IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
[PLAINTIFF], )
)
Plaintiff, )
) C.A. No. 00-0000 (GBW)
v. )
)
[DEFENDANT], )
)
Defendant. )
SCHEDULING ORDER [NON-PATENT; BENCH TRIAL]
This day of , 20___, the Court having conducted
an initial Rule 16(b) scheduling conference pursuant to Local Rule 16.1(b), and the
parties having determined after discussion that the matter cannot be resolved at this
juncture by settlement, voluntary mediation, or binding arbitration;
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Rule 26(a)(1) Initial Disclosures and E-Discovery Default Standard.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the parties shall make their initial
disclosures pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) within five (5)
days of the date the Court entered this Order. If they have not already done so, the
parties are to review the Court’s Default Standard for Discovery, Including
Discovery of Electronically Stored Information (“ESI”), which is posted at
http://www.ded.uscourts.gov (see Other Resources, Default Standard for
Discovery) and is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Joinder of Other Parties and Amendment of Pleadings. All motions to
join other parties, and to amend or supplement the pleadings, shall be filed on or
before . Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, any motion to join a party or
motion to amend the pleadings shall be made pursuant to the procedures set forth
in Paragraphs 3(g) and 4.
3. Discovery. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or agreed to by
parties, the limitations on discovery set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure shall be strictly observed.
(a) Fact Discovery Cut Off. All fact discovery in this case shall be
initiated so that it will be completed on or before .
(b) Document Production. Document production shall be
substantially complete by .
(c) Requests for Admission. A maximum of ___ requests for
admission are permitted for each side.
(d) Interrogatories.
i. A maximum of ___ interrogatories, including contention
interrogatories, are permitted for each side.
ii. The Court encourages the parties to serve and respond
to contention interrogatories early in the case. In the absence of agreement among
the parties, contention interrogatories, if filed, shall first be addressed by the party
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with the burden of proof. The adequacy of all interrogatory answers shall be judged
by the level of detail each party provides (i.e., the more detail a party provides, the
more detail a party shall receive).
(e) Depositions.
i. Limitation on Hours for Deposition Discovery. Each side
is limited to a total of ___ hours of taking testimony by deposition upon oral
examination.
ii. Location of Depositions. Any party or representative
(officer, director, or managing agent) of a party filing a civil action in this district
court must ordinarily be required, upon request, to submit to a deposition at a place
designated within this district. Exceptions to this general rule may be made by
order of the Court. A defendant who becomes a counterclaimant, cross-claimant, or
third-party plaintiff shall be considered as having filed an action in this Court for the
purpose of this provision.
(f) Disclosure of Expert Testimony.
i. Expert Reports. For the party who has the initial
burden of proof on the subject matter, the initial Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
26(a)(2) disclosure of expert testimony is due on or before . The
supplemental disclosure to contradict or rebut evidence on the same matter
identified by another party is due on or before . Reply expert reports from
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the party with the initial burden of proof are due on or before . No other
expert reports will be permitted without either the consent of all parties or leave of
the Court. Along with the submissions of the expert reports, the parties shall
advise of the dates and times of their experts’ availability for deposition.
ii. Objections to Expert Testimony. To the extent any
objection to expert testimony is made pursuant to the principles announced in
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), as
incorporated in Federal Rule of Evidence 702, it shall be made by motion no later
than fourteen (14) days after the close of expert discovery, unless otherwise
ordered by the Court. Briefing will be presented pursuant to the Court’s Local
Rules.
iii. Expert Discovery Cut Off. All expert discovery in this
case shall be initiated so that it will be completed on or before .
(g) Discovery Matters and Disputes Relating to Protective Orders.
i. Any discovery motion filed without first complying with
the following procedures will be denied without prejudice to renew pursuant to
these procedures.
ii. Should counsel find, after good faith efforts – including
verbal communications among Delaware and Lead Counsel for all parties to the
dispute – that they are unable to resolve a discovery matter or a dispute relating to
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a protective order, the parties involved in the discovery matter or protective order
dispute shall submit a joint letter in substantially the following form:
Dear Judge Williams:
The parties in the above-referenced matter
write to request the scheduling of a discovery
teleconference.
The following attorneys, including at least
one Delaware Counsel and at least one Lead
Counsel per party, participated in a verbal meet-
and-confer (in person and/or by telephone) on the
following date(s): __________________
Delaware Counsel: __________________
Lead Counsel: __________________
The disputes requiring judicial attention are
listed below:
[provide here a non-argumentative list of disputes
requiring judicial attention]
iii. On a date to be set by separate order, generally not less
than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the conference, the party seeking relief shall file
with the Court a letter, not to exceed three (3) pages, outlining the issues in dispute
and its position on those issues. On a date to be set by separate order, but generally
not less than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the conference, any party opposing the
application for relief may file a letter, not to exceed three (3) pages, outlining that
party's reasons for its opposition.
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iv. Each party shall submit two (2) courtesy copies of its
discovery letter and any attachments.
v. Should the Court find further briefing necessary upon
conclusion of the telephone conference, the Court will order it. Alternatively, the
Court may choose to resolve the dispute prior to the telephone conference and will,
in that event, cancel the conference.
