Judge Weilheimer’s Guidelines; Consent to a Magistrate Judge; Meet and Confer Requirements; Order Governing Electronic Discovery; Pretrial Conference Requirements; Rule 26 Joint Report; Rule 26 Joint Report for Patent Cases; Settlement Conference Requirements; Speedy Trial Waiver

Hon. Gail A. Weilheimer · U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Role: Magistrate Judge

Bluebook Citation: Hon. Gail A. Weilheimer, Judge Weilheimer’s Guidelines; Consent to a Magistrate Judge; Meet and Confer Requirements; Order Governing Electronic Discovery; Pretrial Conference Requirements; Rule 26 Joint Report; Rule 26 Joint Report for Patent Cases; Settlement Conference Requirements; Speedy Trial Waiver, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Judge Profile: Hon. Gail A. Weilheimer profile and standing orders

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=== Judge Weilheimer’s Guidelines ===

Judge Weilheimer’s Guidelines TABLE OF CONTENTS Requests for Extensions General Principles Communication with Chambers I. II. III. Meet and Confer Certification IV. Rule 16 Conference V. VI. Discovery Matters VII. Confidentiality Agreements VIII. Filing Under Seal and Redactions IX. Courtesy Copy X. Motions Practice A. Documents Length/Formatting B. Exhibits C. Reply Briefs D. Oral Argument E. Motions for Summary Judgment 1. Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts 2. Time to Respond XI. Procedural for Removal XII. Settlement Conferences XIII. Pretrial Conferences XIV. Motions in Limine XV. Trial A. Exhibits B. Courtroom Presentation C. Objections D. Use of Exhibits During Opening Statements E. Objections in Video Trial Depositions F. Examination of Witnesses G. Cumulative Evidence H. Courtroom Technology I. Order of Proof J. Note Taking by Jurors XVI. Professional Development for Newer Attorneys XVII. Counsel Pro Hac Vice I. General Principles Judge Weilheimer is committed to the efficient and fair resolution of cases; to accomplish this she expects all counsel to be civil, honest and responsive to each other and to Chambers. Counsel are expected to have substantive communications regarding disputes prior to requesting Court intervention. Communication is defined as substantive verbal communication, not just emails or letters. Zealous advocacy is expected and encouraged, as is courtesy and professionalism. Arguing in Court should not prevent congeniality outside of the arena. II. Communication with Chambers Counsel are welcome to contact Chambers via phone or email with any procedural questions or where communication will assist in facilitating the progress of a case. All communication regarding substantive issues must be docketed. Counsel may contact Chambers to provide notification of a substantive filing that needs prompt attention from the Court. Chambers email: [email protected] Chambers phone: 267-299-7760 Chambers address: 7614 United States Courthouse 601 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 Judge Weilheimer’s staff cannot give legal advice. Ex parte advocacy on any substantive issue is prohibited. Counsel are expected to respond with reasonable promptness to communication from Chambers and should be courteous in their interaction. Any discourtesy to Chambers staff will be viewed as a disrespect for the Court. III. Meet and Confer Certification Prior to filing discovery motions, 12(b) motions, or other dispositive motions, counsel contemplating the filing of these motions shall contact opposing counsel to discuss the substance of the anticipated motion and to provide an opportunity to cure any alleged deficiencies or to try to resolve the conflict prior to the filing of the Motion. This communication must occur at least five days prior to the filing of the Motion. “Communication” means substantive verbal communication. Should the parties be unable to resolve the dispute, the filing party shall file a Certification indicating that they have communicated with the non- filing party or parties in an attempt to resolve the dispute and the date(s) of discussion(s), the length of the discussion, as well as a brief (no more than one sentence each) description of the issues which were discussed. Failure to communicate by the filing party may result in the motion being denied. Failure to respond within a reasonable timeframe to attempts to communicate from the filing party may result in sanctions for the non- responding party. See sample meet and confer form here. If during the meet and confer described herein, a party is alerted to a deficiency in their complaint by opposing counsel, the filing party is permitted to submit an amended complaint which rectifies all, or some, of the issues addressed at the meeting. The party filing the amended complaint should attach to the amended complaint a certification that such amendment was the result of compliance with this protocol. If such certification is attached, the amended complaint will be deemed filed with leave of Court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2), and therefore not exhaust the party’s amendment as of right under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1). If meeting and conferring results in the intention to file an amended pleading, the party who intends to file an amended pleading should let the Court know of that intention by way of a letter placed on the docket, which will serve to ensure the Court not enter default against the party who otherwise would have an obligation to respond to the initial pleading. IV. Rule 16 Conference A Rule 16 Pretrial Conference will be held as soon as possible after all defendants have docketed an Answer to the Complaint. If the Court has not scheduled a Rule 16 conference within a reasonable time after the filing of the Answer, counsel should contact Chambers to request a conference. Lead trial counsel must appear for this conference. If lead counsel is on trial, substitute counsel with deep knowledge of the case may attend. This conference is not limited to scheduling. Counsel should be prepared to address the substance, settlement, and scheduling of this case. Five days in advance of the Rule 16 Conference, the parties shall jointly submit a Rule 26(f) report. Judge Weilheimer’s required format is available here. Patent cases have a separate 26(f) format which can be found here. At the conclusion of the Rule 16 Conference, a Case Management Order will be issued with dates provided through the responses to dispositive motions. This Court expects discovery to commence immediately upon the issuance of the Order scheduling the Rule 16 Conference—not from the date of the Conference itself. Accordingly, by the time of most Rule 16 Conferences, fact discovery should already be well underway. If the Parties feel that settlement talks would be most productive before discovery commences, the Parties should inform the Court of that immediately upon the scheduling of the Rule 16 Conference so early settlement talks can be facilitated while still leaving adequate time for discovery if such talks do not resolve the case. Parties who have a discovery dispute before their Rule 16 Conference should follow the procedures listed infra for such disagreements. A Pretrial Conference will be scheduled either at the time of the Rule 16 Conference if dispositive motions are not anticipated or if necessary after a ruling on dispositive motions. At the Pretrial Conference a date certain trial date and associated deadlines will be provided. V. Requests for Extensions Subject to the limited exceptions below, requests for extensions, including joint and uncontested requests, must be