IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
WESTERN DIVISION
)
Plaintiff. )
)
v. ) No. ___________________
)
)
Defendant. )
MODEL SCHEDULING ORDER FOR FLSA CASES
Pursuant to written notice, a scheduling conference was held on [date]. Present were
______________, counsel for Plaintiff, and ______________, counsel for Defendant. Prior to
the scheduling conference, the parties met and conferred in compliance with Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure 26(f). At the conference, the following dates were established as the final
deadlines for:
INITIAL DISCLOSURES PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 26(a)(1): ______________
(should be made before the Rule 16(b) conference, or as soon as possible thereafter but no later
than two weeks following the conference)
MOTIONS TO JOIN PARTIES AND AMEND PLEADINGS: _______________________
(within 2 months after conference)
These deadlines apply only to the Named Plaintiff’s individual claims. Because this is a
putative Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective action seeking to facilitate notice to all
potential plaintiffs that deadline does not prevent or restrict the joinder of Opt-in Plaintiffs as
permitted by any order facilitating notice. Any resulting amendments to the Complaint shall
extend through any notice and joinder period ordered by the Court.
MOTIONS TO DISMISS: _______________________
(within 3 months of conference)
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
(a) ADR DEADLINE PURSUANT TO ADR PLAN RULE 4.3(a):
_______________________
(within 12 weeks of conference)
Mediator must file Mediation Certification Form:
https://www.tnwd.uscourts.gov/local-forms
(b) SELECTION OF MEDIATOR PURSUANT TO ADR PLAN RULE 5.4(c)2:
MEDIATOR’S NAME: _______________________
[insert name of mediator]
STIPULATION FILING DATE: _______________________
(if no mediator has been selected by the parties, within 1 week of conference)
(If the parties fail to agree upon a Mediator by this deadline, the Court shall select
a Mediator for the case from the Court’s Mediator list and shall issue an Order
notifying the parties of the Mediator’s identity)
PRE-NOTICE OF PHASE OF DISCOVERY:
Defendant shall be permitted to serve written discovery on the Named Plaintiff and take
the deposition of Named Plaintiff. The Named Plaintiff may only be deposed once for a
maximum of seven hours in total at one sitting (whether the deposition is taken pre-notice or
post-notice), unless the parties agree otherwise in writing to adjourn in good faith. Named
Plaintiff shall be permitted to serve written discovery on the Defendant and take the deposition
of Defendant and officers of Defendant. Defendant and each officer of Defendant may only be
deposed for a maximum of seven hours in total at one sitting (whether the deposition is taken
pre-notice or post-notice), unless the parties agree otherwise in writing to adjourn in good faith.
MOTION TO FACILITATE NOTICE OF FLSA COLLECTIVE ACTION:
_________________________
(within 120 days of conference)
Defendant shall file its response within thirty days of the filing of Plaintiff’s Motion to
Facilitate Notice. Plaintiff may file an optional reply brief, limited to five pages, within fourteen
days of the filing of Defendant’s responsive brief.
ALL OTHER DEADLINES:
Since this is a putative FLSA collective action, the following remaining deadlines should
be subject to and contingent upon the Court’s ruling on Plaintiff(s)’ Motion to Facilitate Notice;
thus, the parties must consult and submit a Revised Proposed Scheduling Order within fourteen
days after the Court’s ruling on Plaintiff(s)’ Motion: (1) Completing all written discovery,
including discovery and depositions of all fact witnesses; (2) Expert Witness Disclosures
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2); (3) Expert Witnesses’ Depositions; (4) Motions to Exclude
Experts under Fed. R. Evid. 702/Daubert Motions; (5) Rule 26(e)(2) Supplementation; (6) Filing
Dispositive Motions; (7) Joint Proposed Pretrial Order; (8) Pretrial Conference Dates; and
(9) Jury Trial date. A scheduling conference will be conducted following the submission of the
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Revised Proposed Scheduling Order.
The parties [do] / [do not] consent to trial before the Magistrate Judge.
OTHER RELEVANT MATTERS:
As required by Local Rule 26.1(e), the parties have conferred as to whether they will seek
discovery of electronically stored information (“ESI”) and [have agreed that e-discovery is not
appropriate in this case and therefore they will not seek e-discovery] / [have reached an
agreement regarding e-discovery and hereby submit the parties’ e-discovery plan for the court’s
approval] / [have not reached an agreement regarding e-discovery and will comply with the
default standards described in Local Rule 26.1(e) until such time, if ever, the parties reach an
agreement and the court approves the parties’ e-discovery plan].
[Pursuant to agreement of the parties, if privileged or protected information is
inadvertently produced, the producing party may, by timely notice, assert the privilege or
protection and obtain the return of the materials without waiver].
Pursuant to Local Rule 16.3(d), within 7 days of completion of ADR, the parties shall file
a notice via ECF confirming that the ADR was conducted and indicating whether it was
successful or unsuccessful, without disclosing the parties’ respective positions at the ADR.
Pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(a)(1)(A), all motions, except motions pursuant to Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 12, 56, 59, and 60 shall, be accompanied by a proposed order in a word
processing format sent to the ECF mailbox of the presiding judge.
Pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(a)(1)(B), the parties are required to consult prior to filing any
motion (except motions filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, 56, 59, and 60).
The opposing party must file a response to any opposed motion. Pursuant to Local Rule
7.2(a)(2), a party’s failure to respond timely to any motion, other than one requesting dismissal
of a claim or action, may be deemed good grounds for granting the motion.
Neither party may file an additional reply to any motion, other than a motion filed
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) or 56, without leave of the court. Pursuant to
Local Rule 7.2(c), if a party believes that a reply is necessary, it shall file a motion for leave to
file a reply within 7 days of service of the response, setting forth the reasons why a reply is
required.
No depositions may be scheduled to occur after the discovery deadline. All discovery
requests or other discovery related filings that require a response must be filed sufficiently in
advance of the discovery deadline to enable the opposing party to respond by the time permitted
by the Rules prior to that date.
Motions to compel discovery are to be filed and served within forty-five days of the
default or service of the response, answer, or objection that is the subject of the motion.
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However, if such default or service occurs within thirty days before the discovery deadline,
the motion to compel must be filed within thirty days after such default or service.
This case is set for a [non/jury] trial.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4), the scheduling order may only
be modified for good cause and with this Court’s consent. Good cause requires the moving
party to show that it could not meet the scheduling order’s deadline despite that party’s
diligence. Potential prejudice to the nonmoving party is also evaluated when considering a
motion to extend deadlines.
This order has been entered after consultation with the parties.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this ___ day of ________, 20__.
SHERYL H. LIPMAN
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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