UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
SCHEDULING ORDER FORM
1. Introduction: Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b), a scheduling
conference was held in this case on .
2. Jurisdiction: In this case, the subject matter jurisdiction of the Court has been invoked
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § and is not in dispute.
3. Consent to a Magistrate Judge: The parties do not consent that all proceedings in this
case may be conducted by a United States Magistrate Judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(c).
4. Disclosure and Discovery:
(a) Rule 26(f) Meeting: The parties have held a discovery planning meeting as
required by Rule 26(f).
(b) Discovery Plan: The parties have filed with the Court a discovery plan in
accordance with Rule 26(f).
(c) Initial Disclosures: The parties have made all disclosures required by Rule
26(a)(1).
(d) Expert Testimony: Disclosure of any expert testimony any party seeks to use to
meet its burden of proof shall be made on or before in accordance
with Rules 26(a)(2)(B) and 26(a)(2)(C) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Disclosure of rebuttal expert testimony shall be made by the parties on or before
. Rebuttal expert testimony challenges the opinions or methods of
a previously disclosed expert and is no broader in scope.
(e) Final Witness List: On or before , the parties shall provide to
all other parties a final witness list in accordance with Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(i).
Within five days after service of this final witness list, the list may be
supplemented. After that time the list may be supplemented with leave of the
court and for good cause.
(f) All Discovery: All discovery, including the taking of depositions “for evidence,”
depositions of experts, and requests for admissions, shall be completed by
.
(g) Pretrial Disclosures: On or before , the parties shall make the
pretrial disclosures specified in Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(ii) and (iii). All deposition
testimony to be offered into evidence must be disclosed to all other parties on or
before this date.
5. Other Scheduling Matters:
(a) Amendment of Pleadings: If any party wishes to amend the pleadings, such
motion should be filed on or before .
(b) Dispositive Motions: All dispositive motions under Rule 12 and all motions for
summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 shall be filed as soon as possible, but no
later than . The failure to timely file such motions will be
grounds to summarily deny them. The parties must comply with § 5.H. of the
Court’s preferences concerning joint appendices relating to motions for summary
judgment.
(c) Daubert Motions: All motions to exclude expert testimony pursuant to Federal
Rule of Evidence 702 should be filed as soon as possible but no later than
.
(d) Motions in Limine: Any motions in limine must be filed no later than
___________ . Consistent with Local Rule 7.1, the parties are limited to one
motion in limine that identifies all evidence sought to be excluded and one
supporting brief not to exceed twenty-five pages. Separately filed motions in
limine will be summarily denied. Evidence sought to be excluded should be
attached as an exhibit to the motion in limine to the extent practicable.
Additionally, the Court will not entertain a motion to exclude expert testimony
styled as a motion in limine. Any motions to exclude expert testimony pursuant to
Federal Rule of Evidence 702 must be filed on or before the Daubert motion
deadline set forth in § 5(c).
(e) Special Requests to Instruct for Jury Trial: The parties shall confer and submit a
joint proposal for jury instructions on or before . Before
submitting the joint proposal to the Court, the parties must attempt to resolve any
disagreements. To the extent there are disagreements as to specific instructions
that cannot be resolved, the parties should provide competing instructions in their
joint proposal. All jury instructions in the joint proposal, including agreed
instructions and competing instructions, shall be supported by citations of
authority pursuant to Local Rule 7.4. A copy of the proposed jury instructions
should be sent to
[email protected].
6. Final Pretrial Conference: A final pretrial conference will be held in Courtroom 3 on
, at 3:00 p.m. at the U. S. Courthouse, 900 Georgia Avenue, Chattanooga,
Tennessee. The parties shall prepare and submit a final pretrial order to the Court on or
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before the date of the final pretrial conference. A sample copy of the final pretrial order
is located on the district court’s web page at http://www.tned.uscourts.gov. The parties
shall file trial briefs on anticipated evidentiary and legal issues at least three business
days before the Final Pretrial Conference. Prior to the final pretrial conference, the
parties shall file an exhibit list and provide the Court with exhibits pre-marked for
identification purposes. The parties shall be prepared to discuss the admissibility of such
exhibits at the final pretrial conference.
7. Trial: The trial of this case will be held in Chattanooga before the United States District
Judge and a jury beginning on , at 9:00 a.m. If this case is not
heard immediately, it will be held in line until the following day or anytime during the
week of the scheduled trial date. SHOULD THE SCHEDULED TRIAL DATE
CHANGE FOR ANY REASON, THE OTHER DATES CONTAINED IN THIS
ORDER SHALL REMAIN AS SCHEDULED. SHOULD THE PARTIES DESIRE
A CHANGE IN ANY OF THE OTHER DATES, THEY SHOULD NOTIFY THE
COURT AND SEEK AN ORDER CHANGING THOSE DATES.1
SO ORDERED.
/s/ Travis R. McDonough
TRAVIS R. MCDONOUGH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
1
The demands of the Court’s docket dictate that all trials, including all pretrial hearings, in civil
cases be conducted in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Court will, however, entertain motions to
conduct trial in another division of this Court upon a showing of good cause by the parties. Any
such motions must be filed after the dispositive motions deadline but no later than four
weeks before the final pretrial conference, and the grant or denial of the same rests in the
Court’s discretion.
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