submitted to this Court by filing a motion on the docket. Even with the agreement of all parties, good cause must be shown for the Court to consider a request to extend any deadlines provided in the Scheduling Order. Requests for extension should be made as far in advance as possible. Requests made on the date of the deadline will typically be denied, absent good cause that arose on the day of the deadline. The parties may jointly stipulate to extend the time to Answer or make a motion with respect to an initial Complaint by no more than 30 days. Such joint stipulation should be filed on the docket with a signature line provided for the judge. The parties may also jointly agree to extend discovery deadlines provided such agreement does not alter the dispositive motion deadline. This type of agreement need not be filed with the Court. VI. Discovery matters Parties are expected to begin discovery promptly after the issuance of the Order scheduling the Rule 16 Conference. The time for discovery will be calculated from the date the Rule 16 Scheduling Order is issued, NOT the date of the Rule 16 conference. If e-discovery is an issue and counsel are unable to reach an agreement, a default e-discovery order will be entered, located here. Counsel are expected to work cooperatively and civilly to address discovery disputes. See supra. The parties are expected to meet and confer prior to requesting Court intervention. Should the parties be unable to resolve a discovery dispute in good faith, they may request the assistance of the Court. For straightforward disputes, the parties may request a virtual conference via letter or email to Chambers. This correspondence should summarize the reason for the requested conference. A motion should be filed for any discovery dispute for which Judge Weilheimer needs to review extensive materials or for which the conflict cannot be addressed in a brief conference. Responses to discovery motions are due seven days after the filing of the Motion. If a dispute arises during a deposition, counsel are invited to call Chambers in the event that the Judge is available to supply an immediate ruling. If Judge Weilheimer is not immediately available, the parties should note the objection, have the question answered, and the Judge will issue a ruling prior to trial. If the objecting party refuses to have a witness answer the “objectionable” question and the Court determines that witness shall be re-deposed on that issue, the costs of the re-deposition will be borne entirely by the objecting party. VII. Confidentiality Agreements Judge Weilheimer will consider entry of a stipulated confidentiality or sealing orders if the parties demonstrate that “good cause” exists pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1)(G). See Pansy v. Borough of Stroudsburg, 23 F.3d 772, 786 (3d. Cir. 1994). All such orders must contain the following language: “The Court retains the right to allow disclosure of any subject covered by this stipulation or to modify this stipulation at any time in the interest of justice.” VIII. Filing Under Seal and Redactions Where a confidentiality order which covers the duration of litigation has already been entered by the Court, filings which include information subject to that confidentiality order may be filed under seal without the filing of a separate motion to seal. If no such confidentiality order has been entered, any filing placed under seal must be accompanied by a contemporaneous motion to seal. Within seven days of the docketing of anything filed under seal (or, in the case of a motion, within seven days of the close of briefing on a given motion), a filing party of any sealed submission shall publicly file a redacted version of the filing(s). All parties to the litigation should collaborate and, if possible, agree upon the redactions. If there is dispute as to whether a specific portion of a filing should be redacted, the filing party should redact the disputed portion. Any party, including a party which has filed a redacted version with redactions demanded by their opposition, may move to strike a redaction. Third parties may file motions to unseal consistent with their general right to access judicial proceedings, and the parties before the Court will be given the opportunity to respond. IX. Courtesy Copy When the total number of pages in the exhibits/attachments to any filing exceeds 20 pages, within 48 hours of the docketing of the filing, one hard copy of the exhibits is to be provided to Chambers. If the provided attachments are for more than two exhibits, the documents should be placed in a binder, tabbed with a table of contents that corresponds to the related pleading. In the case of a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts (see infra), the moving party should provide the courtesy copy, if any. In the case of cross motions for summary judgment, the parties should agree on who will provide the courtesy copy (or in the absence of agreement, the Plaintiff shall do so). X. Motions Practice All litigants should familiarize themselves with the Court’s meet and confer requirements (listed above). A. Document Length/Formatting The persuasiveness of a brief is related to the quality of its content, not its length. With the exceptions of motions in limine, briefs and memoranda filed in support of or in opposition to a motion are limited to 25 pages in length. If a party sincerely believes that more than the maximum allowable pages are required to explain its position, leave of court is required to exceed the page limit. A motion to exceed the page limit shall be filed prior to the deadline establishing good cause for the request. All documents shall be filed in 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced with one-inch margins and numbered pages. All PDF documents filed must be text searchable. B. Exhibits All exhibits must be filed as a separately numbered attachment to the main document and must be clearly titled with an objective description of the document so that the nature of the exhibit and its relevance are clearly discernible without the need to open the file (e.g., 6/14/19 Deposition of John Doe). C. Reply Briefs Reply briefs are not permitted without leave of court. Motions for Leave to file a Reply shall be docketed within five days of the docketing of the response with a courtesy copy sent to chambers via email to the e-mail listed above. Motions for Leave should highlight the specific issues raised in the response brief to which a reply is requested. Counsel should not prepare and attach their proposed reply to their Motion. A ruling will be made on the Motion for Leave without a response from opposing counsel. If the Court grants leave to file a reply, the order will clearly specify the scope of the reply and the due date. D. Oral Argument Oral argument will be scheduled by Chambers when it is beneficial to the Court. Parties may request oral argument, but the Court will frequently decide a motion on the papers even where such a request is made. E. Motions for Summary Judgment 1. Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts At least 28 days in advance of a motion for summary judgment, all parties are required to meet and confer regarding the possibility of entering into a joint statement of undisputed facts (the “Joint Statement”). The Joint Statement should include all facts upon which any party expects to rely in moving for or opposing summary judgment and about which there is no factual dispute between the parties. The Joint Statement should include exhibits, where relevant. The Court expects that in virtually all cases, at least some basic relevant facts should be easily includable in a Joint Statement.1 The Joint Statement should be drafted neutrally and factually (without needless adjectives) so as to best facilitate a filing which will be useful to the Court. Inclusion of a given fact in a Joint Statement will not be considered a concession by any party that a given fact is relevant or material. Accordingly, relevance or materiality is not a basis on which a party should refuse to include a fact in the Joint Statement. Agreeing upon the submission of a Joint Statement will not preclude a party from arguing in briefing that there are other undisputed facts besides those on which the parties were able to agree. But no party shall unilaterally file a “Statement of Undisputed Facts" setting forth its interpretation of the record. All references to facts not included in the Joint Statement described above must be contained within the party’s memorandum and cite to the record. Where the parties agree upon a Joint Statement, all factual citations should be made to the Joint Statement, to the extent they can be. 1 Examples of facts a Joint Statement might address in a contract case are that there was a contract, that a particular exhibit is the contract, and that delivery of the widgets was not made on time. By way of further example, a Joint Statement in an employment case might address that the Plaintiff was employed by the Defendant, that Plaintiff received an employee handbook, that the handbook stated that employment was at will, and that the Plaintiff received no written warnings before termination. If the parties cannot come to an agreement on a Joint Statement, the filing party is required to include a certification that no agreement could be reached. If the Court later concludes from briefing that the parties do agree on enough material facts to justify submission of a Joint Statement, the Court may sua sponte schedule a hearing and/or request briefing from the parties to determine whether sanctions are appropriate for failure to comply with these protocols, and/or may reject the filings and require both parties to submit a revised Joint Statement. 2. Time to Respond The Court will typically set a deadline by which a party opposing summary judgment must file its opposition in its Scheduling Order. In the absence of a deadline set by the Court in a Scheduling Order, parties have 30 days to respond to a motion for summary judgment. XI. Procedure for Removal If a case is brought before this Court by way of a Notice of Removal, the party removing the action, if they have not done so in their original Notice of Removal, is required to file an Amended Notice of Removal, attaching the State Court Complaint as a separate exhibit, named consistent with the naming convention outlined for exhibits to motions, supra. The filing of an Amended Notice of Removal will have no impact on any case deadlines which run from the removal of the case. Any party who has already filed an Answer in the underlying State Court Action must docket that Answer without revision within 21 days of removal. Any party who has Preliminary Objections or some other dispositive motions pending in the State Court Action at the time of removal must, within 21 days, either: (1) reformat the preliminary objections or dispositive motion to be consistent with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Local Rules, and this Court’s preference and place the same on the docket; or (2) file an Answer, which will be constituted as a withdrawal of the pending preliminary objections or dispositive motion (though not a waiver of any issue of law). XII. Settlement Conferences: When all parties are sincere in their interest in actively engaging in settlement discussions, they may contact Chambers via letter or email and request a settlement conference. Judge Weilheimer’s assigned Magistrate is Judge Lynne Sitarski. Bench trials: All settlement conferences for bench trials will be referred to Judge Sitarski or the parties may choose to participate in the Court’s mediation program. The list of Court approved mediators can be found here. Jury trials: Settlement conferences for jury trial can be conducted by Judge Sitarski, participation in the Court’s mediation program (see https://www.paed.uscourts.gov/mediation ) or upon the agreement of all parties, Judge Weilheimer can conduct settlement conferences. If the parties are requesting Judge Weilheimer address settlement, the parties must agree, in writing or on the record, that should this matter not resolve it will proceed as a jury trial and there is no objection to the Judge continuing to preside over the matter. The settlement conference with Judge Weilheimer will be held in the Courthouse with all parties, along with any additional individuals with settlement authority in attendance. Seven days in advance of the conference the parties will be required to submit a confidential Settlement Conference Memorandum. This memorandum shall NOT be docketed and should NOT be shared with opposing counsel. While such memorandum should include key documents such as contracts, photographs or expert reports, counsel should be cognizant not to provide so much information to the Court that it cannot easily extract the most important and persuasive information relative to settlement. The information to be provided in Judge Weilheimer’s Settlement Conference Memorandum can be found here. Judge Sitarski or the approved mediator will provide separate instructions regarding their pre- conference submissions. XIII. Pretrial Conference After a ruling on dispositive motions or if dispositive motions have not been filed, Chambers will schedule a Pretrial Conference during which trial dates and associated deadlines will be provided. This will be a substantive conference, not just a scheduling conference and lead trial counsel is required to attend. If lead counsel is unavailable, substitute counsel may attend provided substitute counsel has deep working knowledge of the case. Seven days prior to the Pretrial Conference counsel shall submit Pretrial Conference Memorandum, the requirements are attached here. Note: The Court may preclude at trial any witness or exhibit not disclosed in the Pretrial Conference Memorandum. Date certain trial dates will be given in the vast majority of cases. Trial is expected to be scheduled 60-90 days after the Pretrial Conference. At the Pretrial Conference, counsel should be aware of any dates for which counsel, the parties, and/or material witnesses are unavailable. “Unavailable” means attached for trial, has a scheduled medical procedure, a verified pre-paid trip, or a significant family event such as a graduation or wedding. The Court will accommodate all verified conflicts for counsel and the parties and will work to avoid known conflicts for material witnesses. If the Court cannot accommodate scheduling for a witness, that witness shall be deposed on video prior to the commencement of the trial. XIV. Motions in Limine Deadlines for motions in limine will be provided at the Pretrial Conference. In an attempt to resolve any evidentiary issue, counsel shall meet and confer in advance of the filing of any motion in limine. In all cases, civil and criminal, motions in limine and their responses are limited to ten pages, double spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins and numbered pages. Reply briefs are not permitted without leave of court. (See above). The Court will notify counsel, in advance of trial, if a hearing is needed on a motion in limine. Most often rulings are made based on the written