(A) Commencement; Length. The discovery period shall commence thirty days
after the appearance of the first defendant by answer to the complaint, unless the
parties mutually consent to begin earlier. In removed cases, the discovery period
commences thirty days after the removed case is filed in this Court if any defendant
has appeared by answer to the complaint prior to removal.
The discovery tracks established in this Court are: (1) zero-months discovery
period; (2) four-months discovery period; and (3) eight-months discovery period. A
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chart showing the assignment of cases to a discovery track by filing category is
contained in Appendix F.
(B) Adjustments to Discovery Period. The Court may, in its discretion, shorten or
lengthen the time for discovery. Motions requesting extensions of time for discovery
must be made prior to expiration of the existing discovery period and will be granted
only in exceptional cases where the circumstances on which the request is based did
not exist or the attorney or attorneys could not have anticipated that such
circumstances would arise at the time the Joint Preliminary Report and Discovery Plan
was filed.
(C) Expert Witnesses. Any party who desires to use the testimony of an expert
witness shall designate the expert sufficiently early in the discovery period to permit
the opposing party the opportunity to depose the expert and, if desired, to name its
own expert witness sufficiently in advance of the close of discovery so that a similar
discovery deposition of the second expert might also be conducted prior to the close of
discovery.
Any party who does not comply with the provisions of the foregoing paragraph
shall not be permitted to offer the testimony of the party's expert, unless expressly
authorized by Court order based upon a showing that the failure to comply was
justified.
Any party objecting to an expert’s testimony based upon Daubert v. Merrell
Dow Pharms. Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993) shall file a motion no later
than the date that the proposed pretrial order is submitted. Otherwise, such objections
will be waived, unless expressly authorized by Court order based upon a showing that
the failure to comply was justified.
