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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 ) Case No. CV DMG ( x)
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) SCHEDULING MEETING OF
13 Plaintiff(s), ) COUNSEL
) [Fed. R. Civ. P. 16, 26(f)]
14 v. )
) SCHEDULING CONFERENCE
15 ) set for , 2010 at 9:30 a.m.
) [Fed. R. Civ. P.16]
16 )
Defendant(s). )
17 _______________________________ )
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20 This case has been assigned to the calendar of United States District Judge
21 Dolly M. Gee. The responsibility for the progress of litigation in the federal courts
22 falls not only upon the attorneys in the action, but upon the court as well.
23 In order “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every
24 action,” (Fed. R. Civ. P. 1), all counsel are hereby ordered to familiarize
25 themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of the
26 Central District of California.
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1 A Scheduling Conference is set for the date and time set forth in the
2 caption.1 Counsel shall meet at least twenty-one (21) days in advance of the
3 Scheduling Conference to prepare a jointly signed report for the court to be
4 submitted no less than fourteen (14) days before the Scheduling Conference. The
5 report is to contain the items set forth below. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c), the
6 parties shall be represented by counsel with authority to enter into stipulations
7 regarding all matters pertaining to conduct of the case.
8 The joint report to be submitted shall contain the items listed in Fed. R. Civ.
9 P. 26(f), the parties’ recommendations and agreements, if any, about the final
10 scheduling order as listed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(1) through (6), and those items
11 listed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c) which counsel believe will be useful to discuss at the
12 Scheduling Conference. Items which must be addressed are the following:
13 (1) initial disclosures, preservation of
discoverable information, and a discovery
14 plan, including a listing and proposed
schedule of written discovery, depositions,
15 and a proposed discovery cut-off date;
16 (2) a listing and proposed schedule of law and
motion matters, and a proposed dispositive
17 motion cut-off date;
18 (3) a statement of what efforts have been made
to settle or resolve the case to date and what
19 settlement procedure is recommended
pursuant to Local Rule 16-15.4 (specifically
20 excluding any statement of the terms
discussed);
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(4) an estimated length of trial and a proposed
22 date for the final pretrial conference and for
trial;
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Unless there is a likelihood that upon motion by a party the Court would order that any
or all discovery is premature, it is advisable for counsel to begin to conduct discovery actively
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before the Scheduling Conference required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b). At the very least, the
26 parties shall comply fully with the letter and spirit of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and thereby obtain
and produce most of what would be produced in the early stage of discovery, because at the
27 Scheduling Conference the Court will impose tight deadlines to complete discovery.
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(5) a discussion of other parties likely to be
2 added;
3 (6) whether trial will be by jury or to the court;
4 (7) any other issues affecting the status or
management of the case; and
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(8) proposals regarding severance, bifurcation or other
6 ordering of proof.
7 In addition, the Scheduling Conference Report shall contain the following:
8 (1) a short synopsis of the principal issues in the
case;
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(2) a statement of whether pleadings are likely
10 to be amended;
11 (3) a statement as to issues which any party
believes may be determined by motion; and
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(4) a statement as to whether the parties consent to a mutually
13 agreeable Magistrate Judge from the Court’s Voluntary Consent
List
14 (http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/judges-requirements/court-progr
ams/voluntary-consent-magistrate-judges) to preside over this
15 action for all purposes, including trial. If the parties consent
to a Magistrate Judge, they shall complete and e-file form
16 CV-11D.
17 At the Scheduling Conference, the Court will set a date for discovery cut-
18 off,2 a final date by which motions must be filed and served, a final pretrial
19 conference date, and a trial date.
20 To facilitate the scheduling process, counsel shall complete the Schedule of
21 Pretrial and Trial Dates form attached as Exhibit A to this Order and attach
22 it to the Joint Rule 26(f) Report. The Court urges the parties to make every
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This is not the date by which discovery requests must be served; but the date by which
all discovery is to be completed. Any motion challenging the adequacy of discovery responses
25 must be filed timely, served and calendared sufficiently in advance of the discovery cut-off date
26 to permit the responses to be obtained before that date, if the motion is granted. The Court
requires compliance with Local Rule 37-1 and 37-2 in the preparation and filing of discovery
27 motions. Except in the case of an extreme emergency which was not created by the lawyer
bringing the motion, discovery motions may not be heard on an ex parte basis.