4. Motions to Amend.
(a) Any motion to amend (including a motion for leave to amend) a
pleading shall NOT be accompanied by an opening brief but shall, instead, be
accompanied by a letter, not to exceed three (3) pages, describing the basis for the
requested relief, and shall attach the proposed amended pleading as well as a
"blackline" comparison to the prior pleading.
(b) Within seven (7) days after the filing of a motion in compliance
with this Order, any party opposing such a motion shall file a responsive letter, not
to exceed five (5) pages.
(c) Within three (3) days thereafter, the moving party may file a
reply letter, not to exceed two (2) pages, and, by this same date, the parties shall
file a letter requesting a teleconference to address the motion to amend.
5. Motions to Strike.
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(a) Any motion to strike any pleading or other document shall
NOT be accompanied by an opening brief but shall, instead, be accompanied by a
letter, not to exceed three (3) pages, describing the basis for the requested relief,
and shall attach the document to be stricken.
(b) Within seven (7) days after the filing of a motion in compliance
with this Order, any party opposing such a motion shall file a responsive letter, not
to exceed five (5) pages.
(c) Within three (3) days thereafter, the moving party may file a
reply letter, not to exceed two (2) pages, and, by this same date, the parties shall
file a letter requesting a teleconference to address the motion to strike.
6. Case Dispositive Motions. Absent agreement between the parties, and
prior approval from the Court, the Court will not hear case dispositive motions in
cases proceeding to a bench trial.
7. Applications by Motion. Except as otherwise specified herein, any
application to the Court shall be by written motion. Any non-dispositive motion
should contain the statement required by Local Rule 7.1.1.
8. Motions in Limine. Motions in limine shall not be separately filed. All
in limine requests and responses thereto shall be set forth in the proposed pretrial
order. Each party shall be limited to three (3) in limine requests, unless otherwise
permitted by the Court. The in limine request and any response shall contain the
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authorities relied upon; each in limine request may be supported by a maximum of
three (3) pages of argument, may be opposed by a maximum of three (3) pages of
argument, and the party making the in limine request may add a maximum of one
(1) additional page in reply in support of its request. If more than one party is
supporting or opposing an in limine request, such support or opposition shall be
combined in a single three (3) page submission (and, if the moving party, a single
one (1) page reply), unless otherwise ordered by the Court. No separate briefing
shall be submitted on in limine requests, unless otherwise permitted by the Court.
9. Pretrial Conference. On , the Court will hold a pretrial
conference in Court with counsel beginning at ___ .m. The parties shall file with
the Court the joint proposed final pretrial order in compliance with Local Rule
16.3(c) and the Court’s Preferences and Procedures for Civil Cases not later than
seven (7) days before the pretrial conference. Unless otherwise ordered by the
Court, the parties shall comply with the timeframes set forth in Local Rule
16.3(d)(1)-(3) for the preparation of the joint proposed final pretrial order. The
Court will advise the parties at or before the above-scheduled pretrial conference
whether an additional pretrial conference will be necessary.
The parties shall provide the Court two (2) courtesy copies of the joint
proposed final pretrial order and all attachments. The proposed final pretrial order
shall contain a table of contents and the paragraphs shall be numbered.
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10. Application to Court for Protective Order. Should counsel find it
will be necessary to apply to the Court for a protective order specifying terms and
conditions for the disclosure of confidential information, counsel should confer and
attempt to reach an agreement on a proposed form of order and submit it to the
Court within ten (10) days from the date the Court enters this Order. Should
counsel be unable to reach an agreement on a proposed form of order, counsel must
follow the provisions of Paragraph 3(g) above.
Any proposed protective order must include the following paragraph:
Other Proceedings. By entering this order and limiting
the disclosure of information in this case, the Court does
not intend to preclude another court from finding that
information may be relevant and subject to disclosure in
another case. Any person or party subject to this order
who becomes subject to a motion to disclose another
party’s information designated “confidential” [the parties
should list any other level of designation, such as “highly
confidential,” which may be provided for in the protective
order] pursuant to this order shall promptly notify that
party of the motion so that the party may have an
opportunity to appear and be heard on whether that
information should be disclosed.
11. Papers Filed Under Seal. In accordance with section G of the Revised
Administrative Procedures Governing Filing and Service by Electronic Means, a
redacted version of any sealed document shall be filed electronically within seven
(7) days of the filing of the sealed document.
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12. Courtesy Copies. The parties shall provide to the Court two (2)
courtesy copies of filings (i.e., briefs, appendices, exhibits, declarations,
affidavits etc.). Courtesy copies of appendices and exhibits should include hard
tabs. This provision also applies to papers filed under seal.
13. ADR Process. This matter may be referred to a magistrate judge to
explore the possibility of alternative dispute resolution if the parties jointly request
such a referral.
14. Trial. This matter is scheduled for a ______ day bench trial beginning
at 9:30 a.m. on , with the subsequent trial days beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The trial will be timed, as counsel will be allocated a total number of hours in which
to present their respective cases.
____________________________________
The Honorable Gregory B. Williams
United States District Judge
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Counsel Shall Provide a Chart of All Relevant Deadlines
EVENT DEADLINE
