Local Rule Patent L.R. 2.1: Governing Procedure

2.1 Governing Procedure. a. Early Neutral Evaluation ("ENE") Conference. Within sixty (60) days of a defendant making its first appearance in the case, counsel and the parties will appear before the assigned magistrate judge for an ENE conference pursuant to Civ. L.R. 16.1.c.1. No later than twenty-one (21) days before the ENE, the parties will meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f). If no settlement is reached at the ENE Conference, the magistrate judge will proceed with the Initial Case Management Conference. At the end of the conference, the magistrate judge must prepare a case management order which will include: 1. A discovery schedule, including an initial date for the substantial completion of document discovery including electronically stored information ("ESI"), and a later date for the completion of all fact discovery; 2. A date for the Claim Construction Hearing within nine (9) months of the date of a defendant's first appearance; 3. A trial date within eighteen (18) months of the date the complaint was filed, if practicable, for "standard" cases (defined as typically having one or two defendants and one or two patents); and, within twenty-four (24) months for complex cases, if practicable; 4. A dispositive motion filing cutoff date to include any motions addressing any Daubert issues; 5. A date for the Mandatory Settlement Conference; and 6. All other pretrial dates, as required in Civ. L.R. 16.1.d.2, as appropriate. b. Initial Case Management Conference. When the parties confer with each other pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f), in addition to matters covered by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26, the parties must discuss and address in the Joint Discovery Plan filed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f), the following topics: 1. Proposed modification of the deadlines provided for in these Patent Local Rules, and the effect of any such modification on the date and time of the Claim Construction Hearing, if any; 2. The need for and specific limits on discovery relating to claim construction, including depositions of percipient and expert witnesses; and 3. The need, if any, to phase damage discovery. c. Settlement Conferences 1. The judge conducting the settlement conference may require the parties or representatives of a party other than counsel, who have authority to negotiate and enter into a binding settlement, be present at the settlement conference. 2. When ordered to appear, each party, claims adjusters for insured defendants, in addition to any other representatives with "full authority" to enter into a binding settlement, as well as the principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation, must be present and legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case at the Settlement Conference. Any variation from this Rule or special arrangements desired in cases must be proposed no later than twenty-one (21) days in advance of the settlement conference to the settlement judge. 3. "Full authority" means that the individuals at the settlement conference be authorized to fully negotiate settlement terms and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties, and to bind the party, without the need to call others not present at the conference for authority or approval. 4. No later than fourteen (14) days before the settlement conference, each party will designate in writing to all other parties, the person(s) and their title(s) or position(s) with the party who will attend and have settlement authority at the conference.