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 the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. and 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
B. BRIEF THEORIES OF THE PARTIES:
For Plaintiff:
For Defendant:
C. ISSUES RESOLVED: Jurisdiction and venue [if resolved].
D. ISSUES STILL IN DISPUTE: Liability and damages. [List any other disputed
issues.]
E. INITIAL DISCLOSURES: The parties shall exchange initial disclosures pursuant
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to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1), which must include copies (not merely descriptions) of responsive
documents and other materials (e.g. photos, videos, etc.), by no later than ______________.
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
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compulsory obligations under this case resolution plan.
G. EXCHANGE AND FILING OF ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD. Defendant
must provide Plaintiff with a copy of the administrative record by no later than __________.
Plaintiff shall notify Defendant of any objections to the administrative record in writing by no later
than __________. Counsel for the parties must meet in person to attempt resolve Plaintiff’s
objections. If not resolved by agreement, Plaintiff must file any objections by no later than
____________, which must be filed as a combined objections and motion to modify or
supplement the administrative record. The objections/motion must be filed and briefed in
accordance with Local Rule 7.01. By the same deadline on which Plaintiff’s objections/motion
is due, Defendant must file the administrative record, which due to the nature of the information,
may be filed under seal pursuant to Local Rule 5.03 without the necessity of a separate motion to
seal by referencing this provision permitting the filing under seal.
Any other contest over sufficiency or accuracy of the administrative record must be raised
by motion, which must be filed by no later than the deadline above for filing of the
administrative record and must comply with Local Rule 7.01, except that the mandatory attorney
conference prior to filing the motion must be held in person.
Any motion to supplement the administrative record must describe with particularity the
specific information or evidence the moving party requests be made part of the administrative
record.
H. DISCOVERY: Any discovery will be limited by the fact that this is an action
seeking the recovery of ERISA benefits under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a), and as such, the Court’s review
is generally to review of the information available to the claim decision-maker at the time the final
benefit determination was made. Should either party seek to take any limited discovery as may be
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allowed in an ERISA action, that party must serve or notice such discovery by no later than
_____________. A party’s service or notice of discovery shall not be considered an acceptance
of discovery or a concession or waiver by the other party that discovery is allowable in an ERISA
benefits case, either generally or as to specific discovery requests. If a party serves discovery
request, the responding party shall, within the timelines described in the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, either (i) respond/object to the discovery or (ii) notify the serving party in writing that
all or a portion of the proposed discovery is outside the bounds of discovery permitted in a claim
seeking recovery of an ERISA benefit. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement about the
allowance of discovery in this case, the party seeking discovery may bring that matter to the
Court’s attention by a motion to allow discovery, which must be filed by no later than
________________ and must otherwise comply with Local Rule 7.01, except that the attorney
conference required before filing motion must be held in person. Otherwise, disputes as to
specific discovery requests are subject to the discovery dispute resolution procedures provided for
below.
In any event, limited discovery, if conducted, must be completed by no later than
____________. Any discovery disputes must also be brought to the Court’s attention by this same
date, unless otherwise permitted 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.
Other than the question of allowance of discovery for which procedures are provided for
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above, 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
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.
I. 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
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stricken.
I. DISCLOSURE AND DEPOSITIONS OF EXPERTS: No additional experts will
be utilized in this case.
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. MOTIONS FOR JUDGMENT ON RECORD: 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 judgment on the record must be filed by no later than _________. Responses to
motions for judgment on the record 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 motion for judgment on the record
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 judgment shall be filed except by
permission of the Court. Any party wishing to file such a motion must first file a separate motion
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that gives the justification for filing a partial judgment motion in terms of overall economy of
time and expense for the parties, counsel, and the Court. To the extent the party files the motion
as one for summary judgment, compliance with Local Rule 56.01 is required.
L. 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 either (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 the default provisions of 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
protocol or procedures or may agree that the default provisions of Administrative Order No. 174-
1 will apply.]
M. 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
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to the requested modification or extension. The motion for modification must also include 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. 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.
N. [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 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.
N/O. ESTIMATED TRIAL TIME AND TARGET TRIAL DATE: Because this is an
ERISA case that will be decided by motion or cross motions for judgment on the record, no trial
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date is needed. 1 To the extent that any party requests an evidentiary hearing on disputed factual
issues, they may make such a request in an appropriate motion in accordance with Local Rule
7.01.
It is SO ORDERED.
BARBARA D. HOLMES
United States Magistrate Judge
APPROVED FOR ENTRY:
Attorney for Plaintiff
Attorney for Defendant
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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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