UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ☆ SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
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versus § Civil Action H-
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Order Setting Conference
1. Counsel shall appear for an initial pretrial conference:
_______________, 202___, at ______ ___.m.
United States Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy
Seventh Floor - Courtroom 704
United States Courthouse
515 Rusk Street
Houston, TX 77002
2. Within 15 days of receiving this order, counsel must file a list of all entities that are
financially interested in this litigation, including parent, subsidiary, and affiliated
corporations as well as all known attorneys of record. When a group description is effective
disclosure, an individual listing is not necessary. Underline the names of corporations with
publicly traded securities. Counsel must promptly amend the list when parties are added
or additional interested parties are identified.
3. The plaintiff must serve the defendant within 90 days of filing the complaint. The
plaintiff’s failure to file proof of service within that time may result in dismissal by the
court on its own initiative. See FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m).
4. At least 14 days before the conference, counsel must file a joint case management plan
listing the identities and purposes of witnesses, sources and types of documents, and other
requirements for a prompt and inexpensive preparation of this case for disposition by
motion or trial. See FED. R. CIV. P. 26(f).
5. The parties shall agree on additional deadlines for completion of pretrial matters including
all expert designation dates and discovery cut-offs as well as dates for exchanging of initial
disclosures if they have not already been completed.
6. By the conference, counsel will have interviewed their clients and read all relevant
documents; readily available documents will have been exchanged at the plan meeting at
the latest.
7. The court will set a schedule for initial preparation and may rule on motions pending or
made at the conference.
8. Counsel in charge of a case must appear at all hearings or conferences. A motion to appear
on behalf of the attorney-in-charge will be granted only upon showing of good cause, and
only if the attorney to be substituted is familiar with the case and has authority to bind the
client. The motion to appear must be ruled on in advance of the hearing or conference date.
9. Counsel who appear at the conference must have authority to bind the client and must know
the facts.
10. Counsel must have discussed alternative dispute resolution with their clients and each
other; at the conference, the court will consider whether a method of ADR is suited to this
case.
11. The court will enter a scheduling order and may rule on any pending motions at the
conference.
12. The Plaintiff(s) filing this suit, or the party removing this suit from state court, SHALL
SERVE THE OPPOSING PARTY OR PARTIES with copies of:
A. this ORDER FOR CONFERENCE,
B. the form for the JOINT REPORT ON MEETING REQUIRED BY RULE 26(f)
AND JOINT DISCOVERY/CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
13. These papers SHALL BE SERVED CONTEMPORANEOUSLY WITH THE
SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT.
14. The parties will be bound by the provisions contained in this ORDER, the papers
mentioned in No. 4 above, and the dates set out in the scheduling order to be entered in this
case.
15. Failure to comply with this order may result in sanctions, including dismissal of the action
and assessment of expenses.
16. All parties receiving this order shall copy all other parties with a copy of this order.
BY THE ORDER OF THE COURT
