IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS Plaintiff(s), vs. Defendant(s). ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CASE NO.: CJRA TRACK: PRESUMPTIVE TRIAL MONTH: JUDGE: NOTICE TO COUNSEL Pursuant to SDIL-LR 16.1, the above-styled cause has been assigned as a “Track _____” case. Therefore, you are hereby placed on notice that a presumptive trial month has been set as indicated above. Pursuant to SDIL-LR 16.2(a) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f), an initial pretrial scheduling and discovery conference is hereby set before: Honorable _______________________, Courtroom______________, Date and Time____________________________________. The purposes of this conference are: (1) To discuss the Joint Report of the Parties as to the proposed discovery plan; (2) To discuss the possibility of settlement; (3) To discuss the possibility of using a voluntary alternative dispute resolution device (e.g., mediation, arbitration, summary jury trial, mini-trial) to resolve the dispute; American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com (4) To discuss the complexity of the case and, if it is tried, the approximate number of days necessary to complete the testimony; (5) To confirm the presumptive date for the trial (see SDIL-LR 16.1(a)); (6) To set a cut-off date for completion of all discovery including experts’ discovery (or in the case of extraordinarily complex cases, the cut-off date for completion of core discovery), which date shall be no later than one hundred fifteen (115) days before the first day of the month of the presumptive trial date; (7) To establish a plan for the management of discovery in the case, including any limitations on the use of the various discovery devices that may be agreed to by the parties or ordered by the judicial officer presiding over the conference; (8) To formulate, simplify, and narrow the issues; (9) To discuss and set deadlines for amendments to the pleadings, including the filing of third-party complaints, which deadline shall be no later than ninety (90) days following this conference; (10) To discuss the filing of potential motions and a schedule for their disposition, including the cut-off date for filing dispositive motions; (11) To set the approximate date of the settlement conference (see SDIL-LR 16.3(b)); (12) To set the approximate date of the final pretrial conference (see SDIL-LR 16.2(b)); (13) To consider the advisability of referring various matters to a Magistrate American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Judge or a Special Master; (14) To discuss the advisability of one or more additional case management conferences prior to the final pretrial conference; and (15) To cover any other procedural issues that the judicial officer hearing the case determines to be appropriate for the fair and efficient management of the litigation. The Joint Report of Parties and Proposed Scheduling and Discovery Order, consented to and signed by each party or by an attorney of record, at the discretion of the assigned judicial officer, may be deemed to satisfy the requirements of SDIL-LR 16.2(a). All actions taken at the initial pretrial scheduling and discovery conference will be incorporated into a pretrial scheduling and discovery order, which shall be modified only by Order of Court. The scheduling and discovery conference may, at the discretion of the Magistrate Judge, be canceled if the Magistrate Judge approves the parties’ Joint Report of Parties and Proposed Scheduling and Discovery Order as submitted. Dated:_________________________ Nancy Rosenstengel CLERK OF COURT By:_____________________________ Deputy Clerk Forms referenced in this document are available, free of charge, downloadable from the District Court web site at www.ilsd.uscourts.gov or from the Clerk’s Office for a fee. Copies of the new forms are included as attachments in the July 1, 2003 revision of the Local Rules. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com