Civil Case Management Order; Joint Discovery Plan

=== Civil Case Management Order ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY CHAMBERS OF ANDRÉ M. ESPINOSA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COURTHOUSE 50 WALNUT STREET ROOM 2037, COURTROOM 2D NEWARK, NJ 07102 973.645.3827 CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER The following shall apply to civil matters assigned to Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa. Failure to comply with the terms of this Order may result in sanctions pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 16(f) and 37. 1. Communications with the Court. All communications to the Court shall be in writing via CM/ECF. Telephone calls to chambers will be permitted as to administrative matters only or as otherwise directed by the Court. Mail, email, and fax communications will not be accepted or considered unless expressly authorized by the Court. 2. Adjournments. Conferences are scheduled with ample notice to the parties. Adjournment requests must be made no later than five business days before the scheduled conference. 3. Extensions. Extensions of time as provided in court-ordered schedules must be requested in writing at least five business days prior to the expiration of deadlines. The request shall indicate the current and proposed dates and include a proposed form of order. Counsel should endeavor to seek the consent of all parties prior to making such requests and must note in the request whether consent has been obtained. Thereafter, no extensions of any conference date will be granted except upon a showing unforeseen, emergent circumstances and by leave of Court, even if there is consent of all counsel. All conferences will proceed as scheduled on CM/ECF unless the Court expressly provides to the contrary. 4. Formal motions. Other than motions filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, motions to remand within the time provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), and motions expressly permitted by this Case Management Order, formal motions shall not be filed without prior leave from this Court. 5. Motions to amend. Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 15.1, motions to amend pleadings must include as an exhibit a black- or red-lined proposed amended complaint, which clearly indicates the proposed changes. Failure to do so will result in administrative termination of the motion. 6. Motions to seal. Motions to seal must comply with Local Civil Rule 5.3(c) and must include a proposed order and proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Failure to comply with Local Civil Rule 5.3(c) will result in administrative termination of the motion. Counsel shall make every effort to secure the consent of opposing counsel regarding the request to seal. 7. Confidentiality orders. The parties are encouraged to use the form discovery confidentiality order found at Appendix S of the Local Rules. If the parties submit their own version of a confidentiality order, which differs from Appendix S, they must submit: (1) a clean version of the proposed order that is ready for signature, and (2) an additional version that shall indicate in what respect(s) it differs from Appendix S by bracketing or striking through materials to be deleted and underlining materials to be added. 8. Confidential submissions. Settlement letters and discovery dispute letters containing information subject to a Discovery Confidentiality Order may be submitted to the Court by email to [email protected]. 9. Pro hac vice applications: If admission pro hac vice is sought on consent, the request should be made by informal application filed on CM/ECF. The application must contain a letter indicating consent, a certification of admission and good standing, and a certification of local counsel stating that counsel shall comply with Local Civil Rule 101.1(c). A proposed form of order must be submitted. If not consented, the party making the application must proceed by motion. 10. Discovery extensions, disputes, and motions. Any request for an extension or an amended scheduling order shall indicate the current and proposed dates as well as whether the request is made on consent. Any such request shall include a proposed order. Discovery disputes shall proceed in accordance with Local Rules 16.1 and 37.1. Should counsel fail in their good faith efforts to resolve the dispute by conferring pursuant to Rule 37.1, the matter shall be brought to the Court’s attention via a joint letter, not to exceed five pages, that sets forth: a) the request; b) the response; c) efforts to resolve the dispute; d) the position of the complaining party; e) the position of the responding party; and, if applicable, f) the efforts of a party to contact a non-responsive party to meet and confer and submit the joint letter. 2 No further letter submissions regarding the dispute may be submitted without leave of Court. Discovery motions may be filed only upon leave of Court and only after the parties have proceeded in accordance with Local Rules 16.1 and 37.1. Motions to secure enforcement of a subpoena or to quash a subpoena involving third parties may be made without meeting and conferring, but counsel must obtain leave of Court before filing any such motion. 11. Courtesy copies. One courtesy copy of all submissions exceeding 20 pages shall be sent by regular mail or other courier addressed to chambers. 