Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan

=== Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE DIVISION CIVIL ACTION NO. X:XX-CV-XXX -MOC-DCK

____________,

Plaintiff(s),

v.

____________,

Defendant(s). PRETRIAL ORDER AND CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN

IN ACCORDANCE WITH the Local Rules of the Western District of North Carolina

and pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the undersigned enters the

following Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan in this matter.

DEADLINES AT A GLANCE

Rule 26 Disclosures:

Expert Reports:

Discovery Completion:

Mediation Report:

Dispositive Motions:

(Plaintiffs) (Defendants)

Trial Date:

Charlotte Trials--Third Monday of Even

Months

Asheville Trials—First Monday of Even Months

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A.

DISCOVERY GUIDELINES: Discovery shall be proportional to the needs of the case

I. DISCOVERY

and is limited as follows: Each party may propound no more than twenty (20)

interrogatories, including subparts; no more than twenty (20) requests for admission; and

take no more than six (6) depositions of non-expert witnesses. The Court reserves the right

to shift the costs of production of discovery to the party requesting it when the Court

determines that the request is not proportionate. When a party has an objection to

production, the objection must be specific. Production of documents may be accomplished

through production of hard copies instead of electronic data.

B.

RULE 26 DISCLOSURES: The parties have agreed to exchange the information set forth

in Rule 26 by .

C.

RESPONSES TO INTERROGATORIES AND REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION:

Every response to an interrogatory or request for admission, and every objection thereto,

shall be preceded by the original number and complete text of the corresponding

interrogatory or request for admission.

D.

THE MAINTENANCE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS: Discovery materials are

NOT to be filed. All counsel are advised to consult the local rule which provides that while

depositions, interrogatories, and requests for admission, and responses thereto, must still

be served on all parties, they are no longer to be filed unless upon order of the Court. The

parties are responsible for the preservation of any and all discovery materials they may

generate.

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E.

VIDEO DEPOSITIONS: If video depositions are taken and counsel intend to use them

at trial, counsel are directed to resolve any objections and edit the video accordingly so that

the video may be shown without interruption. Failure to do this prior to trial will result in

objections being deemed to be waived.

F.

PROTECTIVE ORDERS: Any objections made to discovery requests shall be

accompanied by a draft proposed protective order if such order is, or will be, requested.

When counsel submit proposed protective orders, they shall include a provision leaving the

ultimate disposition of protected materials subject to a final order of the Court on the

completion of litigation.

A PROTECTIVE ORDER is hereby entered in accordance with Rule 16(b)(1)(B) and

Rule 502 providing that privileged documents inadvertently produced may be “clawed

back” by the party that produced them within 14 days of being served with written notice

of the inadvertent disclosure by the party who received the document.

G.

DISCOVERY COMPLETION: All discovery shall be complete no later than .

Supplementations per Rule 26(e) shall be due within thirty (30) days after obtaining

applicable information. Counsel are directed to initiate discovery requests and notice or

subpoena depositions sufficiently in advance of the discovery completion deadline so as to

comply with this Order. Discovery requests that seek responses or schedule depositions

after the discovery completion deadline are not enforceable except by order of the Court

for good cause shown. The parties may consent to extensions of the discovery completion

deadline so long as any such extension expires not later than ten (10) days prior to

scheduled trial time. If a party requests an extension of time to respond to discovery

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requests or to extend the discovery deadline, the result of consultation with opposing

counsel must be stated in the motion.

H.

EXPERT WITNESSES: Plaintiff shall provide reports from expert witness(es) pursuant

to Rule 26(a)(2) by . Defendant shall provide reports from its expert

witness(es) by .

II. MOTIONS

A.

DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS DEADLINE: All motions except motions in limine and

motions to continue shall be filed no later than . Parties may not extend this

deadline by agreement and stipulated extensions of the completion of discovery do not

extend the Motions Deadline.

B.

REQUIREMENT OF CONFERENCE WITH COURT BEFORE FILING

SUBSTANTIVE DISCOVERY MOTIONS: In accordance with Rule 16(b)(1)(B), a

party shall, before filing a disputed motion for an order relating to discovery, request a

conference with the Magistrate Judge. Only when that request is denied or an impasse is

reached at the conference may the party file a disputed motion for an order relating to

discovery. Such conferences may be conducted in chambers or by conference call and

need not be recorded, all in the discretion of the Magistrate Judge.

