Sample Final Pretrial Order (PDF); Scheduling Order (PDF)

=== Sample Final Pretrial Order (PDF) ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA XXXXXXXXX, Plaintiff, v. XXXXXXXXX, Defendant. Case No. X:X-CV-XXXX Judge Charles E. Atchley Magistrate Judge XXXXX AGREED FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER This Court conducted a Final Pretrial Conference pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on [insert date]. [Counsel for Plaintiff(s)] appeared as counsel for the plaintiff(s) and [Counsel for Defendant(s)] appeared as counsel for the defendant(s). The following action was taken: I. Jurisdiction This is an action for [breach of contract, personal injury, etc.]. Jurisdiction of the Court is invoked pursuant to __ U.S.C. § ______. The jurisdiction of the Court is not disputed. II. Pleadings The pleadings are amended to conform to this pretrial order. III. General Nature of the Claims of the Parties: a. Claims: The following claims (including claims stated in the complaint, counterclaims, crossclaims, third-party claims, etc.) have been filed: i. [Insert list of claims.] b. Stipulated Facts: The following facts are uncontroverted. i. [List uncontroverted facts that have been established by the pleadings, by stipulation, or by admission.] c. Plaintiff’s Theory: [Set out a concise summary without detail.] d. Defendant’s Theory: [Set out a concise summary without detail.] e. All Other Parties’ Claims: [If third parties are involved, set out a concise summary without detail.] IV. Contested Issues of Law The contested issues of law are [set out the contested issues, including any pending motions]. OR There are no special issues of law to be resolved. a. [If applicable, list any motions that remain pending.] V. Exhibits The parties have disclosed all exhibits in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3)(C). All exhibits to be introduced have been pre-marked in such a way as to allow the Court to determine which party is offering them. The parties have prepared a joint list of exhibits. [(In non-jury matters) A copy of each exhibit has been furnished to the Court at the Final Pretrial Conference.] The parties have endeavored to stipulate to the admissibility of all exhibits to the extent possible. The parties cannot stipulate to the admissibility of the following exhibits: [List any such exhibits along with a concise statement of the basis for disagreement / objection.] VI. Witnesses The parties have disclosed all witnessed in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3)(A). A list comprised of the names of all witnesses, their addresses and telephone numbers is as follows: a. For Plaintiff(s): Name Address Telephone No. 1. i.e. John Doe 865 2nd Ave., Chattanooga 423-123-1234 b. For Defendant(s): 2 Name Address Telephone No. 1. i.e. Jane Doe 843 2nd Ave., Chattanooga 423-321-4321 VII. Other Matters a. Trial: This case is set for trial before the undersigned and a jury [or without the intervention of a jury] at 9:00 a.m. on [date]. Counsel shall be present on the first day before commencement of trial to take up any preliminary matters. The probable length of trial is ___ days. The parties should be prepared for trial on the scheduled date. If this case is not heard immediately, it will be held in line until the Court’s schedule allows the trial to begin. [NOTE: As it has been contended that the failure to include a jury demand in the Final Pretrial Order is a waiver of the jury demand, you should set forth your jury demand if it is your intention to have a jury trial.] b. Possibility of Settlement: [Describe the possibility of settlement.] c. Miscellaneous Matters: [Describe any miscellaneous issues of which the Court should be made aware.] * * * This Final Pretrial Order shall supplant the pleadings and is agreed upon by the parties as of [date]. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16; see U.S. v. Hougham, 364 U.S. 310, 315 (1960); see also Ricker v. Am. Zinser Corp., 506 F. Supp. 1 (E.D. Tenn. Sept. 11, 1978), aff’d, 633 F.2d 218 (6th Cir. 1980). SO ORDERED. CHARLES E. ATCHLEY, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 3 APPROVED AS TO FORM AND SUBSTANCE: /s/ _____________________________ Counsel for Plaintiff(s) /s/ _____________________________ Counsel for Defendant(s) 4

=== Scheduling Order (PDF) ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Plaintiff, v. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Defendants. Case No. XXXXXXXX District Judge Atchley Magistrate Judge XXXXX SCHEDULING ORDER 1. Introduction: Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b), a telephonic scheduling conference was held in this case on __________. 2. Jurisdiction: In this case, the subject matter jurisdiction of the Court has been invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. _________ and (is/is not in dispute.) 3. Consent to a Magistrate Judge: The parties do not consent that all proceedings in this case may be conducted by a United States Magistrate Judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). 4. Settlement / Alternative Dispute Resolution: The parties shall discuss the possibility of utilizing the Federal Court Mediation Program in this case. If the parties believe the Federal Court Mediation Program can aid in resolving the case, information is available on the Court’s website and can be requested in writing from the Division Manager, U.S. District Court, 900 Georgia Avenue, Room 309, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402. 