liens must be paid at closing unless any lien holder otherwise consents in writing.   

First Day Motions in Complex Chapter 11 Cases:  Counsel should send a courtesy email to the Judge’s law clerk to alert Chambers of the filing of first day motions and to schedule all first day matters. 

Motions to Avoid Liens:  Provided the motion complies with the Local Rules, Judge Catliota does not require counsel to appear at the scheduled hearing if no response has been filed to the motion. 

Initial Cash Collateral Hearings:  Counsel should send a courtesy email to the Judge’s law clerk to request an emergency cash collateral hearing.

Initial pre-trial conferences will be scheduled in the ordinary course by the Court. However, prior to the scheduled conference date, the Courtroom Deputy will send an email to all counsel asking if they prefer to waive appearance at the conference and seeking their estimate of time needed for discovery. If counsel agrees that no initial pre-trial conference is necessary, the Court will enter a scheduling order accordingly.

In adversary proceedings in which a party is unrepresented, the initial pre-trial conference will be held unless specific arrangements are otherwise made.

Counsel are not excused from participating at reaffirmation hearings, but may appear by telephone. Requests for telephonic appearance are to be made by contacting the Courtroom Deputy at least 24 hours in advance of a hearing. Counsel appearing by telephone assumes the risk of disconnection or miscommunication, and are strongly encouraged to use a land line and not a cellular phone, speaker phone, or hands-free device.