Local Rule LR 16.2: INITIAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE AND SCHEDULING ORDER

LR 16.2 INITIAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE AND SCHEDULING ORDER

(a) When a Conference Is Required. Except in a proceeding listed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(B), the court must set an initial pretrial conference for the purpose of adopting a scheduling order.

(b) Attendance. Unless the court orders otherwise, only the attorneys and unrepresented parties need to attend the initial pretrial conference.

(c) Protective Order. At the initial pretrial conference, the court must address any unresolved issues relating to a proposed protective order submitted under LR 26.1(c).

(d) Scheduling Order.

(1) Required Contents. The scheduling order must include:

(A) a deadline for joining other parties;

(B) a deadline for amending the pleadings;

(C) a deadline for completing fact discovery;

(D) deadlines with respect to expert discovery, including one or more of the following:

(i) a deadline for disclosing the identity of expert witnesses;

(ii) a deadline for disclosing, in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) or (C), the substance of each expert witness's testimony; and

(iii) a deadline for completing expert discovery;

(E) deadlines for filing and serving:

(i) nondispositive motions; and

(ii) dispositive motions;

(F) a date by which the case will be ready for trial;

(G) any modifications to the extent of discovery, such as, among other things, limits on:

(i) the number of fact depositions each party may take;

(ii) the number of interrogatories each party may serve;

(iii) the number of expert witnesses each party may call at trial;

(iv) the number of expert witnesses each party may depose; and

(H) a statement of whether the case will be tried to a jury or the bench and an estimate the trial's duration.

(2) Permitted Contents. In addition to matters specified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(3)(B), the scheduling order may include procedures for handling the discovery and filing of confidential or protected documents.

(3) Discovery Deadlines. The discovery deadlines established under LR 16.2(d)(1)(C) and (D)(iii) are deadlines for completing discovery, not for commencing discovery. To be timely, a discovery request must be served far enough in advance of the applicable discovery deadline that the responding party's response is due before the discovery deadline.

[Adopted effective November 1, 1996, amended February 9, 2006; amended December 1, 2009; amended July 23, 2012]