5. Disclosure and Discovery: (a) Discovery Plan: The parties (have/have not) held a discovery planning meeting and submitted a discovery plan as required by Rule 26(f). (b) Initial Disclosures: The parties will make all disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(1) on or before __________. [The parties have made all disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(1)]. (c) Expert Testimony: Plaintiff shall disclose any expert testimony in accordance with Rule 26(a)(2) on or before __________. Defendant shall disclose any expert testimony in accordance with Rule 26(a)(2) on or before __________. The parties shall disclose rebuttal testimony within thirty days after the other party’s disclosure. See Section 6(c), below, regarding expert-related motions. (d) Final Witness List: On or before , the parties shall provide to all other parties and file with the court a final witness list in accordance with Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(i). Within five days after service, the final witness list may be supplemented. After that time the list may be supplemented with leave of the Court and for good cause. (e) All Discovery: All discovery—including the taking of depositions, requests for admissions, and all discovery-related motion practice—shall be completed by . After that date, the parties may conduct discovery by agreement, but the Court will not involve itself in any disputes that may arise. (f) Pretrial Disclosures: On or before , the parties shall make the pretrial disclosures specified in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(A)(ii) and (iii). All deposition testimony to be offered into evidence must be disclosed to all other parties on or before this date. 6. Other Scheduling Matters: (a) Amendment of Pleadings: If any party wishes to join one or more additional parties or amend its pleadings, a motion for joinder or for leave to amend shall be filed on or before . (b) Dispositive Motions: All dispositive motions under Rule 12 and all motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 shall be filed as soon as possible, but no later than . The failure to timely file such motions will be grounds to summarily deny them. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the dispositive motion deadline will not be extended. Judge Atchley prefers not to receive statements of undisputed material facts and will disregard any such statement unless it is (i) jointly filed, (ii) contains no argument, and (iii) sets forth facts rather than the parties’ positions. If a “response” is filed, the Court will construe the statement as not jointly filed and disregard it. (c) Daubert Motions: All motions to exclude expert testimony pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 should be filed as soon as possible but no later than . (d) Motions in Limine: Any motions in limine must be filed no later than . The Court will not entertain a motion to exclude expert testimony styled as a motion in limine. Any motions to exclude expert testimony pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 must be filed on or before the Daubert motion deadline set forth in Section 6(c). 2 (e) Special Requests to Instruct for Jury Trial: Pursuant to Local Rule 51.1, the parties shall confer and submit a single joint proposal for jury instructions to the Court no later than ______. Before submitting the joint proposal, the parties must attempt to resolve any disagreements. To the extent there are disagreements as to specific instructions that cannot be resolved, the parties should provide competing instructions in their joint proposal. All jury instructions in the joint proposal, including agreed and competing instructions, shall be supported by citation to authority pursuant to Local Rule 7.4. A copy of the proposed jury instructions must be sent as a Microsoft Word document to [email protected]. The Court uses the Sixth Circuit Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions as its model in formulating the final instructions given to the jury. Proposed jury instructions should follow the form of the pattern instructions. 7. Final Pretrial Conference: A final pretrial conference will be held in Courtroom 1A on , at 3:00 p.m. ET at the U.S. Courthouse, 900 Georgia Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee. All lawyers who plan to participate in the trial must be present in person at the final pretrial conference. (a) Final Pretrial Order: The parties shall submit a final pretrial order to the Court at least five business days prior to the final pretrial conference by sending it to [email protected]. A sample copy of the final pretrial order is located on the Court’s website at http://www.tned.uscourts.gov. (b) Trial Briefs: Any trial briefs regarding anticipated evidentiary and legal issues must be filed at least three business days before the final pretrial conference. (c) Exhibits: Prior to the final pretrial conference, the parties shall meet and confer regarding the authenticity and admissibility of all exhibits they intend to use at trial. At least five business days prior to the final pretrial conference, the parties must file an exhibit list with exhibits pre-marked for identification purposes. Counsel should be prepared to discuss any objections to a party’s exhibit list at the final pretrial conference. (d) Courtroom Technology: On or before _____, the parties shall disclose to one another and to the Court the technology they intend to use in the courtroom during trial and how they intend to use it (e.g. display equipment, data storage, retrieval, or presentation devices). This disclosure shall list (1) equipment they intend to bring into the courtroom and (2) Court-supplied equipment they intend to use. The parties shall confirm the compatibility and viability of their planned use of technology with the Court’s equipment. General information regarding equipment supplied by the Court is available on the Court’s website; specific questions should be directed to courtroom deputy Allison Laster at [email protected]. 8. Trial: The trial of this case will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before the United States , at 9:00 a.m. ET. The trial is District Judge (and a jury) beginning on 3 expected to last _________________. If this case is not heard immediately, it will be held in line until the following day or anytime during the week of the scheduled trial date. SHOULD THE SCHEDULED TRIAL DATE CHANGE FOR ANY REASON, THE OTHER DATES CONTAINED IN THIS ORDER SHALL REMAIN AS SCHEDULED. ANY FURTHER MODIFICATION OF THE DATES HEREIN MUST BE SOUGHT BY A MOTION TO MODIFY THOSE DATES/ DEADLINES.1 SO ORDERED. 1 Due to the demands of the Court’s docket, all civil trials and pretrial hearings are conducted in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Court will entertain a motion to conduct trial in another division of this Court upon a showing of good cause by the parties. Any such motions must be filed after the dispositive motions deadline but no later than four weeks before the final pretrial conference, and the grant or denial of the same rests in the Court’s discretion. 4