IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
Plaintiff,
v. CIVIL ACTION NO.
Defendant.
MAGISTRATE JUDGE CHRISTOPHER C. BLY’S ORDER
REGARDING HIS ASSIGNED CIVIL CASES
1. Contacting Chambers
Courtroom deputy clerk James Jarvis is your principal point of contact for
administrative matters relating to this case. Neither the parties nor their counsel
should discuss the merits of the case with Mr. Jarvis or with any of the Court’s law
clerks. Mr. Jarvis can be reached by email at
[email protected] or
by phone at (404) 215-1330.
2. Courtesy Copies for Chambers
Except for emergency motions filed under LR 7.2(B), NDGa, or a specific
request from the Court, the parties need not provide Chambers with an additional
paper copy of any filing. The Court automatically receives an electronic copy of all
filed materials, and that electronic copy is sufficient absent a specific request.
3. Discovery
The Court encourages the parties to communicate with one another to
facilitate discovery and resolve discovery disputes. Counsel or pro se litigants are
required to confer, by telephone or in person, in good faith before bringing a
discovery dispute to the Court. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) and 37; LR 37.1(A), NDGa.
The duty to confer is not satisfied by sending a written document, such as a letter
or email, to the adversary, unless repeated attempts to confer by telephone or in
person are unsuccessful due to the conduct of the adversary. If counsel or pro se
litigants are unable to informally resolve the discovery dispute, they should
arrange a telephone conference with the Court through the Court’s courtroom
deputy. The Court may then schedule a conference call to attempt to resolve the
matter, without the need for a formal motion. If the differences cannot be resolved
during the conference, the Court will direct further proceedings.
4. Requests for Protective Orders and/or Motions to Seal
The Court will not sign a protective or confidentiality order that permits the
parties to automatically file pleadings or materials under seal with the Clerk. As a
general matter, the Court will seal only those items enumerated in the Court’s
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Standing Order 04–02 regarding sensitive information and public access to
electronic case files. A party seeking to file a document under seal must follow the
rules and procedures set forth in Appendix H to the Local Rules. Detailed
procedures for electronic filing under seal in civil cases are available at
http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/cv-sealed-procedures.
5. Non-Dispositive Motions
Prior to filing any non-dispositive motion, a party must contact the non-
moving party or parties to determine whether any party opposes the motion. The
moving party must then state in the motion whether the non-moving party or
parties opposes the motion and, if so, the grounds the non-moving party states for
the opposition. No motion will be granted that does not include such a statement
of the non-moving party’s position or a statement that the moving party has
attempted in good faith to obtain the non-moving party’s position but has been
unable to do so.
6. Settlement
The Court offers the services of its Magistrate Judges to mediate cases, at no
cost, upon request. Should the parties agree at any point in the case that settlement
discussions are likely to benefit from such mediation, they should file a joint
motion asking the Court to stay all deadlines and to refer the case to mediation.
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7. Consolidated Pretrial Order
Pursuant to Local Rule 16.4, the parties must file a proposed pretrial order
no later than 30 days after the close of discovery, or entry of the court’s ruling on
any motions for summary judgment, whichever is later. See LR 16.4, NDGa. The
Court extends the deadline for filing a proposed consolidated pretrial order until
40 days after the close of the discovery period, or, in the event that any party files
a motion for summary judgment, until 30 days after the Court’s final ruling on all
pending motions for summary judgment, whichever is later.
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