submissions. XV. Trial Absent verified, truly emergency circumstances, trial dates will not be continued. Judge Weilheimer does not have an assigned courtroom. Counsel will be notified by Chambers of the courtroom assignment at least one week in advance of trial. A. Exhibits Three copies of all exhibits expected to be introduced at trial are to be provided at the commencement of trial. (One copy will be used for the witness and retained for the record, one Court copy and one law clerk copy). Exhibits shall be placed in a three-ring binder, pre-marked and tabbed with a table of contents. The text table of contents should be in at least 12-point font, in table format with separate columns for the exhibit numbers, exhibit description, indication of identification and admission. See example of preferred exhibit list here. A joint exhibit binder is preferred but not required. B. Courtroom Presentation Counsel must stand when addressing the Court. Counsel may be seated when questioning a witness. A podium is available and may be used but is not required. Counsel may walk freely around the well of the court when presenting argument or questioning a witness, unless such action becomes objectionable. Counsel may not approach a witness or the jury without leave of court. C. Objections Speaking objections are prohibited. When objecting the word “objection” and the basis should be given succinctly. Such as - “objection - hearsay” or “objection - leading.” If the court needs more explanation, counsel will be given the opportunity to argue at sidebar. D. Use of Exhibits During Opening Statements Exhibits or demonstrative evidence may not be used in opening statements without agreement of opposing counsel or leave of Court. No less than five business days before opening statements, a party wishing to display exhibits in their opening statement must inform all other parties of that intention and provide all other parties with a complete list of the exhibits intended to be used in opening. No less than three business days before opening statements, a party served with such a list must respond with a list of objections, if any, or certify to the requesting counsel that they have no objections to the exhibits listed. Failure to object may be considered a waiver of objections. No less than two business days before opening statements, the parties are to meet and confer regarding the listed exhibits and objections thereto and are strongly encouraged to compromise and resolve such disputes without need of the Court’s intervention. If the Parties require the Court to rule on whether a specific document may be shown to the jury during opening statements, parties should inform the Court by the close of business the day the parties met and conferred. The Court will rule on any such objections shortly before opening statements and no additional preparation time will be given if the Court prohibits a party from displaying a document they intended to present. If the Court concludes that an objection has been lodged in bad faith or that a party proposed to use a document which was clearly the subject of a potentially meritorious objection, sanctions may be imposed. E. Objections in Video Trial Depositions If any party intends to use a recorded video trial deposition, the Court strongly encourages the parties to resolve any objections raised during the deposition without Court involvement. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the party seeking to introduce the video testimony must submit a copy of the deposition transcript, along with a list of the unresolved objections, far enough in advance to allow the Court to carefully consider the objections and issue rulings. This timeline should also provide the presenting party with adequate time to edit the video to exclude any portions deemed inadmissible. F. Examination of Witnesses Judge Weilheimer will not permit more than one attorney for a party to examine the same witness. The examining attorney is the only one permitted to raise objections during the opposing party’s questioning. G. Cumulative Evidence Cumulative evidence and cumulative witnesses are strongly disfavored. Counsel are encouraged to raise objections to cumulative evidence via motions in limine. Out of respect for the jury’s time, Judge Weilheimer will intervene sua sponte, if needed, to prohibit cumulative evidence or argument evocative of the same. This applies with special force to expert testimony. While Judge Weilheimer will take an active role in enforcing this particular evidentiary rule, parties can and should make motions to the Court if the Court has not acted sua sponte. Further, Judge Weilheimer will not permit advocates in opening and closing statements to suggest to the jury that because their side has more experts or more witnesses, they should prevail. If this argument is made, Judge Weilheimer will interrupt as needed and give a curative instruction and/or whatever other sanctions might be appropriate. Counsel must also refrain from asking questions in direct or cross- examination of witnesses intended to lead the jury to a similar conclusion. Parties should abide by both the letter and the spirit of Judge Weilheimer’s rulings. H. Courtroom Technology Not every Courtroom has advanced technological capabilities. Counsel should contact Chambers to determine whether the parties need to supply their own technology or if the courtroom offerings are sufficient. I. Order of Proof At the end of each day, Counsel will inform the Court and opposing counsel of the witnesses expected to be called to testify the following day. J. Note Taking by Jurors Judge Weilheimer permits note taking by jurors during the presentation of evidence. Jurors are not permitted to take notes during argument or the Court’s instruction on the law. XVI. Professional Development for Newer Attorneys: Judge Weilheimer believes the courtroom provides the opportunity for growth and development for the newest members of our profession and encourages senior counsel to give their associates, who have skilled knowledge on the matter, the opportunity to appear and make argument to the Court. When a party chooses to avail itself of this opportunity, counsel should notify the Court either at sidebar on the day of argument or in advance via email to Chambers of the name of the associate who will be representing the party and the name of senior/supervising counsel. Supervising counsel will be given an opportunity to supplement their associate’s argument. XVII. Counsel Pro Hac Vice Counsel who seek admission pro hac vice before this Court should familiarize themselves with the Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5(c)(1), which provides that a lawyer not barred in Pennsylvania associate with local counsel and that local counsel “actively participates in the matter[.]” Counsel applying for admission before the Court pro hac vice may use the Eastern District’s standard form. While a motion for leave to appear pro hac vice is pending, local counsel must be present at every appearance before the Court, including those held on the phone or virtually. After motion for leave to appear pro hac vice is granted, local counsel need not be present at every appearance, except as outlined infra. Pro hac vice counsel is expected to review and comply with the EDPA local rules as well as Judge Weilheimer’s protocols. If pro hac vice counsel shows an unfamiliarity with the Local Rules of Civil Procedure or this Court’s protocols, this Court may issue an order requiring local counsel to appear at all future appearances or may discontinue the pro hac vice admission.

