Free Proposed Order - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1:07-cv-00424-GMS

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Filed 05/01/2008

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE LEIGH ANN HARRISON, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

C.A. No.: 07-424 (GMS) Trial By Jury Demanded

SCHEDULING ORDER This ______ day of ___________________200__, the Court having conducted a Rule 16 Scheduling Conference pursuant to Local Rule 16.2(b) on April 25, 2008 and the parties having determined after discussion that the matter cannot be resolved at this juncture by settlement, voluntary mediation or binding arbitration; IT IS ORDERED that: 1. Rule 26(a) Initial Disclosures: Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, they shall make their initial disclosures pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26(a) on or before May 21, 2008. 2. Joinder of other Parties and Amendment of Pleadings: All motions to join other parties and amend the pleadings shall be filed on or before June 30, 2008. 3. Discovery: All discovery in this case shall be initiated so that it will be completed on or before October 31, 2008. a. Discovery and Scheduling Matters: Should counsel find they are unable to resolve a discovery or scheduling matter, the party seeking the relief shall contact chambers at (302) 573-6470 to schedule a telephone conference. Not less than forty-eight hours prior to the -1-

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teleconference, the parties shall file with the court, via electronic means (CM/ECF), a joint, nonargumentative letter agenda not to exceed two (2) pages outlining the issue(s) in dispute. A sample letter can be located on this court's website at www.ded.uscourts.gov. After the parties have had three (3) discovery teleconferences, they will be required to file a joint letter showing good cause why the court should permit a fourth discovery teleconference. Should the court find further briefing necessary upon conclusion of the telephone conference, unless otherwise directed, the party seeking relief shall file with the court a TWO PAGE LETTER, exclusive of exhibits, describing the issues in contention. The responding party shall file within five (5) days from the date of service of the opening letter an answering letter of no more than TWO PAGES. The party seeking relief may then file a reply letter of no more than TWO PAGES within three (3) days from the date of service of the answering letter. 4. Confidential Information and Papers filed under Seal: Should counsel find it will

be necessary to apply to the court for a protective order specifying terms and conditions for the disclosure of confidential information, they should confer and attempt to reach an agreement on a proposed form of order and submit it to the court within ten (10) days from the date of this order. When filing papers under seal, counsel should deliver to the Clerk an original and two copies of the papers. If, after making a diligent effort, the parties are unable to agree on the contents of the joint, proposed protective order, then they shall follow the dispute resolution process outlined in paragraph 3(a). 5. Settlement Conference: Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §636, this matter is referred to the

United States Magistrate for the purpose of exploring the possibility of a settlement. If the parties

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agree that the possibility of settlement may be enhanced by such referral, the parties shall contact the assigned United States Magistrate Judge to schedule a settlement conference with counsel and the clients. 6. Case Dispositive Motions: All case dispositive motions and an opening brief and

affidavits, if any, in support of the motion shall be served and filed on or before November 14, 2008. Briefing will be presented pursuant to the court's Local Rules, with the following exception with regard to page limits: unless otherwise approved by the court, no opening or answering brief shall exceed 20 pages, and no reply brief shall exceed 10 pages, in each instance exclusive of any table of contents or table of citations. The parties may agree on an alternative briefing scheduling. Any such agreement shall be in writing and filed with the Court for the Court's approval. Any request for extensions of time as set forth in this Scheduling Order must be accompanied by an explanation or your request will be denied. 7. Applications by Motion: Except as provided in this Scheduling Order or for matters

relating to scheduling, any application to the Court shall be by written motion filed, via electronic means (CM/ECF). Unless otherwise requested by the Court, counsel shall not deliver copies of papers or correspondence to Chambers. Any non-dispositive motion should contain the statement required by Local Rule 7.1.1. 7. Oral Argument. If the Court believes that oral argument is necessary, the Court will

schedule a hearing Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.4. 8. Pretrial Conference. On March 19, 2009 beginning at 9:30 a.m., the Court will hold a Pretrial Conference in Chambers with counsel. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the parties should assume that filing the Joint Pretrial Order satisfies the pretrial disclosure requirement

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in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3). A sample form of Pretrial Order can be located on this court's website at www.ded.uscourts.gov. Thirty (30) days before the Joint Proposed Pretrial Order is due, plaintiff's counsel shall forward to defendant's counsel a draft of the pretrial order containing the information plaintiff proposes to include in the draft. Defendant's counsel shall, in turn, provide to plaintiff's counsel any comments on the plaintiff's draft, as well as the information defendant proposes to include in the proposed pretrial order. Motions in limine: No party shall file more than five(5) motions in limine. Briefs (opening, answering and reply) on all motions in limine shall be filed by___________ . Opening and answering briefs shall not exceed five (5) pages and reply briefs shall not exceed three (3) pages. The parties shall file with the court the joint proposed final pretrial order with the information required by the form of Final Pretrial Order which can be located on this court's website at www.ded.uscourts.gov on or before February 27, 2009. 9. Trial. This matter is scheduled for a four (4) day jury trial beginning at 9:00 a.m. on April 13, 2009. 10. Scheduling: The parties shall contact chambers, at (302) 573-6470, only in situations where scheduling relief is sought and only then when ALL participating counsel is on the line for purposes of selecting a new date.

The Honorable Gregory M. Sleet

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