Joe Anderson Scheduling Order

SAMPLE SCHEDULING ORDERUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA)C/A No.:)v.) JUDGE ANDERSON222S) SCHEDULING ORDER)Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Civil Rules of this District,the Court hereby establishes the following schedule for this case.1 This Scheduling Order isentered to administer the trial of this case in a manner consistent with the ends of justice, inthe shortest possible time, and at the least possible cost to litigants. This formal Scheduling Order allows for a generous time period within which to completediscovery. Therefore, requests to extend the discovery and trial deadlines will be granted onlyin exceptional situations. Also, any request to extend a deadline that may impact the trialdate must be accompanied by a Client Consent Form, a copy of which is attached hereto. 1.Initial Disclosures: No later than , the required initial disclosures underFed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) shall be made. 2.Amendment of Pleadings: Any motions to join other parties and to amend thepleadings shall be filed by .2 3.Discovery Status Report: The discovery status report shall be completed by. 1 The Court has noted a discernible and disturbing trend wherein counsel, sometimes by agreement,disregard deadlines set forth in the Court222s scheduling order. The Court takes this opportunity toadvise counsel that a scheduling order 223is not a frivolous piece of paper, idly entered, which can becavalierly disregarded by counsel without peril.224 Forstmann v. Culp, 114 F.R.D. 83, 85 (M.D.N.C.1987) (quoting Gestetner Corp. v. Case Equipment Co., 108 F.R.D. 138, 141 (D.Me. 1985)). 2 This is the earliest deadline for an important reason: to allow discovery to address all issues and allpotential parties. Late requests to amend, therefore, are strongly discouraged, especially if theamendment adds a party. Any request to amend after the scheduling order deadline should includean explanation of why the amendment could not have been sought earlier. Parties who delay seekingto amend until late in the litigation, especially as to known potential parties, risk denial of theirmotions. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com SAMPLE SCHEDULING ORDER 4.Expert Witness Disclosures: (See footnote for important changes in this Rule)3 The parties shall file and serve the witness disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(2)(B)and (C) by the following dates: Plaintiff: Defendant: 5.Discovery: All discovery shall be completed by . The parties shall serve alldiscovery requests in time for the responses thereto to be made by this deadline. 6.Dispositive Motions: The parties shall file dispositive motions by . 7.Responsive Briefs: The parties shall file responsive briefs by . 8.Trial: This case will go to trial during the term of court. Counsel, parties,and witnesses should plan their schedules, including vacations, accordingly.4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 3 The rules governing expert witness disclosures changed effective December 1, 2010. Rule 26(a)(2)(B)or 2232B224 witnesses are those traditional expert witnesses who must prepare a written report (forexample, a witness retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or onewhose duties as the parties222 employee regularly involves giving expert testimony). The new categoryof expert witnesses covered by 26(a)(2)(C) or 2232C224 witnesses are not experts in the traditional senseof being retained specifically to provide expert testimony. Rather, they are witnesses such as atreating physician or an employee who may have certain expert-type information and who may offersome type of expert opinion testimony along with his or her fact testimony. As to these 2232C224witnesses, Rule 26(a)(2)(C) requires a summary disclosure be made by the attorney (not the witness)of the subject matter on which the witness is expected to present expert testimony and a summaryof the facts and opinions to which the witness is expected to testify.4 The Court exempts this case from the pretrial disclosure requirements of Rule 26(a)(3). However,the Court expects strict compliance with Local Rule 26.07 (obligation to meet, mark, and exchangeexhibits) and Local Rule 26.05 (pretrial briefs). American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com SAMPLE SCHEDULING ORDERSPECIAL NOTICE TO COUNSEL WITH CASESBEFORE JUDGE JOSEPH F. ANDERSON, JR.Please carefully review the following instructions relating to problems that frequently ariseregarding scheduling orders and related litigation management issues.Judge Anderson's standard preferences for courtesy copies, proposed orders, pretrial briefs,and the like are listed on the court's website at https://www.scd.uscourts.gov/go/jfaorders.COMMUNICATIONS WITH CHAMBERSAll communications with the court must be in writing and filed in the CM/ECF docket. It isnever appropriate for counsel to call Judge Anderson on a case-related matter, and it is rarelyappropriate for attorneys to copy the court on correspondence between counsel. MODIFICATION OF THE SCHEDULING ORDERRequests for modification of the formal Scheduling Order must be made in a written motionfiled in CM/ECF and not by email, fax or telephone. The deadlines in the formal SchedulingOrder issued by this court are established with careful consideration to the nature of the caseand the amount of time necessary for discovery. For this reason, modifications should seldombe necessary. If, however, it becomes necessary to seek a modification, such motion must beaccompanied by a signed Client Consent Form (Attachment B). In addition, the motion foran extension must be made in compliance with Local Civil Rule 6.01 addressing the following:(1) Date of the current deadline;(2)Whether the deadline has been previously extended;(3)The number of additional days requested and the proposed new deadline; (4)Whether the extension would affect other deadlines; (5)The reasons for the requested extension;(6)The extent to which the parties have diligently pursued discovery during the originallyspecified period. This showing requires a specification of the discovery (includingdeposition by witness name and date) which has been completed and the depositionsincluding witness name) and other discovery which remain to be completed. (7)Whether opposing counsel consents to or opposes the extension.Do not wait until the last day before the deadline to request a modification or extension. Donot call chambers to determine if the extension has been granted. Check the docket throughCM/ECF. Absent extraordinary circumstances, requests should be made sufficiently inadvance to allow the court time to rule on the motion before the deadline passes. See LocalCivil Rule 6.01 and 6.02. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com SAMPLE SCHEDULING ORDERUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA)C/A No.:)v.) CLIENT CONSENT TO EXTEND)SCHEDULING ORDER DEADLINES)Use the following form for a first request:I, the undersigned litigant, a party to the above captioned action, hereby give my consent to myattorney222s request that the deadlines in the formal Scheduling Order be extended. I understand thatthe revision of the formal Scheduling Order will require a delay in the trial of my case.Use the following form for second or subsequent requests:I, the undersigned litigant, a party to the above captioned action, hereby give my consent to myattorney222s request that the deadlines in the formal Scheduling Order be extended. I understand thatthe revision of the formal Scheduling Order will require a delay in the trial of my case. I furtherunderstand that this Scheduling Order has been modified (and the trial date postponed) at the requestof my attorney on previous occasions.Individual Litigant:SignaturePrint NameCorporate Litigant:Signature of OfficerName of CorporationByIts American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com