=== Consent to a Magistrate Judge ===

Consent and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge (EDPA 06/22) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Plaintiff v. Defendant Civil Action No. CONSENT AND REFERENCE OF A CIVIL ACTION TO A RANDOMLY ASSIGNED MAGISTRATE JUDGE Notice of a magistrate judge’s availability. A United States magistrate judge of this court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action (including a jury or nonjury trial) and to order the entry of a final judgment. The judgment may then be appealed directly to the United States Court of Appeals like any other judgment of this court. A magistrate judge may exercise this authority only if all parties voluntarily consent. You may consent to have your case referred to a randomly assigned magistrate judge, or you may withhold your consent without adverse substantive consequences. The name of any party withholding consent will not be revealed to any judge who may otherwise be involved with your case. Consent to a magistrate judge’s authority. The following parties consent to have a randomly assigned United States magistrate judge conduct all proceedings in this case including trial, the entry of final judgment, and all post-trial proceedings. Printed names of parties and attorneys Signatures of parties or attorneys Dates IT IS ORDERED: This case is referred to a randomly assigned United States magistrate judge to conduct all proceedings and order the entry of a final judgment in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73. Reference Order Date: District Judge’s signature Printed name and title Note: Please file this form on CM/ECF, using the event located in the Other Documents category, only if you are consenting to the exercise of jurisdiction by a United States magistrate judge. Do not return this form to a judge.

=== Meet and Confer Requirements ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA MEET AND CONFER REQUIREMENTS The parties shall conduct substantive verbal communications. Exchanges of letters or e- mails are insufficient. A report that opposing counsel was not available or that the parties made reasonable efforts is likewise insufficient. If the parties cannot reach a resolution that eliminates the need for any of the above-mentioned motions, counsel for the moving party shall include, along with the motion, a certification that the parties met and conferred regarding the alleged pleading deficiencies or matter sought to be stricken. The Court will deny any 12(b)(6), (e) or (f) motion or discovery motion that fails to conform with these requirements. Sample certification: The undersigned counsel certifies that on insert date the parties did meet and confer in an attempt to resolve list motion or topic that was addressed . As this matter was unable to be resolved through substantive verbal communications the attached Motion is being filed. Each counsel should sign and date the certification.

=== Order Governing Electronic Discovery ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA PLAINTIFF v. DEFENDANT CIVIL ACTION NO. : : : : : : ORDER GOVERNING ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY AND NOW, this day of ,2025, in anticipation of the Rule 16 conference, it is ORDERED as follows: 1. Introduction. In the event the parties cannot reach an agreement on how to conduct electronic discovery ("e-discovery") before the Rule 16 scheduling conference, the following default standards shall apply until such time, if ever, the parties conduct e-discovery on a consensual basis. 2. Exchange of e-discovery materials. Prior to the Rule 26(f) conference, the parties shall exchange the following information: a. a list of the most likely custodians of relevant electronic materials, including a brief description of each person's title and responsibilities; b. a list of each relevant electronic system that has been in place at all relevant times and a general description of each system, including the nature, scope, character, organization, and formats employed in each system. c. the parties should also include other pertinent information about their electronic documents and whether those electronic documents are of limited accessibility, that is, those created or used by electronic media no longer in use, maintained in redundant electronic storage media, or for which retrieval involves substantial cost; d. the name of the individual responsible for the party's electronic document retention policies ("the retention coordinator"); e. a general description of the party's electronic document retention policies. liaison;" f. the name of the individual who shall serve as the party's "e-discovery g. A description of any problems reasonably anticipated to arise in connection with e-discovery. To the extent that the state of the pleadings does not permit a meaningful discussion of the above issues by the time of the Rule 26(f) conference, the parties shall either agree on a date by which this information will be mutually exchanged or submit the issue for resolution by the court at the Rule 16 scheduling conference. 3. E-discovery conference. The parties shall discuss the parameters of their anticipated e-discovery at the Rule 26(f) conference and shall be prepared to address e-discovery at the Rule 16 scheduling conference with the court. 4. E-discovery liaison. To promote communication and cooperation between the parties, each party shall designate a single individual through whom all e-discovery requests and responses are made ("the e-discovery liaison"). Regardless of whether the e-discovery liaison is an attorney (in-house or outside counsel), a third party consultant, or an employee of the party, he or she must be: a. familiar with the party's electronic systems and capabilities in order to explain these systems and answer relevant questions; b. knowledgeable about the technical aspects of e-discovery, including electronic document storage, organization, and format issues; c. d. prepared to participate in e-discovery dispute resolutions; and, responsible for organizing the party's e-discovery efforts to insure consistency and thoroughness and, generally, to facilitate the e-discovery process. 5. Search methodology. If the parties intend to employ an electronic search to locate relevant electronic documents, the parties shall disclose any restrictions as to scope and method which might affect their ability to conduct a complete electronic search of the electronic documents. The parties shall reach agreement as to the method of searching, and the words, terms, and phrases to be searched with the assistance of the respective e-discovery liaisons, who are charged with familiarity with the parties' respective systems. The parties also shall reach agreement as to the timing and conditions of any additional searches which may become necessary in the normal course of discovery. To minimize the expense, the parties may consider limiting the scope of the electronic search (e.g., time frames, fields, document types). 6. Timing of e-discovery. Discovery of electronic documents shall proceed in the following sequenced fashion: a. after receiving requests for document production, the parties shall search their documents, other than those identified as limited accessibility electronic documents, and produce responsive electronic documents in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(2); b. electronic searches of documents identified as of limited accessibility shall not be conducted until the initial electronic document search has been completed; c. requests for information expected to be found in limited accessibility documents must be narrowly focused with a factual basis supporting the request; and, d. on-site inspections of electronic media under Fed.R.Civ.P.34(b) shall not be permitted, absent exceptional circumstances where good cause and specific need have been demonstrated. 7. Format. If, during the course of the Rule 26(f) conference, the parties cannot agree to the format for document production, electronic documents shall be produced to the requesting party as image files (e.g., PDF or TIFF). When the image file is produced, the producing party must preserve the integrity of the electronic document's contents, i.e., the original formatting of the document, its metadata and, where applicable, its revision history. After initial production in image file format is complete, a party must demonstrate particularized need for production of electronic documents in their native format. 8. Retention. Within the first thirty (30) days of discovery, the parties shall negotiate an agreement that outlines the steps each party shall take to segregate and preserve the integrity of all relevant electronic documents. In order to avoid later accusations of spoliation, a Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) deposition of each party's retention coordinator may be appropriate. The retention coordinators shall: a. take steps to ensure that e-mail of identified custodians shall not be permanently deleted in the ordinary course of business and that electronic documents maintained by the individual custodians shall not be altered; b. provide notice as to the criteria used for spam and/or virus filtering of e-mails and attachments; documents filtered out by such systems shall be deemed nonresponsive so long as the criteria underlying the filtering are reasonable. Within seven (7) days of identifying the relevant document custodians, the retention coordinators shall implement the above procedures and each party's counsel shall file a statement of compliance. 9. Privilege. Electronic documents that contain privileged information or attorney work product shall be immediately returned if the documents appear on their face to have been inadvertently produced or if there is notice of the inadvertent production. All copies shall be returned or destroyed by the receiving party. 10. Costs. Generally, the costs of discovery shall be borne by each party. However, the court will apportion the costs of electronic discovery upon a showing of good cause. GAIL A. WEILHEIMER, J.

