IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT ____________________
)
Plaintiff )
) Case No.
) Judge _________________
) Magistrate Judge Holmes
Defendant )
PROPOSED INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
As a preliminary matter, the Court reminds the parties and their attorneys that all attorneys of
record and attorneys who otherwise participate on behalf of a party in this case must familiarize
themselves with and follow the case management procedures and instructions detailed in the Court’s
Notice and Order. (Docket No. ___.)
A. JURISDICTION: The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 29
U.S.C. § 201 et seq.
B. BRIEF THEORIES OF THE PARTIES:
For Plaintiff:
For Defendant:
C. ISSUES RESOLVED: Jurisdiction and venue [if resolved].
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D. ISSUES STILL IN DISPUTE: Damages and liability. [List any other disputed
issues.]
E. INITIAL DISCLOSURES: The parties shall exchange initial disclosures pursuant
to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1), which must include copies (not simply descriptions) of responsive
documents and other materials (e.g. photos, videos, etc.), on or before _____________.
F. CASE RESOLUTION PLAN AND JOINT STATUS REPORTS: The parties are
encouraged to make settlement efforts throughout the pendency of this case and must make a
minimum of two independent, substantive attempts at resolution. By no later than
_____________, the parties must file a joint case resolution status report confirming their first
substantive attempt at settlement. The parties must have conducted enough discovery or
otherwise exchanged enough information prior to this date to substantively evaluate and
discuss settlement. By no later than _______________, the parties must file another joint status
report, which either confirms their second substantive attempt at case resolution or updates the
Court on the status of their intended second attempt. The parties’ joint reports must state the
specific steps taken toward case resolution, including that an offer or demand was made and
responded to and that counsel discussed the parties’ positions and specific next steps to promote
case resolution. In other words, the parties must “show their work” in creating a plan to facilitate
successful settlement negotiations. The parties may mediate by agreement without the need of
further order unless referral for pro bono mediation is requested (which must be made by motion).
Any motion for pro bono mediation must include a statement as to why private mediation is not
feasible. Any motion for a judicial settlement conference must state (i) the reasons why mediation
is not feasible and why a judicial settlement conference is the preferable means of attempting to
resolve the case; (ii) the parties’ proposed timing for scheduling of the settlement conference; and
(iii) any preference of a particular Magistrate Judge to conduct the settlement conference. The
parties’ compliance with this case resolution plan is not optional. The fact that discovery is
ongoing or that a dispositive motion is pending does not relieve the parties of their
compulsory obligations under this case resolution plan.
G. DISCOVERY: The parties must, by no later than ____________, (i) complete all
written discovery and depose all fact witnesses and (ii) bring all discovery disputes to the Court’s
attention unless otherwise permitted by the Court. Written discovery and scheduling of depositions
must proceed promptly. Discovery is not stayed during dispositive or other motions, unless
ordered by the Court. The Court expects all parties and their counsel to cooperate in discovery and
to act courteously and professionally in the resolution of any discovery disputes. The Court may
impose appropriate sanctions, including any of those authorized by Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f) or
37(b)(2)(A), upon a finding of a failure to comply with this or any discovery order or upon a
finding of other discovery misconduct.
No discovery disputes may be brought to the Court for resolution before lead counsel for
all parties have conducted an in-person meeting and made a good faith effort to resolve any
dispute(s). Discovery disputes that cannot be resolved after the in-person meeting must be brought
promptly to the attention of the Magistrate Judge by the filing of a joint discovery dispute statement
and a joint motion for a discovery conference. It will be within the Magistrate Judge’s discretion
to allow filing of discovery-related motions, after counsel have scheduled and participated in a
discovery conference. In connection with any discovery conference, the parties must file a joint
discovery dispute statement, of no more than 3 pages per affected party per issue, which identifies
and describes the specific discovery request(s) in dispute and details each party’s position with
supporting facts and legal authorities, including as to any proportionality considerations. The joint
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discovery dispute statement must certify that lead counsel for all parties conducted the required
in-person meeting and made a good faith effort to resolve each discovery dispute presented in the
statement. No discovery conference will be held until a compliant joint statement is filed. If the
joint statement is sufficiently detailed, any party may adopt by reference the joint statement for
purposes of Local Rule 7.01, but must clearly state in the filing made in accordance with the timing
requirements of Local Rule 7.01 that the joint statement is adopted as the party’s memorandum of
law or response.