C. MOTIONS HEARINGS: Hearings on motions ordinarily will be conducted only when

the Rules require a hearing, when the papers filed in support of and in opposition to the

motion do not provide an adequate basis for decision, or at the request of a party and when

the Court determines it would aid the decisional process. All motions requiring a hearing

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will be heard as soon as is practical. The Clerk will notify all parties as far in advance as

possible of the date and time set for the hearing.

D. MEMORANDA IN SUPPORT OF MOTIONS: Every motion shall include, or be

accompanied by, a brief written statement of the facts, a statement of the law, including

citations of authority and the grounds on which the motion is based. Motions not in compli-

ance with this Order are subject to summary denial.

E.

RESPONSES AND REPLIES: Responses to motions, if any, must be filed within

fourteen (14) days of the date on which the motion is filed. Replies to responses, if any,

must be filed within seven (7) days of the date on which the response is filed. Pursuant to

Rule 6(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, when a party serves a motion or response

by any manner, the respondent shall have an additional three (3) days to file a response or

reply.

F.

ENLARGEMENT OF TIME: If counsel need more than fourteen (14) days to file a

response or seven (7) days to file a reply, a motion for extension of time shall be filed. The

moving party must show consultation with opposing counsel regarding the requested

extension and must notify the Court of the views of opposing counsel on the request. If a

party fails to make the requisite showing, the Court may summarily deny the request for

extension.

G. MOTIONS TO COMPEL: A motion to compel must include a statement by the movant

that the parties have conferred in good faith with each other and have exhausted the

requirement of a conference with the Court in compliance with Subpart B, supra, in an

attempt to resolve the dispute and are unable to do so. Consistent with the spirit, purpose,

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and explicit directives of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of the

Western District of North Carolina, the Court expects all parties (and counsel) to attempt

in good faith to resolve discovery disputes without the necessity of court intervention.

Failure to do so may result in appropriate sanctions.

III. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

A. METHOD: The method of ADR to be utilized in this case is mediation.

B. DEADLINE: Mediation may be held earlier, at the parties’ discretion, but must be

completed, and a Mediation Report on

the

results

filed, on or before

___________________. The Mediation Report may be filed by the mediator or the parties.

The parties are advised that the Court will not consider summary judgment motions until a

Mediation Report is filed.

IV. TRIAL

A.

TRIAL DATE. The date for trial is . (Third Monday of Even Months

for Charlotte cases, First Monday of Even Months for Asheville cases) The parties

estimate that the total time needed for trial will be approximately ____ days.

B.

TRIAL SUBPOENAS: Counsel must subpoena all witnesses at least ten (10) days before

the trial date. The Court may elect not to enforce subpoenas that have not been issued in

compliance with this deadline or, if requested, may quash subpoenas that have not been

issued in compliance with this deadline.

C.

COUNSEL’S DUTIES PRIOR TO TRIAL: At least two (2) full weeks before the trial

date, counsel for all parties shall:

(a) Discuss the possibility of a settlement;

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(b) Exchange copies of exhibits or permit inspection if copying is impractical;

(c) Number and become acquainted with all exhibits; and

(d) Agree upon the issues, reduce them to writing, and file them with the Court. If

counsel cannot agree upon the issues, each party is directed to write his/her own

version and file it with the Court.

(e) Agree upon stipulations of fact and file them with the Court. The parties are

encouraged to stipulate to as many facts as possible to facilitate the trial of the case.

D.

COUNSEL’S FILINGS ONE WEEK BEFORE TRIAL: At least one (1) full week

before the trial date, counsel for each party shall file with the Court each of the following:

(a) A trial brief addressing all questions of law and any anticipated evidentiary

issues;

(b) In all non-jury cases, proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law;

(c) Proposed jury instructions, as described below;

(d) Requested questions for voir dire; and

(e) Deposition testimony a party will offer as evidence at trial, as described

below in Subsection G.