12. Settlement conferences. Trial counsel as well as persons with full settlement authority must appear at settlement conferences. Each party shall submit, by email to [email protected], a confidential settlement memorandum of no more than five double-spaced pages no later than five business days before the conference. If trial counsel and clients do not comply with this Order, the settlement conference may be canceled or rescheduled and the noncompliant party and/or attorney may be sanctioned, which may include an assessment of the costs and expenses incurred by those parties who appeared as directed. 13. Final pretrial conferences. The Court conducts final pretrial conferences pursuant to Rule 16(d). The parties shall contact Chambers for a model version of the joint final pretrial order applicable to the District Judge assigned to the matter. The Court expects to engage in meaningful settlement discussions at final pretrial conferences. Therefore, trial counsel as well as persons with full settlement authority must attend the conferences. The Final Pretrial Conference will proceed even if there are dispositive motions pending. The parties shall submit, by email and regular mail, a copy of the joint proposed final pretrial order no later than five business days before the conference. If the parties do not comply with this Order, the final pretrial conference may be canceled or rescheduled and the attorney may be sanctioned, which may include an assessment of the costs and expenses incurred by those parties who appeared as directed. /s/ André M. Espinosa ANDRÉ M. ESPINOSA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 3

=== Joint Discovery Plan ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY ____________________________________ Plaintiff(s) Civil Action No. : : : : : : : JOINT PROPOSED DISCOVERY PLAN : : : : : ____________________________________: Defendant(s) Hon. v. 1. 2. 3. Set forth the name of each attorney appearing, the firm name, address and telephone number and facsimile number of each, designating the party represented. Set forth a brief description of the case, including the causes of action and defenses asserted. Have settlement discussions taken place? Yes __________ No __________ (a) What was plaintiff’s last demand? (1) Monetary demand: $ ___________ (2) Non-monetary demand: __________ (b) What was defendant’s last offer? (1) Monetary offer: $ ___________ Non-monetary offer: __________ (2) 4. The parties [have __________ have not __________] met pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f): 1 5. 6. 7. 8. The parties [have ______ have not ______ ] exchanged the information required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1). If not, state the reason therefor. Explain any problems in connection with completing the disclosures required by Fed R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) The parties [have __________ have not __________] conducted discovery other than the above disclosures. If so, describe. Proposed joint discovery plan: (a) (b) Discovery is needed on the following subjects: Discovery [should __________ should not __________] be conducted in phases or be limited to particular issues. Explain. (c) Proposed schedule: (1) Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 Disclosures . (2) E-Discovery conference pursuant to L. Civ. R. 26.1(d) . (3) Service of initial written discovery . (4) Maximum of _____ Interrogatories by each party to each other party. (5) Maximum of _____ depositions to be taken by each party. (6) Motions to amend or to add parties to be filed by ____________. (7) Factual discovery to be completed by (8) Plaintiff’s expert report due on (9) Defendant’s expert report due on (10) Expert depositions to be completed by . . . . (11) Dispositive motions to be served within ______days of completion of discovery. (d) Set forth any special discovery mechanism or procedure requested. 2 (e) (f) A pretrial conference may take place on . Trial date: ______________________ (______Jury Trial; _____ Non-Jury Trial). 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Do you anticipate any special discovery needs (i.e., videotape/telephone depositions, problems with out-of-state witnesses or documents, etc)? Yes _______No_______. If so, please explain. Do you anticipate any issues about disclosure or discovery of electronically stored information, including the form or forms in which it should be produced? Yes _______ No _______. If so, how will electronic discovery or data be disclosed or produced? Describe any agreements reached by the parties regarding same, including costs of discovery, production, related software, licensing agreements, etc. Do you anticipate entry of a Discovery Confidentiality Order? See L.Civ.R. 5.3(b) and Appendix S. Do you anticipate any discovery problem(s) not listed above? Describe. Yes ________ No _______. State whether this case is appropriate for voluntary arbitration (pursuant to Local Civil Rule 201.1 or otherwise) or mediation (pursuant to Local Civil Rule 301.1 or otherwise). If not, explain why and state whether any such procedure may be appropriate at a later time (i.e., after exchange of pretrial disclosures, after completion of depositions, after disposition or dispositive motions, etc.). Is this case appropriate for bifurcation? Yes __________ No __________ An interim status/settlement conference (with clients in attendance), should be held in _______________________________________. 16. We [do __________ do not __________] consent to the trial being conducted by a Magistrate Judge. 17. Identify any other issues to address at the Rule 16 Scheduling Conference. Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s) / Date Attorney(s) for Defendant(s) / Date 3