UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
________ DIVISION
[Name of plaintiff(s)], )
)
Plaintiff(s), )
)
v. ) Case No.:
)
[Name of defendant(s)], )
)
Defendant(s). )
SCHEDULING ORDER
The court enters this order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) based
on the parties’ report of a planning meeting. Doc. __. This order governs further
proceedings in this action unless modified for good cause shown.
Extensions for the deadlines set to complete all discovery and file
dispositive motions will not be granted absent extraordinary cause. In the event
extraordinary cause is shown, only one extension will be granted.
I. PLEADINGS AND PARTIES: Unless a party’s pleading may be
amended as a matter of course pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
15(a), the party must file a motion for leave to amend. Such motion for
leave to amend shall state with specificity those matters the party wishes
to add or delete and shall contain, attached as an exhibit, the complete and
executed amended pleading, suitable for filing. The motion for leave to
amend, with the attached amended pleading, must be served in accordance
with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.
No causes of action, defenses, or parties may be added after Click here to
enter a date. as to plaintiff(s) and Click here to enter a date. as to
defendant(s).
[6 weeks after ID for P and 10 weeks after ID for D]
II. DISCOVERY LIMITATIONS AND DEADLINES
A. Depositions: Maximum of __ by each party
(excluding experts and parties). Each
deposition is limited to a maximum of
seven hours.
Interrogatories: Maximum of __ by any party directed
to any other party.
Requests for Production: Maximum of __ by any party directed
to any other party.
Requests for Admission: Maximum of __ by any party directed
to any other party.
B. Expert Testimony: Unless modified by stipulation of the parties, the
disclosures of expert witnesses—including a complete report under
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) from any specially retained
or employed expert—are due:
From plaintiff(s): by Click here to enter a date. [4 mos after ID]
From defendant(s): by Click here to enter a date. [5 mos after ID]
C. Supplementation: Supplementation of disclosures and discovery
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(e) is due within a reasonable
period of time after discovery of such information (which ordinarily
will be within twenty-one days of counsel becoming aware of the need
to supplement), but in any event all such supplementation shall be
provided no later than thirty days before the close of discovery.
D. Deadline: All discovery must be commenced in time to be completed
by Click here to enter a date. [6 mos after ID]
E. Clawback Agreement: The court adopts and incorporates by
reference the parties’ clawback agreement contained in their report as
if fully set out here, pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502.
F. Motions About Discovery Disputes: Counsel for the moving party
must confer in person or by telephone with opposing counsel to attempt
to resolve their disagreements regarding discovery requests. If the
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parties are unable to resolve their dispute in that manner, then the party
filing the motion for leave of the court shall describe all efforts taken to
resolve the disputed matter and shall certify in the motion that the
parties conferred pursuant to this order and were unable to reach an
agreement. If an attorney makes a good faith effort but is unable to
contact opposing counsel, then the attorney shall describe in the motion
the attorney’s efforts to contact and coordinate with opposing counsel.
Failure to include a statement of the parties’ attempt to resolve the
matter without the court’s intervention may result in an automatic
denial of the motion.
III. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS: All potentially dispositive motions and
evidentiary submissions upon which a party will rely in support of the
motion must be filed no later than Click here to enter a date. [1 month after
DD]
The parties must file and brief all dispositive motions consistent with the
initial order. Any motion for summary judgment must comply with all the
requirements of Appendix II which is attached to the court’s initial order.
Any other dispositive motion must comply with the requirements of
Appendix II to the extent practicable.
Compliance with this requirement will necessitate filing the evidentiary
submission in support of the brief separately from the brief and may
necessitate filing the evidentiary submission one or more days prior to
filing the brief. Both the brief and evidentiary submission must be filed on
or before the filing deadline.
IV. EXTENSIONS: Absent extraordinary unforeseen circumstances, any
motion for an extension of any deadline must be filed three or more days
before the deadline sought to be extended. Motions for an extension of
time that do not satisfy this requirement will ordinarily be automatically
denied. Successive requests for extensions by the same party are
disfavored.
Any motion to extend the deadline to complete all discovery must state
when the moving party first propounded discovery requests and/or noticed
depositions and must include any other information that will help the court
determine how effectively the parties have used the amount of time
originally allowed for discovery.
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V. MEDIATION: Unless a party objects, the court will enter an order
referring the parties to mediation and setting a deadline by which
mediation must occur. Objections to mediation should be included in the
joint status report as described in Part VI. As a general rule, if the court
refers the case to mediation, the court will not stay discovery and
dispositive motion deadlines.
VI. JOINT STATUS REPORT: The parties shall file a joint status report on
or before Click here to enter a date. [2 weeks before DD; status conf 1
week before DD]
The status report should state whether the parties object to mediation and
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 trial. 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, nor to present all possible legal theories; instead, the report should
apprise the court of the case and current issues affecting trial preparation,
including the status of critical discovery.
VII. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE: A pretrial conference will be scheduled as
needed by separate order. Due dates for lists of trial witnesses, exhibits,
and objections under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) shall be
established as needed in a separate pretrial order.
VIII. TRIAL: The parties shall be ready for trial in Click here to enter a date.
[4-5 mos after DMD], to be scheduled by separate order.
IX. NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT: The parties must notify the court within
two business days of reaching any settlement.
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