E.

PROPOSED JURY INSTRUCTIONS: If a jury trial has been requested, all counsel

shall file proposed jury instructions and verdict sheets no later than one (1) week before

the trial date. Additional instructions may be submitted during the trial as circumstances

may require. Counsel should number each proposed instruction and shall submit each

proposed instruction on a separate page. Each proposed instruction must contain a

supporting citation(s) as a footnote. A proposed instruction without a supporting citation

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may not be considered. Proposed instructions should be filed on the docket and also in

Microsoft Word form through Cyberclerk.

F.

JURY VOIR DIRE: The Court, after consideration of the requests for voir dire submitted

by counsel, shall conduct initial jury voir dire. Counsel will be given an opportunity to

conduct voir dire in the manner otherwise utilized in the courts of the State of North

Carolina.

G.

DEPOSITION TESTIMONY: If a party will offer deposition testimony as evidence at

trial, the parties are to prepare the following and submit it to the Court at least one full

week before the trial date:

(a) The party originally offering the testimony shall highlight in yellow all portions

of the deposition testimony it will seek to have admitted;

(b) That party shall then provide the highlighted copy to the opposing party;

(c) The opposing party shall highlight in a different color all portions of the

deposition testimony it will seek to have admitted;

(d) The opposing party shall then list briefly in the margins, directly adjacent to

the relevant testimony, any objections it has to that testimony (e.g., 401, hearsay);

(e) The opposing party shall then return the document to the party originally

offering the testimony, who will list objections to the opposing party’s highlighted

portion;

(f) The party originally offering the testimony shall then file the document with

the Court.

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H. WITNESSES AND EXHIBITS: No later than seven days before the first day of trial,

counsel for each party shall file the following:

(a) A witness list containing the name of every proposed witness;

(b) A statement of the education, experience, and qualifications of each expert

witness, unless the parties have stipulated to the qualifications of each expert

witness;

(c) Stipulations concerning the authenticity of as many proposed exhibits as

possible; and

(d) An exhibit list.

I.

EXHIBITS: Parties are expected to use presentation technology available in the

courtroom to display evidence to the jury. Training on the equipment must be arranged

well in advance of trial with the courtroom deputy, not on the day of trial. See “Courtroom

Technology” link on the district website at https://www.ncwd.uscourts.gov/jury-evidence-

recording-system-jers. Counsel shall provide in electronic format any exhibits of

documents, photographs, videos, and any other evidence that may be reduced to an

electronic file, for the use of Court personnel and the Court’s Jury Evidence Recording

System (JERS) during trial in the manner instructed by the courtroom deputy. Exhibit files

shall be named consistent with the order in which they are presented and contain a

descriptive name. For example:

Exhibit 1 -

photograph of . . .

Exhibit 2(a) - contract

Exhibit 2(b) - video deposition of . . .

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J.

FORMAT FOR EXHIBIT LIST: In preparing the exhibit list, each side shall identify

and number each exhibit, shall arrange the list numerically by exhibit number, and shall

place the following headings on the exhibit list:

Exhibit #

Description

Identified by

Admitted

It is not necessary for counsel to make entries in either the “Identified by” column or the

“Admitted” column. Counsel shall also provide an electronic copy of the exhibit list with

the electronic exhibit files as the courtroom deputy instructs.

K.

ASSESSMENT OF JURY COSTS: Whenever a civil action scheduled for a jury trial is

settled or otherwise disposed of in advance of the actual trial, the Court may assess all

jurors’ costs, including Marshal’s fees, mileage reimbursement, and per diem fees, equally

against the parties or otherwise may determine appropriate assessments unless the Clerk’s

Office is notified at least one (1) full business day prior to the date on which the action is

scheduled for trial or the parties establish good cause why the Court should not assess jury

costs against the parties. When any civil jury trial is settled at trial in advance of the verdict,

the Court likewise may make the same assessments unless the parties establish good cause

why the Court should not do so.

V. SANCTIONS FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE PRETRIAL ORDER

Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this Order which causes added delay or

expense to the Court may result in the imposition of sanctions as provided by the Federal Rules of

Civil Procedure.

SO ORDERED.

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