Pretrial Procedures

(a) Matters Exempted from Standard Pretrial Procedures Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the following categories of cases are exempted from the requirement of scheduling conferences and scheduling orders: (1) Internal Revenue Service enforcement actions; (2) eminent domain proceedings; (3) bankruptcy appeals; (4) habeas corpus petitions; (5) Freedom-of-Information-Act actions; (6) actions to enforce out-of-state judgments; (7) Social Security appeals; (8) Administrative Procedure Act appeals; (9) actions filed by self-represented prisoners; (10) actions in which the defendant has not been served within 90 days after the complaint was filed; and (11) actions to enforce ERISA plans. (b) Pretrial Scheduling and Planning Report Unless otherwise ordered, the report required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) must: Local Civil Rules for the District of Alaska Effective October 15, 2025 (1) be in a form substantially similar to AK LCF 26(f), Scheduling and Planning Conference Report; (2) be signed by counsel for each party and any self-represented party; and (3) clearly specify: (A) those matters, if any, on which the parties have been unable to reach agreement; and (B) the respective positions of each party on each matter on which agreement could not be reached. (c) Standard Pretrial Procedures and Times Unless otherwise ordered, the following applies to all pretrial matters. (1) Preliminary motions, especially those raising legal issues that have the potential for reducing necessary discovery, should be filed at the earliest time possible.

(2) Motions to amend pleadings or add parties must be filed not later than 60 days after the date the Pretrial Scheduling Order is entered. Thereafter, a party may seek leave of the court to modify this deadline. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). (3) Each party must maintain a record of all disclosures and discovery responses required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

(4) The parties may, by agreement, extend the time for a party to respond to any discovery request propounded by any other party. (5) Final discovery witness lists must be filed not later than 45 days before the close of discovery. (6) The deadline for completion of discovery in the Pretrial Scheduling Order is applicable to all depositions. (7) Motions under the discovery rules must be filed not later than 14 days after the close of discovery.

(8) Motions to exclude expert testimony must be filed not later than 30 days after the close of expert discovery. (9) Dispositive motions must be filed not later than 30 days after the close of discovery. (d) Scheduling Cases for Trial See Local Civil Rule 40.1. Local Civil Rules for the District of Alaska Effective October 15, 2025 (e) Notice of Related Case Whenever a party has reason to believe that a civil action is related to another matter, as defined in Local Rule 3.1, the party must promptly file a Notice of Related Case.

Other parties have 14 days to respond to a Notice of Related Case and may file and serve a response supporting or opposing the notice. The Notice of Related Case must include: (1) the court, title, case number, and filing date of each matter believed to be related; (2) a brief statement of the relationship; and (3) a statement whether a common judicial assignment or consolidation is requested. If consolidation is requested, a separate motion must be filed promptly. (f) Magistrate Judges are authorized to issue Pretrial Scheduling Orders in cases assigned to them by consent.