IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
[NAME OF DIVISION]
JOHN Q. PUBLIC, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) NO.
)
ACME CORPORATION, ) JUDGE RICHARDSON
) MAGISTRATE JUDGE [NAME]
Defendant. )
PROPOSED INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
A. JURISDICTION: The court has jurisdiction pursuant to _____________.
B. BRIEF THEORIES OF THE PARTIES: [not to be verbatim recitation of the
pleading and should be as brief as reasonably feasible]:
For Plaintiff:
For Defendant:
C. ISSUES RESOLVED: Jurisdiction and venue [if resolved].
D. ISSUES STILL IN DISPUTE: [The parties should state the issues still in
dispute in broad terms, such as “liability and damages.” The parties then should specify the
issues still in dispute in somewhat more detail, but with as much brevity as is reasonably
feasible].
E. INITIAL DISCLOSURES: The parties shall exchange initial disclosures pursuant
to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) on or before .
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F. CASE RESOLUTION PLAN AND JOINT STATUS REPORTS: The parties are
encouraged to consider the Alternative Dispute Resolution options provided in Local Rules 16.02
through 16.05. If the parties do not propose a detailed plan for resolution of the case in their
proposed initial case management order, the Court will establish case resolution plan
requirements. Approximately fourteen (14) days after the conclusion of fact discovery, the
parties shall submit a joint report confirming that the parties made a good faith attempt to resolve
the case. The joint report shall also state whether the parties believe ADR might assist in resolution
of the case. If a judicial settlement conference is requested in either joint report or separately, the
parties shall also state (i) the reasons why mediation is not feasible; (ii) their proposed timing for
scheduling of the settlement conference; and (iii) any preference of a particular Magistrate Judge
to conduct the settlement conference.
G. DISCOVERY: The parties shall complete all written discovery and depose all fact
witnesses on or before . Written discovery should proceed promptly (unless
otherwise provided for herein) and shall be served by no later than ____________. Discovery is
not stayed during dispositive or oth er motions, unless ordered by the Court.
A party may not bring a discovery dispute to the Court for resolution before lead counsel
for that party has held a telephonic or in-person discussion with lead counsel for every one of the
parties adverse to it with respect to the dispute (which, in the case of multiple adverse parties, may
occur separately with different adverse parties) and has made a good-faith effort to resolve the
dispute. Discovery disputes that cannot be resolved after the required discussion(s) should be
brought promptly to the attention of the Magistrate Judge via a request for a discovery conference.
It will be within the Magistrate Judge’s discretion whether to allow for the filing of discovery-
related motions. All discovery motions shall be filed by no later than __________. In connection
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with any discovery conference or discovery motion, the applicable parties shall file a joint
discovery dispute statement, which describes the specific discovery request(s) in dispute and
details each party’s position with supporting fact and legal authorities. The joint discovery dispute
statement shall certify that lead counsel for every applicable party held the aforementioned
telephonic or in-person discussion(s) and made a good faith effort to resolve each discovery
dispute presented in the statement. If the joint statement is sufficiently detailed, any party may
adopt by reference the joint statement for purposes of Local Rule 7.01(a)(2) or (a)(3), but must
clearly state in the filing (made in accordance with any timing requirements set forth in Local Rule
7.01(a)(3)) that the joint statement is adopted as the party’s memorandum of law or response, as
the case may be.
H. MOTIONS TO AMEND OR TO ADD PARTIES: Any motions to amend or to
add parties shall be filed by no later than ___________ and must comply with Local Rules 7.01
and 15.01.
I. [only if applicable] DISCLOSURE AND DEPOSITIONS OF EXPERTS: The
plaintiff shall identify and disclose all expert witnesses and expert reports on or before
__________. The defendant shall identify and disclose all expert witnesses and reports
on or before ________. Rebuttal experts 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 shall be completed by ____________________.
J. SUBSEQUENT CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE. A subsequent case
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management conference shall be held telephonically on ___________, to address: status of
discovery (including any known or anticipated discovery issues or disputes); prospect for
settlement (including propriety of ADR); and, any other appropriate matters. Plaintiff’s counsel
shall initiate the call.
K. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS: As provided above, the parties must attempt to
resolve the case prior to the filing of dispositive motions. Dispositive motions shall be filed by
no later than _________. Responses to dispositive motions shall 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 shall 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 parties, counsel, and the Court.
L. ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY. If the parties have reached an agreement on how
to conduct electronic discovery, Administrative Order No.174-1 need not apply to this case. Any
agreement between the parties to address the topics provided by Administrative Order No. 174-1
must be reduced to writing, signed by counsel, and either filed as a stipulation of agreed-upon
electronic discovery procedures, or, if the parties request court approval, submitted as a proposed
agreed order with an accompanying motion for approval. In the absence of an agreement, the
default standards 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 shall be filed at least seven (7) days
in advance of the earliest impacted deadline. Unless a joint motion, the motion for modification
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must include a statement confirming that counsel for the moving party has discussed the requested
modification or extension with opposing counsel and whether or not 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 that the requested extension will still conform to the requirements of Local Rule
16.01(h)(1) that no dispositive motion deadline, including response and reply briefs, shall be later
than 90 days in advance of the trial date. Motions for extensions should also detail the moving
party’s efforts at diligently complying with the originally schedule deadline and the facts
demonstrating good cause for modification of the deadline as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4).
N. ESTIMATED TRIAL TIME AND TARGET TRIAL DATE: The [JURY or
BENCH] trial of this action is expected to last approximately ______ days. A trial date no earlier
than ____________is respectfully requested. 1 [Refer to Local Rule 16.01(h)(1) for relationship
between the dispositive-motion deadline and the timing of target trial date.]
It is so ORDERED.
United States Magistrate Judge
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The parties were also reminded during the case management conference 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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