STANDARD PROCEDURES FOR DISCOVERY DISPUTES AND SETTLEMENT
CONFERENCES IN CIVIL CASES
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
CHRISTOPHER L. RAY
United States District Court – Southern District of Georgia
8 Southern Oaks Court
Savannah Ga, 31405
Molly Davenport, Courtroom Deputy Clerk
Office: (912-650-4035)
e-mail:
[email protected]
I. Informal Discovery Conferences
a. Before filing a discovery motion, a party must first receive permission from
the Court following an informal discovery dispute video conference. 1 Any
party wishing to schedule such a conference should file their Motion for an
Informal Discovery Dispute Conference. 2 The form is available on the Court’s
website. The motion shall advise the Court of at least three distinct, mutually-
agreeable, dates and times within a two-week period from the date of filing the
motion upon which to conduct the conference. The Court will set the
conference as soon as possible, taking into consideration the urgency of the
issue, on a date and time convenient for the parties and Court.
b. At least 24 hours before the conference, the parties shall submit letter briefs,
outlining their individual positions regarding the dispute and identifying
which counsel and parties (if any) will appear for the telephonic conference.
Such letters should be no longer than three pages single-spaced, and may
include up to ten pages of exhibits. Because the parties will have met and
conferred to narrow their dispute prior to contacting the Court, this page
limitation should provide adequate room to fully capture their dispute. The
parties’ letter briefs should be factual and non-argumentative. These letters
shall be addressed to Judge Ray and submitted to the courtroom deputy clerk
via email to
[email protected] and not filed on the docket.
They shall also be served on counsel for all other parties. At the conference,
the Court will consider only the disputes outlined in those letters. Parties
1 This procedure applies to motions filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, but is also applicable
to motions for a protective order pursuant to Rule 26 and motions to quash / compel a subpoena—if the place
of compliance is this District—pursuant to Rule 45. This procedure does not apply to those proceedings exempt
from initial disclosure under Rule 26(a)(1)(B), cases where there is at least one unrepresented party, or
Daubert motions and motions to strike experts. However, the Court may at its discretion apply this procedure
to any discovery dispute regardless of case type upon notice to the parties.
2
Please file this motion on ECF by navigating to Civil – Motions – Motion for Informal Discovery Dispute
Conference.
should be prepared to outline all pending discovery issues. Failure to raise
existing discovery disputes at this time may result in the Court determining
that those disputes have been waived.
c. The conference will not be on the record, and the Court may not issue a written
ruling and may choose to merely memorialize the conference as a text entry
on the docket. If, upon the conclusion of the conference, the parties are unable
to resolve their dispute, they shall have ten days to file a discovery motion
upon the docket.
d. Parties should be aware that the Court expects the parties and/or their
counsel to have met and conferred prior to seeking this informal discovery
resolution process in accordance with LR 26.5. This requirement anticipates
that the parties will actually speak with each other about the discovery
dispute. This requirement may be accomplished in person, over the telephone,
or through video conferencing.
II. Settlement Conferences
a. Upon consent, the parties may file a motion with the Court requesting a court-
directed settlement conference with Judge Ray. Along with their motion, the
parties should provide at least four mutually-agreeable dates falling no later
than 2 months from the date the motion is filed.
b. In addition to counsel, all parties (including at least one individual with full
and complete authority to settle) shall appear personally for settlement
conferences. The Court will only consider appearance of a party by remote
means for good cause.
c. At least one week prior to the settlement conference, the parties should jointly
submit the Court’s “Settlement Conference Worksheet” to the courtroom
deputy clerk via email. This document should not be filed upon the docket.
The Court does not require written settlement conference statements but may
request them in particular cases. If the Court determines that settlement
conference statements are required, it will notify the parties at least 48 hours
in advance of the conference. Such statements are subject to the length and
exhibit requirements in section I(b) supra. The Court may also set a phone or
video conference with counsel in advance of the settlement conference on a
case-by-case basis.
d. The case must be ready for meaningful settlement discussions. The Court
expects that the parties will appear in good faith to settle.
III. Informal Requests
a. This Court is a motions court. Judge Ray will NOT consider informal requests
to the courtroom deputy clerk or chambers for rulings on any issues—
including requests for extensions of time—other than those outlined above.
Likewise, the Court does not accept letter briefs with the exception of the
procedures set forth in paragraphs I and II, above concerning informal
discovery conferences and settlement conferences / mediation. If any party
desires a ruling—of any kind—that party should file a motion on the docket.