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1 effort to agree upon joint dates and deadlines. The entries in the “Time
2 Computation” column reflect what the Court believes are appropriate for most
3 cases and will allow the Court to rule on potentially dispositive motions
4 sufficiently in advance of the final pretrial conference. The form is designed to
5 enable counsel to ask the Court to set different (earlier) last dates by which the key
6 requirements must be completed.
7 A continuance of the Scheduling Conference will be granted only for good
8 cause. The failure to submit a joint report in advance of the Scheduling
9 Conference or the failure to attend the Scheduling Conference may result in
10 the dismissal of the action, striking the answer and entering a default, and/or
11 the imposition of sanctions.
12 An alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedure appropriate to the
13 particular case will be used in every civil action pursuant to Local Rule 16-15.1.
14 In the Scheduling Conference Report, counsel are to recommend a specific ADR
15 procedure provided for in Local Rule 16-15 which will be utilized in this case. See
16 L.R. 26-1(c). If counsel have received a Notice to Parties of Court-Directed ADR
17 Program (ADR-08), the case will be presumptively referred to the Court Mediation
18 Panel or to private mediation. See General Order 11-10, § 5.1. Nonetheless,
19 available alternatives for consideration, not to the exclusion of others, include:
20 (1) a settlement conference before the
magistrate or district judge assigned to this
21 case (Local Rule 16-15.4(1));
22 (2) appearance before an attorney selected from
the Attorney Settlement Officer Panel (Local
23 Rule 16-15.4(2));
24 (3) appearance before a retired judicial officer
or other private or non-profit dispute
25 resolution body for non-judicial settlement
or mediation proceedings (Local Rule 16-
26 15.4(3));
27 (4) such other settlement mechanism proposed
by the parties and approved by the court.
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The report to the Court as to the above items should be preceded by a
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thorough and frank discussion among the attorneys for the parties. A Joint
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Scheduling Report which does not comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 16, 26(f), and this
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Order may cause continuance of the Scheduling Conference and a possible award
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of sanctions under Rule 16(f) against the party or parties responsible.
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Counsel for plaintiff shall immediately serve this Order on all parties,
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including any new parties to the action.
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The Court appreciates Counsel’s anticipated cooperation and compliance
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with this Order.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: ________________________________
14 DOLLY M. GEE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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2 Judge Dolly M. Gee
3 SCHEDULE OF PRETRIAL & TRIAL DATES WORKSHEET
4 Case No. Case
Name:
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6 MATTER JOINT REQUESTED DATE or TIME
PLNTF/DEFT REQUESTED
7 DATE
8 TRIAL [ ] Court [ ] Jury 8:30 a.m.
9 Duration Estimate: (Tuesday)3
FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE (“FPTC”) 2:00 p.m.
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4 wks before trial (Tuesday)
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12 MATTER TIME COMPUTATION JOINT REQUESTED
DATE or
13 PLNTF/DEFT
REQUESTED DATE
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Amended Pleadings and Addition of Parties Cut-Off 90 days after scheduling conf
15 (includes hearing of motions to amend)
Non-Expert Discovery Cut-Off at least 14 wks before FPTC
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(includes hearing of discovery motions)
17 Motion Cut-Off (filing deadline) at least 13 wks before FPTC
18 Initial Expert Disclosure & Report Deadline at least 9 wks before FPTC
19 Rebuttal Expert Disclosure & Report Deadline at least 5 wks before FPTC
Expert Discovery Cut-Off (includes hearing of discovery at least 3 wks before FPTC
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motions)
21 Settlement Conference Completion Date at least 4 wks before FPTC
22 Motions in Limine Filing Deadline at least 3 wks before FPTC
23 Opposition to Motion in Limine Filing Deadline at least 2 wks before FPTC
Other Dates: (e.g., class cert motion cut-off, early
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mediation, etc.)
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EXHIBIT A
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Trials commence on Tuesdays. Final pretrial conferences are held on Tuesdays.
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