Local Rule 240: STATUS CONFERENCE

RULE 240 (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16)

STATUS CONFERENCE

(a) Conference. After an action has been filed, the assigned Judge or Magistrate Judge shall order the holding of one or more status conferences for the purpose of entering a pretrial scheduling order, and further status conferences may be held at any time thereafter, with or without the request of any party. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16. All parties receiving notice of any status conference shall appear in person or by attorney, shall be prepared to discuss such subjects as may be specified in the order noticing the conference, and shall have authority to enter into stipulations and to make admissions regarding all matters that the participants may reasonably anticipate may be discussed. Such subjects may include:

(1) service of process on parties not yet served;

(2) jurisdiction and venue;

(3) whether the action is required to be heard by a District Court composed of three Judges, see L.R. 203, or whether the action draws in issue the constitutionality of a statute or regulation under circumstances requiring notice as set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2403, Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.1 or L.R. 132;

(4) joinder of additional parties and amendment of pleadings;

(5) the formulation and simplification of the issues, including elimination of frivolous claims and defenses;

(6) the appropriateness of any variance from the usual filing and service requirements applicable to the action;

(7) the disposition of pending motions, the timing of a motion for class certification, see L.R. 205, the appropriateness and timing of summary adjudication under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, and other anticipated motions;

(8) propriety of initial disclosures as contemplated by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1); results of the initial discovery conference; anticipated or outstanding discovery, including the necessity for relief from discovery limits; and the control and scheduling of discovery, including deferral of discovery whether to hold further discovery conferences, and other orders affecting discovery pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and 29 through 37;

(9) the avoidance of unnecessary proof and of cumulative evidence, and limitations or restrictions on the use of testimony under Fed. R. Evid. 702;

(10) the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents that will avoid unnecessary proof, stipulations regarding the authenticity of documents, and advance rulings from the Court on the admissibility of evidence;

(11) further proceedings, including setting dates for further conferences, for the completion of motions and discovery and for pretrial and trial; the appropriateness of an order adopting a plan for disclosure of experts under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2), Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 2034.210 et seq., or an alternative plan; and the appropriateness of an order establishing a reasonable limit on the time allowed for presenting evidence;

(12) modification of the standard pretrial procedures specified by these Rules because of the relative simplicity or complexity of the action;

(13) the appropriateness of an order for a separate trial pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(b) with respect to a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, or affirmative defense, or with respect to any particular issue in the action;

(14) the appropriateness of an order directing a party or parties to present evidence early in the trial with respect to a manageable issue that could, on the evidence, be the basis for a judgment as a matter of law under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a) or a judgment on partial findings under Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(c);

(15) appropriateness of special procedures such as reference to a special master or Magistrate Judge or the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, or application of the Manual for Complex Litigation;

(16) the prospects for settlement and the use of special procedures to assist in resolving the dispute when authorized by statute or these Rules, provided, however, that counsel shall not, in the absence of a written stipulation, reveal any offers made or rejected during settlement negotiations, and counsel shall specify whether they will stipulate to the trial Judge acting as settlement judge and waive any disqualification by virtue thereof;

(17) the appropriateness of alternate dispute resolution, such as this District's Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program (VDRP), or any other alternative dispute resolution procedure; and

(18) any other matters that may facilitate the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of the action.

(b) Reports. Except in those types of actions specifically exempted from initial disclosure by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(B), the parties must submit reports to the Court concerning their proposed discovery plan within fourteen (14) days after their discovery conference. The Court may require the submission of preconference reports on some or all of the foregoing subjects. See also L.R. 271(d)(2).

(c) Exceptions to Mandatory Scheduling Order Requirement. The following categories of civil actions are excepted from the mandatory scheduling order requirement set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b):

(1) actions brought under Title 42 of the United States Code to review a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security;

(2) actions brought to enforce Internal Revenue Service summonses filed pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §§ 7402(b) and 7604(a), and actions to quash administrative summonses filed pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7609(b)(2);

(3) actions for writs of entry in connection with the enforcement of Internal Revenue Service tax liens;

(4) actions to enforce collection on promissory notes involving federally insured loans and direct federal loans in which the prayer for relief is less than $25,000;

(5) actions to enforce cease and desist orders issued by the National Labor Relations Board;

(6) actions to enforce arbitration awards;

(7) actions under 46 U.S.C. §§ 2302, 4311(d) and 12309(c);

(8) prisoner actions as defined in L.R. 101;

(9) petitions for writs of habeas corpus by incarcerated persons;

(10) extradition proceedings;

(11) discovery disputes originating from out-of-district actions;

(12) civil commitment proceedings; and

(13) Federal Debt Collection proceedings.