=== Pretrial Conference Requirements ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA PRETRIAL CONFERENCE REQUIREMENTS At least seven days prior to the Pretrial Conference, each counsel shall docket a Pretrial Conference Memorandum which includes the following: 1. A brief narrative of the case, not to exceed three pages, double spaced. 2. A witness list, with a description of the testimony anticipated from each witness, not to exceed two sentences each. 3. A list of all exhibits intended to be used at trial. 4. Agreed or requested stipulations. 5. Anticipated length of trial. 6. Any unavailable dates of counsel or parties. The Court will consider a witness or counsel to be unavailable due to a court attachment, a prepaid vacation/business trip, a scheduled medical procedure or a significant life event such as a child’s wedding or graduation. 7. A list of the types and amounts of damages claimed. 8. In the case of a jury trial, the most recent settlement negotiations. a. Settlement negotiation should not be provided if a matter is scheduled as a bench trial. 9. Whether the parties jointly agree to have an in-person settlement conference conducted as part of the Pretrial Conference. The Court will conduct settlement negotiations as part of the Pretrial Conference. Should counsel not choose to have an in-person settlement discussion, the parties should be immediately available by phone during the conference. Failure to submit a Pretrial Conference Memorandum or failure to list a witness or exhibit on this disclosure, may result in the preclusion of that evidence or testimony.