H. AMENDMENTS OR ADDITION OF PARTIES: Any motions to amend or to add
parties must be filed by no later than ___________ and must comply with Local Rules 7.01 and
15.01. Failure to comply with local rules may result in summary denial of the motion.
Amendments or addition of parties by written consent under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2) must clearly
and conspicuously state that the amended pleading is filed by written consent. Failure to clearly
and conspicuously provide notice of the consent filing may result in the amended pleading being
stricken.
I. [only if applicable] DISCLOSURE AND DEPOSITIONS OF EXPERTS: The
plaintiff must identify and disclose all expert witnesses and expert reports on or before
__________. The defendant must identify and disclose all expert witnesses and reports
on or before ________. Rebuttal experts and reports shall be permitted only by leave of court.
Unless otherwise provided for in a separate pretrial order, supplemental expert disclosures, which
specifically include, but are not limited to, any supplemental information to expert reports, must
be made in accordance with Rule 26(a) and (e). Supplemental expert opinions or other expert
disclosures not timely disclosed may be excluded at trial. See Local Rule 39.01(c)(5)(C). Expert
depositions must be completed by ____________________.
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J. ANOTHER CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE. The Court does not set
second case management conferences or require the parties to file status reports as a matter of
course in civil actions. The parties and their counsel are reminded of their responsibility to prepare
this case according to the case management schedule. Failure to do so may result in any of the
remedies authorized by Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f). The Court will not provide reminders of case
management deadlines and will not otherwise prompt the parties to give attention to this case. The
parties may request that a case management conference be set by filing a joint motion for a case
management conference, which must identify all issues to be discussed and detail the status of all
case management events. If the purpose of the requested conference is to discuss extending case
management deadlines, the motion must comply with the requirements for modifications of the
case management order as instructed below. The parties must also state whether they request an
in-person or telephonic case management conference.
K. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS: Any motions under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 must be filed
and briefed in accordance with that rule and with Local Rule 7.01. Motions for summary
judgment and all other non-Rule 12 dispositive motions not otherwise provided for in this Initial
Case Management Order must be filed by no later than _________. Responses to dispositive
motions must be filed within 28 days after the filing of the motion. Briefs or memoranda of law
in support of or in opposition to a dispositive motion shall not exceed 25 pages. Optional replies
may be filed within 14 days after the filing of the response and shall not exceed 5 pages. No
motion for partial summary judgment shall be filed except by permission of the Court. Any party
wishing to file such a motion must first file a separate motion that gives the justification for filing
a partial summary judgment motion in terms of overall economy of time and expense for the
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parties, counsel, and the Court.
Before filing or responding to a summary judgment motion, attorneys are required to read
and follow Local Rule 56.01 generally and specifically Judge Richardson's guidance in McLemore
v. Gumucio, 619 F. Supp. 3d 816 (M.D. Tenn. 2021) (rev’d on other grounds), regarding what
should (or should not) be included in the movant's "statement of undisputed material facts.”
Counsel must carefully draft the statement of undisputed material facts and response to ensure that
each is a concise, focused, and non-argumentative statement of facts (not opinions, argument, or
legal conclusions) that are material to the outcome of the case and are undisputed as supported by
the record.
L. MOTION FOR COURT-APPROVED NOTICE PROCEDURES. The following
procedures shall govern the motion for the preliminary notice procedures. See e.g. Clark v A&L
Homecare and Training Center, LLC, 68 F.4th 1003 (6th Cir. 2023). 1 Prior to the filing of a motion
for court-approved preliminary notice procedures, lead counsel for the parties must meet in
person 2 to discuss the proposed court-approved notice and whether there is some notice that can
be approved by agreement of the parties. The motion for court-approved notice procedures must
be filed by no later than ________________. Response to the motion for court-approved notice
procedures, if opposed, must be filed within 21 days of the filing of the motion. Briefs or
memoranda of law in support of or in opposition to the motion shall not exceed 25 pages. An
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The preliminary notice procedures contemplated by Clark are alternately referred to as
court-authorized notice procedures, court-facilitated notice procedures, or court-approved notice
procedures. The descriptive language all refers to the preliminary notice procedures described in
Clark.
2
To be clear, this is an explicit requirement. It does not mean meeting by videoconference
or by any means other than in person.
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optional reply may be filed within 7 days of the filing of the response and shall not exceed 5 pages.
L. MOTION FOR FINAL DETERMINATION OF SIMILARLY SITUATED
EMPLOYEES. Prior to the filing of a motion for final determination of similarly situated
employees, lead counsel for the parties must again meet in person to discuss the proposed final
determination and whether there is some agreed-upon determination. The motion for final
determination of similarly situated employees must be filed by no later than ________________.
