UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
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Plaintiff, )
) Civil Action No.___________
v. )
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Defendant. )
____________________________________)
SCHEDULING ORDER
[Date]
This Scheduling Order is intended to provide a reasonable timetable for discovery and
motion practice in order to help ensure a fair and just resolution of this matter without undue
expense or delay.
Timetable for Discovery and Motion Practice
Pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rule 16.1(f), it
is hereby ORDERED that:
1. Initial Disclosures: The parties will exchange the information required by Fed.
R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) by _________.
2. Amendments to Pleadings. Except for good cause shown, no motions seeking
leave to add new parties or to amend the pleadings to assert new claims or
defenses may be filed after _________.
3. Fact Discovery - Interim Deadlines.
a. All written fact discovery must be served by _________.
b. All depositions, other than expert depositions, must be completed by
_______.
4. Fact Discovery - Final Deadline. All discovery, other than expert discovery,
must be completed by _________.
5. Status Conference. A status conference will be held on ____________ in
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Courtroom 14 on the 5th floor before the Hon. Jennifer C. Boal, U.S.M.J. By
___________, the parties shall file a STATUS REPORT indicating the current
status of the case, including whether the parties intend to seek expert discovery
and/or intend to file any dispositive motions, whether the parties are interested in
mediation, as well as any other matter relevant to the progress of the case.
6. Expert Discovery.
a. Plaintiff(s)’ trial experts must be designated, and the information required
by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) must be disclosed by ____________________.
b. Defendant(s)’ trial experts must be designated, and the information
required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) must be disclosed by
_________________.
c. Expert depositions must be completed by __________.
7. Dispositive Motions.
a. Dispositive motions, such as motions for summary judgment or partial
summary judgment and motions for judgment on the pleadings, must be
filed by ________________.
b. Oppositions to dispositive motions must be filed within ___ days after
service of the motion.
c. All motions for summary judgment shall comply with this Session’s
Standing Order Re: Briefing of Summary Judgment Motions.
8. Initial Pretrial Conference. An initial pretrial conference will be held on
________ at ______ in Courtroom 14 on the 5th floor before the Hon. Jennifer C.
Boal, U.S.M.J. The parties shall submit a pretrial memorandum in accordance
with Local Rule 16.5(D) five business days prior to the date of the conference,
except that the parties do not need to include matters required by Local Rule
16.5(D)(2) or (3).
9. If necessary, trial in this matter will commence on _______________.
Procedural Provisions
1. Modification of Scheduling Order. Pursuant to Local Rule 16.1(g), the
Scheduling Order, having been established with the participation of all parties,
can be modified only by court order, and only upon a showing of good cause
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supported by affidavits, other evidentiary materials, or references to pertinent
portions of the record. All motions to extend shall contain a brief statement of the
reasons for the request; a summary of the discovery, if any, that remains to be
taken; and a specific date when the requesting party expects to complete the
additional discovery, join other parties, amend the pleadings, or file a motion.
2. Motions to Compel or Prevent Discovery. Except for good cause shown,
motions to compel discovery, motions for protective orders, motions to quash,
motions to strike discovery responses, and similar motions must be filed no later
than the close of fact discovery or the close of expert discovery, whichever
deadline is relevant. If additional discovery is compelled by the Court after the
relevant deadline has passed, the Court may enter such additional orders relating
to discovery as may be appropriate.
3. Reply Memoranda. Parties need not seek leave of court to file a reply
memorandum in response to an opposition to any motion, provided that such a
reply memorandum does not exceed twelve pages, double-spaced, and is filed
within seven days after service of the opposition memorandum. Parties may
otherwise file reply or sur-reply memoranda only with leave of court. When such
leave is sought, the moving party may file a proposed reply or sur-reply
memorandum with the motion for leave.
4. Status Conferences. The Court has scheduled a status conference after (or close
to) the close of discovery for case management purposes. Any party who
reasonably believes that a status conference will assist in the management or
resolution of the case may request one from the Court upon reasonable notice to
opposing counsel.
5. Additional Conferences. Upon request of counsel, or at the Court’s own
initiative, additional case-management or status conferences may be scheduled.
Parties may request telephonic conferences where appropriate to avoid undue
inconvenience or expense.
6. Early Resolution of Issues. The Court recognizes that, in some cases, resolution
of one or more preliminary issues may remove a significant impediment to
settlement or otherwise expedite resolution of the case. Counsel are encouraged
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to identify any such issues and to make appropriate motions at an early stage in
the litigation.
7. Pretrial Conference. Lead trial counsel are required to attend any pretrial
conference.
/s/ Jennifer C. Boal
JENNIFER C. BOAL
United States Magistrate Judge
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