=== Rule 26 Joint Report ===

=== Rule 26 Joint Report for Patent Cases ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA v. : : : : : CIVIL ACTION NO. JOINT REPORT OF RULE 26(f) MEETING In accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f), counsel for the parties conferred on _____________ and submit the following report of their meeting for the Court’s consideration: Date and time of Rule 16 Conference: _______________________________________ Plaintiff’s Counsel participating in the Rule 16 conference: _________________ Defendant’s Counsel participating in the Rule 16 conference: _______________ Jury trial _______ Non-Jury Trial _______ Arbitration _______ 1. Discussion of Claims, Defenses, and Relevant Issues You should assume that the Court has read the complaint and answer and is familiar with the claims. However, the facts supporting those claims and defenses are unknown. Therefore, counsel shall set forth concisely the controlling facts that the parties contend support their claims and defenses. Each party shall provide a brief factual summation of the case which should be provided as an attachment, double spaced in 12-point font. If counsel contends that one or more issues of fact or law will be dispositive, they should specifically identify such issues. 1 2. Informal Disclosures Except in exceptional cases with a substantial quantity of documents, the parties are expected to have identified and produced documents falling within the definition of initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) in advance of the Conference with sufficient time for opposing counsel to review them and be prepared to address them. When did the parties participate with Rule 26(a)’s duty of self-executing disclosure? _______________________________ If the parties have not made initial disclosures within the time required by the Court’s Order scheduling the pretrial conference, they should explain why not. 3. Formal Discovery The discovery deadline should normally be no more than 90 - 120 days from the date of that the Court provided notice of the Rule 16 conference, not from the date of the conference itself. However, because of the nature of patent litigation, the Court allows for discovery to extend beyond this typical range, within reason. The parties will determine a joint schedule for discovery. This schedule should specifically contemplate document production and discovery cut off date(s). a. The parties should determine, with reason, the number of admissions and interrogatories and hours of depositions each side1 is permitted. 1 In the event that the Court consolidates related cases for pretrial purposes, with regard to calculating limits imposed by this Order, a “side” shall be interpreted as if the cases were proceeding individually. For example, in consolidated cases the plaintiff may serve up to 30 interrogatories on each defendant, and each defendant may serve up to 30 interrogatories on the plaintiff. 2 i. Requests for Admission: Each side is permitted a maximum of __________ requests for admission. ii. Interrogatories: Each side is permitted a maximum of __________ interrogatories, including contention interrogatories. iii. Depositions: Each side is limited a total of __________ hours of taking testimony by deposition upon oral examination. b. Discovery Disputes: A party may not file a Motion to Compel discovery unless: (1) lead counsel have met and conferred in good faith to try to resolve the dispute, and (2) the party has contacted the Court’s law clerk (with opposing counsel) to arrange a conference with the Court to summarize the dispute and the parties’ respective positions. After hearing from the parties, the Court will determine if further briefing is required. c. Miscellaneous Discovery Matters: i. The parties should set forth a statement identifying any pending or completed litigation, including IPRs, involving one or more of the asserted patents. Parties should advise whether they expect to institute any further related litigation in this or other Districts within the next year, as well as any IPRs and, if so, when. ii. If one or more of the patents-in-suit have already been licensed or the subject of a settlement agreement, either (1) Plaintiff shall provide the licenses and/or settlement agreements to Defendant 3 no later than the time of the initial Rule 16 Conference, or (2) if Plaintiff requires a Court Order to make such disclosures, Plaintiff shall file any necessary proposed orders no later than twenty-four hours before the Rule 16 Conference. iii. Please advise the Court if the parties agree to stay all fact discovery until after the Claim Construction Hearing. Is electronic discovery needed: ______ If so, have the parties reached an agreement on how to conduct electronic discovery? ________. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, in most cases, the Court will enter an order incorporating default standards. The default order can be viewed at www.paed.uscourts.gov. 4. Protective Order Pending entry of the final Protective Order, the Court issues the following interim Protective Order to govern the disclosure of confidential information in this matter: If any document or information produced in this matter is deemed confidential by the producing party and if the Court has not entered a protective order, until a protective order is issued by the Court, the document shall be marked “confidential” or with some other confidential designation (such as “Confidential – Outside Attorneys Eyes Only”) by the disclosing party and disclosure of the confidential document or information shall be limited to each party’s outside attorney(s) of record and the employees of such outside attorney(s). If a party is not represented by an outside attorney, disclosure of the confidential document or information shall be limited to one designated “in house” attorney, whose identity and job functions shall be disclosed to the producing party 5 days prior to any such disclosure, in order to permit any motion for protective order or other relief regarding such disclosure. The person(s) to whom disclosure of a confidential document 4 or information is made under this local rule shall keep it confidential and use it only for purposes of litigating the case. 5. Claim Construction Identification If a party proposes a construction of a term to be its “plain and ordinary” meaning, the party must explain what that meaning is. If a term is arguably a means-plus-function term, and a party does not propose a function and a structure, it is waiving any right to propose a function and a structure at a later time. The parties shall exchange a list of those claim term(s)/phrase(s) that they believe need construction and their proposed claim construction of those term(s)/phrase(s).2 This document will not be filed with the Court. Subsequent to exchanging that list, the parties will meet and confer to prepare a Joint Claim Construction Chart. The Joint Claim Construction Chart should identify for the Court the term(s)/phrase(s) of the claim(s) in issue and should include each party’s proposed construction of the disputed claim language with citation(s) only to the intrinsic evidence in support of their respective proposed constructions. The Joint Claim Construction Chart should include an explanation of why resolution of the dispute makes a difference. A copy of the patent(s) in issue as well as those portions of the intrinsic record relied upon shall be submitted with the Joint Claim Construction Chart. In this joint submission, the parties shall not provide argument. 2 If a party proposes a construction of a term to be its “plain and ordinary” meaning, the party must explain what that meaning is. If a term is arguably a means-plus-function term, and a party does not propose a function and a structure, it is waiving any right to propose a function and a structure at a later time 5 6. Claim Construction Briefing Parties shall serve, but not file, their opening and answering briefs. Each party is permitted one reply brief. The parties shall copy and paste their unfiled briefs into one brief, with their positions on each claim term in sequential order, in substantially the form below. The parties will then file this brief with the Court. Joint Claim Construction Brief I. Representative Claims II. Agreed-upon Constructions III. Disputed Constructions A. [TERM 1]3 1. Plaintiff’s Opening Position 2. Defendant’s Answering Position 3. Plaintiff’s Reply Position 4. Defendant’s Sur-Reply Position B. [TERM 2] 1. Plaintiff’s Opening Position 2. Defendant’s Answering Position 3. Plaintiff’s Reply Position 4. Defendant’s Sur-Reply Position Etc. The parties need not include any general summaries of the law relating to claim construction. If there are any materials that would be submitted in an appendix, the parties shall submit them in a Joint Appendix. 3 For each term in dispute, there should be a table or the like setting forth the term in dispute, the parties’ competing constructions, and why resolution of the dispute matters. The table does not count against the word limits. 6 7. Hearing on Claim Construction – Markman Hearing The parties will propose a mutually agreed upon date where the Court will hear argument on claim construction. When the Joint Claim Construction Brief is filed, the parties shall simultaneously file a motion requesting the claim construction hearing, state that the briefing is complete, and state how much total time the parties are requesting that the Court should allow for the argument. Absent prior approval of the Court, the parties shall not present testimony at the argument. The Court is open to the presentation of live technology tutorials when they may be of benefit. The parties may also submit tutorials in electronic form by the deadline for submission of the Joint Claim Construction Brief. If a party intends to present a live tutorial, it should be directed to the underlying technology (rather than argument related to infringement or validity). The Court will consider the parties suggestions on the order of argument at the Markman hearing. However, if the parties do not suggest a different procedure, the Court will allow the Plaintiff to pick the first term and then alternate by term. As a general rule, if one side proposes “plain and ordinary meaning” as its construction or asserts that a term is indefinite, the other party shall go first. 8. Expert Testimony The parties will determine the schedule for disclosure of expert testimony. This should contemplate the initial 26(a)(2) disclosure of expert testimony by the party with the initial burden of proof, supplemental disclosure to contradict or rebut evidence on the same matter identified by another party, and reply export reports 7 from the party with the initial burden of proof. Along with the submissions of the expert reports, the parties shall advise of the dates and times of their experts’ availability for deposition. This schedule is separate from any expert witnesses used at the Markman Hearing. a. No other expert reports will be permitted without either the consent of all parties or leave of the Court. If any party believes that an expert report does not comply with the rules relating to timely disclosure or exceeds the scope of what is permitted in that expert report, the complaining party must notify the offending party within one week of the submission of the expert report. The parties are expected to promptly try to resolve any such disputes, and, when they cannot reasonably be resolved, use the Court’s Discovery Dispute Procedure or the complaint will be waived. b. To the extent any objection to expert testimony is made pursuant to the principles announced in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), as incorporated in Federal Rule of Evidence 702, it shall be made by motion no later than the deadline for dispositive motions set forth herein, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. 9. Case Dispositive Motions The parties will determine a date whereby all case dispositive motions shall be served and filed. No case dispositive motion under Rule 56 may be filed more than ten days before the above date without leave of the Court. 8 10. Applications by Motion Except as otherwise specified herein, any application to the Court shall be by written motion. 11. Pretrial Conference As needed, after ruling on dispositive motions, the Court will hold a final pretrial conference in Court with counsel. 9 12. Default Schedule4 ITEM to report with Exchange Rule 26(a) disclosures Parties file Rule 26(f) comprehensive proposed case schedule Plaintiff’s identification of accused products and the asserted patent(s) they allegedly infringe Plaintiff serves initial infringement contentions chart5 Defendant serves initial invalidity contentions6 DEADLINE Plaintiff Defendant 3 weeks before Rule 16 2 weeks before Rule 16 2 weeks before Rule 16 2 weeks before Rule 16 1 week before Rule 16 RULE 16 CONFERENCE Joinder of parties and amendment of pleadings Submit proposed protective order Defendant’s technical document production Completion of document production by parties Exchange term(s)/phrase(s) for claim construction Exchange claim constructions of term(s)/phrase(s) Parties disclose extrinsic evidence7 Filing of joint claim construction chart Opening claim construction brief Responsive claim construction brief Reply claim construction brief Sur-reply claim construction brief Joint claim construction brief MARKMAN HEARING Serve final infringement contentions Serve final invalidity contentions Close of fact discovery Opening expert reports Responsive expert reports Reply expert reports Close expert discovery Dispositive motions deadline (with opening briefs) Dispositive motions opposition briefs Dispositive motions reply briefs FINAL PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE TRIAL 10 4 The parties are permitted to amend this template scheduling order within reason (add and/or remove events as needed). The parties are expected add tentative dates for deadlines for each event. If the parties cannot agree, the parties shall submit a separate motion for their respective scheduling order, briefly setting forth their positions on items where they cannot agreement. The Court will have previously set the date for the Rule 16 Conference. Parties should propose dates for the Markman Hearing, Final Pre-Trial Conference, and Trial. These dates will be finalized by the Court at the Rule 16 Conference or a later date. 5 The chart should set forth where in the accused product(s) each of the asserted claim(s) are found. Plaintiff should also produce a copy of the file history for each patent in suit. 6 Defendant should serve invalidity contentions in the form of (1) a chart setting forth where in the prior art references each element of the asserted claim(s) are found, (2) an identification of any limitations the defendant contends are indefinite or lack written description under section 112, and (3) an identification of any claims the defendant contends are directed to ineligible subject matter under section 101. Defendant should also supply documents in support of any invalidity contentions. 7 The parties shall disclose any extrinsic evidence, including the identity of any expert witness they may rely upon with respect to claim construction/indefiniteness. With respect to any expert identified, the parties shall also provide a summary of the witness’s expected testimony including the opinions to be expressed and a general description of the basis. 11

