THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
DIVISION
,
Plaintiff(s), Case No.: XX-CV-XXXXX-SRB
v.
,
Defendant(s).
SCHEDULING AND TRIAL ORDER FOR BENCH TRIAL
Plaintiff appears by counsel. Defendant appears by counsel. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
16(b) and 26(f), and upon consideration of the parties’ proposals in the matter, the following
schedule is hereby established:
1. TRIAL SETTING. This case is scheduled for a bench trial, commencing at 8:30 a.m., on
, at the United States District Courthouse in Missouri.
2. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. A final pretrial conference in this case will be held at :
a.m./p.m., on , at the United States District Courthouse in ,
Missouri. Lead trial counsel shall participate in this conference.
3. MOTION TO AMEND PLEADINGS. Any motion to amend the pleadings shall be filed
on or before .
4. MOTION TO JOIN ADDITIONAL PARTIES. Any motion to join additional parties
shall be filed on or before .
5. DISCOVERY
a. DISCOVERY DEADLINE.
All pretrial discovery authorized by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure shall be
completed on or before (“Closure Date”). This means that all
discovery shall be completed, not simply submitted, on the Closure Date.
Accordingly, all discovery requests and depositions shall be submitted and/or
scheduled prior to the Closure Date and allow sufficient time for completion within
the time specified by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Court Rules,
and/or orders of this Court. Discovery shall not be conducted after the Closure Date,
except by Order of the Court for good cause shown. Nothing contained herein shall
excuse a party from the continuing obligation to update discovery responses in
accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e).
b. DISCOVERY MOTIONS.
The Court will not entertain any discovery motion absent full compliance with
Local Rule 37.1. In the event that a teleconference is needed, email your request
to the Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected]. A memorandum
of the discovery dispute, not to exceed two pages in length, should be
electronically submitted by each party no later than twenty-four hours prior to the
teleconference.
c. EXPERT DESIGNATION DEADLINES.
Each plaintiff shall designate any expert witnesses it intends to call at trial on or
before . Each defendant shall designate any expert witnesses
it intends to call at trial on or before . This paragraph applies to
all witnesses from whom expert opinions will be elicited at trial, regardless of
whether the witness was specially retained to provide trial testimony. Each party
shall ensure compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) at the time of the party’s
expert witness designations. Expert witnesses may testify only as to matters
contained in the report required by Rule 26(a)(2)(B), unless leave of Court is granted
upon good cause shown.
With respect to treating physicians, coroners and like professionals not retained to
testify for a party, the report requirements of this Order may be satisfied by
providing a copy of all the treating physician’s files, records and notes relating to
the treating physician’s patient to the opposing party. For the purpose of this
paragraph, a “treating physician” is a doctor (including psychiatrist, dentist or other
practitioner of the healing arts) retained by a party prior to retaining counsel in this
matter. A treating physician will not be allowed to give expert testimony beyond
the treatment provided by said physician unless designated as an expert. A treating
physician who will provide expert testimony beyond the treatment provided by said
physician must further comply with the requirements of this Order.
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6. DISPOSITIVE MOTION DEADLINE. All dispositive motions, except those under Rule
12(h)(2) or (3), shall be filed on or before . All dispositive motions
shall have a separate section wherein each statement of fact is individually numbered so
that any party opposing such motion may refer specifically to a genuine issue of material
fact. Suggestions in opposition to a dispositive motion shall begin with a concise listing
of material facts as to which the party contends a genuine dispute exists. All motions for
summary judgment shall comply with Local Rules 7.0 and 56.1.
7. DAUBERT MOTION DEADLINE: All motions to strike expert designations or preclude
expert testimony premised on Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579
(1993), shall be filed on or before . The deadline for filing
motions in limine does not apply to these motions. Failure to file a Daubert motion prior
to this deadline will constitute waiver of any arguments based on Daubert.
8. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE DOCUMENT DEADLINES. The documents listed below
shall be filed prior to the pretrial conference.
a. Motions in Limine. Motions in limine shall be filed at least ten (10) business days
prior to the final pretrial conference. Responses to motions in limine shall be filed
at least three (3) business days prior to the final pretrial conference. In order to
ensure efficient use of trial time, the parties are encouraged to file motions in limine
relating to key evidentiary issues.
b. Stipulation of Uncontroverted Facts. At least three (3) business days prior to the
final pretrial conference, the parties may file a stipulation of any uncontroverted
facts.
c. Witness List. At least ten (10) business days prior to the final pretrial conference,
each party shall file and serve a list of all witnesses who may be called to testify at
trial. If a witness is not listed by a party, that witness will not be permitted to testify
absent leave of Court and then only for the purpose of unanticipated rebuttal or
impeachment.
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d. Exhibit Index. At least five (5) business days prior to the final pretrial conference,
each party shall file and serve an exhibit index of all exhibits that may be offered
at trial. If an exhibit is not listed by a party, that exhibit will not be admitted absent
leave of Court. The exhibit index should be prepared on a form provided by the
Clerk’s office that can be found at https://www.mow.uscourts.gov/forms/district.
