IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
_____ DIVISION
_____, ]
]
Plaintiff(s), ]
]
v. ]
] _______-ACA
_____, ]
]
Defendant(s). ]
]
ERISA SCHEDULING ORDER
The court has before it the ____, report of the parties’ planning meeting
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f), and discussed that report with counsel
on _____________. Based on the court’s determination that such procedure is
appropriate in this case, this case is set for final submission, without oral argument,
on ______________. Any objection to this determination may be made by filing a
Motion for Trial no later than __________________.
I. Deadlines
A. Deadlines to Amend Pleadings
Plaintiff may amend pleadings and/or join additional parties, in accordance
with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15, until ____. Defendant may amend
pleadings and/or join additional parties, in accordance with Rule 15, until _____.
B. Discovery
If either party wishes to conduct discovery beyond the administrative record,
that party shall file a motion requesting same on or before _____, citing
appropriate authority as to why discovery should be allowed in this particular case
and setting forth with specificity the discovery sought; any response should be
filed by seven days thereafter. Failure to set forth the requested discovery with
specificity OR to cite appropriate authority will result in the sua sponte denial of
the motion.
C. Record
By ____ the parties are jointly to develop and electronically file with the
court the Administrative Record and any other evidence including deposition
excerpts, stipulations, affidavits, 1 etc. (“the Record”) on which they intend the
court to rely. Electronic filing should comply with court rules and file size
restrictions as described in the Civil Administrative Procedures Manual for
CM/ECF, which can be found in the CM/ECF Info tab at www.alnd.uscourts.gov,
the court’s webpage. If the Record exceeds 15 pages, the parties shall also jointly
submit an exact courtesy copy of the Record reflecting CM/ECF case number,
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See Civil Administrative Procedures Manual for CM/ECF, Part II.C, with regard to
electronically filing affidavits or other documents requiring an original signature.
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document number, date, and page stamp on each page within three business days
of electronic filing. The courtesy copy should begin with a table of contents and
include tabs corresponding to each document listed on the table of contents. And
the courtesy copy should be securely bond to prevent the inadvertent loss of pages.
Ideally, it should be double sided to conserve paper.
The parties shall comply with all privacy provisions described in the Civil
Administrative Procedures Manual for CM/ECF and redact personal information
from the filed documents.
D. Joint Status Report
Counsel shall file with the court a Joint Status Report on ____. The status
report should include enough information to allow the court to understand the
nature of the case, its current status, including any pending motions, and any
current or anticipated problems in preparing the case for disposition. Specifically,
the court should be advised of the pertinent issues and the parties’ positions as to
those issues. The status report should not be used to argue the party’s case, or to
present all possible legal theories. Instead, the report should apprise the court of
the case and current issues affecting preparation.
As part of the status report, parties should consider the prospects for
settlement of this matter and shall report their efforts to do so. In addition, parties
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shall notify the court whether they are agreeable to submitting this case to
mediation conducted by a mediator from the panel of neutrals.
II. Nondispositive Motions
Responses to all nondispositive motions are due within five days of
receiving notice of the motion. Failure to respond within five days will result in
the court granting the motion.
Parties must seek leave of the court before filing a motion about a discovery
dispute. The motion for leave of the court must specify the nature of the discovery
dispute and the steps the parties have taken to resolve that dispute. The motion
need only include the facts relevant to the dispute. Legal argument and/or legal
citations are not necessary.
Discovery disputes will occasionally be referred to a magistrate judge for
handling. Because decisions concerning discovery rest largely within the
discretion of the judge, objections to a magistrate’s ruling on a discovery matter
should rarely be made and will rarely be granted absent a clear showing that the
decision was clearly erroneous or contrary to law. See 28 USC § 636.
III. Briefs
ALL briefs must comply with the following requirements, unless the court
grants specific permission to deviate or the court has otherwise ordered specific
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deviations.
A. Format
Initial and response briefs are limited to thirty-five pages. Reply briefs are
limited to ten pages. Briefs that exceed twenty pages must include a table of
contents that accurately reflects the organization of the document. The table of
contents is not included in the page limit. The text of briefs must be double-spaced
(except for quotations exceeding fifty words, which may be block indented from
the left and right margins and single spaced) using fourteen point typeface,
preferably Times New Roman.
B. Binding
The Clerk will not accept bound materials for filing, but the parties must
securely bind the court’s “courtesy copy” of the brief in a three-ring binder or large
clip for ease of use and to prevent inadvertent loss of pages. In addition, all pages
submitted in the court’s “courtesy copy” shall be three-hole punched. Courtesy
copies of briefs in Word format should be emailed to chamber’s email at
[email protected] and must be identical to the filed version.
C. Manner of Stating Facts
All briefs submitted either in support of or opposition to the final submission
must begin with a statement of allegedly undisputed relevant material facts set out
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in separately numbered paragraphs. Counsel must state facts in clear,
unambiguous, simple, declarative sentences. Each statement of fact must be
supported by specific reference to the CM/ECF document and page number of the
evidentiary submissions. When the parties refer to evidence in their briefs, they
must cite to the CM/ECF document and page numbers where the evidence can be
found.
The court may strike any brief that fails to comply with these requirements.
DONE and ORDERED this ____ day of ____.
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