=== Settlement Conference Requirements ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE REQUIREMENTS At least five days prior to the Settlement Conference. a confidential Settlement Memorandum should be sent via email to chambers at chambers [email protected]. This document should not be docketed and should not be provided to opposing counsel. The Settlement Memorandum should include the following: 1. A brief summary of the case which includes the strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of the submitting party; 2. Copies of critical documents relevant to settlement (e.g. expert reports, photographs of the scene); 3. The most recent offer and demand and any insight as to why previous attempts to settle were unsuccessful; 4. The scope of settlement authority of the submitting party; and 5. Any other information that would benefit the Court in helping to effectuate a settlement.

=== Speedy Trial Waiver ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. NAME Reg. No. : : : CRIMINAL NO. : : : SPEEDY TRIAL WAIVER , defendant, have consulted with my counsel I, concerning my right under the Speedy Trial Act and my right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I am requesting a continuance of my trial. I agree that the ends of justice served by a continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and myself in a speedy trial. I also agree that the delay by the continuance will not deprive me of my speedy trial rights under the Sixth Amendment. Attorney for Defendant Defendant Date: Date:

Judge Weilheimer’s Guidelines; Consent to a Magistrate Judge; Meet and Confer Requirements; Order Governing Electronic Discovery; Pretrial Conference Requirements; Rule 26 Joint Report; Rule 26 Joint Report for Patent Cases; Settlement Conference Requirements; Speedy Trial Waiver

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