Each exhibit will be designated as either “Plaintiff’s” or “Defendant’s,” numbered
with a Roman numeral, and described following the enumeration. If an exhibit
consists of more than one (1) page or part, the number of pages or parts shall be
included in the description. The exhibit number must be marked on each exhibit at
the time of listing. It is not necessary to include exhibits to be used only for
impeachment or rebuttal purposes. After the time for filing the exhibit index has
expired, no supplemental or amended index will be filed without leave of Court for
good cause shown.
e. Stipulation as to the Admissibility of Evidence. At least three (3) business days
prior to the final pretrial conference, the parties shall file a stipulation as to the
admissibility of evidence, listing the exhibits for which authenticity and
foundation are not contested.
f. Designation of Deposition Testimony. Fifteen (15) business days prior to the final
pretrial conference, each party shall file and serve a designation, by page and line
number, of any deposition testimony to be offered in evidence by that party.
g. Objections to Designated Deposition Testimony and Counter Designation. At
least ten (10) business days prior to the final pretrial conference, each party shall
file and serve:
i. Any objections to proposed deposition testimony designated by any other
party; and
ii. A designation, by page and line number, of any deposition testimony to be
offered as counter-designation to deposition testimony designated by other
parties.
h. Objections to Counter Designations. At least seven (7) business days prior to the
final pretrial conference, each party shall file and serve any objections to proposed
deposition testimony offered as a counter-designation by other parties.
i. Submission of Deposition Designations. At least seven (7) business days prior to
the final pretrial conference, the Court should receive deposition designations in
the following manner:
i. The parties are to jointly submit one mini-script copy of each designated
deposition.
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ii. Each party is to highlight the portion of the deposition they want to
designate, including counter-designations.
iii. Each party should use a different highlight color to indicate their
designations (for example, plaintiff uses yellow; defendant uses blue).
iv. Each party should also indicate their objections on the actual deposition by
bracketing those portions in the margin of the deposition, again using a
different color to indicate the portion to which each party objects.
v. Each party should submit to the Court a Word version document of the
Objections to Deposition Designations that the party filed in CM/ECF.
Send that via email to the Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected].
9. TRIAL DOCUMENT DEADLINES AND TRIAL PROCEDURE.
a. Trial Brief. At least five (5) business days prior to trial, counsel for each party
shall file a trial brief stating the party’s factual and legal contentions in the case.
The trial brief should address any important evidentiary issues.
b. Trial Procedure. The Court may place time limits on opening statements, and
direct and cross-examination of all witnesses. Counsel should be prepared to
support their representations as to the length of trial.
c. Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. No more than 15 days after
completion of the trial transcript, each party shall file proposed findings of fact and
conclusions of law referencing specific exhibits and/or trial testimony supporting
each finding of fact. Each party shall submit its proposed findings and conclusions
via email in Word format to the Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected].
10. MISCELLANEOUS.
a. All motions for extension of time pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b), 31, 33, 34, or
36 should be filed at least seven (7) days before the date of the original deadline
and must state:
i. The date when the pleading, response, or other action is/was first due;
ii. The number of previous extensions and the date the last extension expires;
iii. The cause for the requested extension, including a statement as to why the
action due has not been completed in the allotted time; and
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iv. Whether the requested extension is approved or opposed by opposing
counsel (agreement by counsel of a requested extension is not binding on
the Court).
b. All motions requesting leave to depart from Local Rule 7.0(f) page limitation
must state:
i. The number of previous requests for leave;
ii. The particular reason for the request for leave, including a specific
statement as to why the action due cannot be completed within the allotted
page limit; and
iii. Whether the request for leave is approved or opposed by opposing counsel
(agreement by counsel of a request for leave is not binding on the Court).
c. The parties should not submit proposed orders in conjunction with routine motions,
e.g. motions for extension of time and motions to modify the scheduling order. The
parties shall submit proposed orders in conjunction with all motions, other than
dispositive motions, in which a specific, substantive ruling is sought by the Court,
e.g. motions for entry of consent judgment, motions for temporary restraining
order, motions for entry of a preliminary injunction, and motions for entry of a
protective order. Such proposed orders shall be emailed in Word format to the
Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected].
d. The dispositive motion date, final pretrial conference date, and trial date shall be
changed only by leave of Court.
e. Any questions about this scheduling order or the procedures to be followed when
practicing in this division should be directed to the Courtroom Deputy, Tracey
Peters, at
[email protected].
IT IS SO ORDERED.
STEPHEN R. BOUGH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated:
NOTE: This document provides a sample of what Judge Bough’s Scheduling Order will
look like when issued to the parties. This document is not to be used as the parties’ proposed
scheduling order that is submitted for the Court’s review. The parties’ proposed scheduling
order should be signed by both parties and should not contain a signature line for Judge
Bough.
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