Response to the motion for final determination must be filed within 21 days of the filing of the
motion. Briefs or memoranda of law in support of or in opposition to the motion shall not exceed
25 pages. An optional reply may be filed within 7 days of the filing of the response and shall not
exceed 5 pages.
M. ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY. The parties anticipate reaching an agreement on
how to conduct electronic discovery. Any agreement between the parties must be reduced to
writing, and must either be (i) filed as a stipulation of agreed-upon electronic discovery procedures
or (ii) if the parties request court approval, submitted as proposed agreed order with an
accompanying motion for approval. In the absence of compliance with this provision, the default
standards of Administrative Order No. 174-1 will apply. [May also include any agreed-upon ESI
protocol or procedures or may agree that Administrative Order No. 174-1 will apply.]
[For Judge Campbell’s cases only] Any agreement between the parties for ESI discovery
must be reduced to writing, and must, within 14 days of the date of entry of this initial case
management order, either be (i) filed as a stipulation of agreed-upon electronic discovery
procedures or (ii) if the parties request court approval, submitted as proposed agreed order with an
accompanying motion for approval. In the absence of compliance with this provision, the default
standards of Administrative Order No. 174-1 will apply. [May also include any agreed-upon ESI
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protocol or procedures or may agree that Administrative Order No. 174-1 will apply.]
N. MODIFICATION OF CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER. Any motion to modify
the case management order or any case management deadline must be filed at least seven (7) days
in advance of the earliest impacted deadline. Unless a joint motion, the motion for modification
must include a statement confirming that counsel for the moving party has discussed the requested
modification or extension with opposing counsel and whether there is any objection to the
requested modification or extension. The motion for modification must also include: (i) the trial
date and all deadlines, even unaffected deadlines, so that it will not be necessary for the Court to
review one or more previous case management orders in consideration of the motion and (ii) a
statement of counsel that the requested extension will not cause any dispositive motion deadline,
including response and reply briefs, to be later than 120 days in advance of the trial date. Motions
for extensions must also detail the moving party’s efforts at diligently complying with the
originally scheduled deadline and the specific facts demonstrating good cause for modification of
the deadline as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). Failure to do so may result in denial of the
requested extension.
O. [For Judge Campbell’s cases only] REQUESTS TO SEAL DOCUMENTS OR
PORTIONS OF DOCUMENTS. Any party requesting that documents or portions of documents
be sealed, including without limitation for use as exhibits at trial, must file a motion to seal in
accordance with Administrative Order No. 167-1 (Administrative Practices and Procedures for
Electronic Case Filing) and Local Rules 5.03 and 7.01, which demonstrates compelling reasons to
seal the documents and that the sealing is narrowly tailored to those reasons. The motion to seal,
even if unopposed, must specifically analyze in detail, document by document, the propriety of
secrecy, providing factual support and legal citations. Generally, only trade secrets, information
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covered by a recognized privilege (such as the attorney-client privilege), and information required
by statute to be maintained in confidence is typically enough to overcome the presumption of
public access. Failure to comply with these procedures or to provide sufficiently compelling
reasons may result in denial of the request to seal documents or portions of documents. Protective
orders should not provide that documents produced in discovery and designated as “confidential”
will be automatically sealed upon filing or if used at trial. Any such language in proposed
protective orders will be stricken and may result in denial of the motion for entry of the proposed
protective order.
O/P. ESTIMATED TRIAL TIME AND TARGET TRIAL DATE: The [JURY or
BENCH] trial of this action is expected to last approximately ______ days. 3 A trial date no
earlier than ____________is respectfully requested. An order setting dates for trial and a pretrial
conference, and detailing the parties’ pretrial obligations, will be entered separately by Judge
_____________________.
It is SO ORDERED.
BARBARA D. HOLMES
United States Magistrate Judge
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The parties are also reminded of their option to consent to final disposition by the
Magistrate Judge pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 73 and Local Rule 73.01. As discussed, if the parties
wish to utilize this option, they may jointly complete and electronically file the form Notice,
Consent and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge found on the Court’s website under
the link for Forms. Not consenting will not result in any adverse consequences, and the Notice
should be filed only if all parties consent to final disposition by the Magistrate Judge.
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APPROVED FOR ENTRY:
Attorney for Plaintiff
Attorney for Defendant
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