Proposed pretrial order no. 1: Case management

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE ___________ DISTRICT OF __________

IN RE: ) Civ. No.

COMPLEX LITIGATION )

) MDL DOCKET NO. (___)

)

THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: ) THIS ORDER RELATES TO

ALL CASES ) ALL CASES

__________________________________________)

[PROPOSED]

PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 1: CASE MANAGEMENT

Having considered the comments and proposals of the parties presented at the conference held [______], the Court ORDERS with respect to all actions listed on Schedule A to the MDL No. [______], I TRANSFER ORDER (Attachment “A” hereto) and all “tag along” actions thereunder:

12. Pretrial Consolidation. The main cases listed on Attachment “B” are, until further order of this Court, consolidated for pretrial purposes. The related cases listed in Attachment “C” are consolidated and coordinated for pretrial purposes with the main cases. This Order shall not be construed as consolidating the main cases with the related cases. All counsel for the parties to this multidistrict proceeding shall endeavor, to the extent possible, to coordinate discovery in their respective actions to avoid duplication and inefficiency. This Order does not constitute a determination that these actions should be consolidated for trial, nor does it have the effect of making any entity a party to an action in which it has not been joined and served in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

1. Master Docket and File. The Clerk will maintain a master docket and case file under the style “In re [Complex Case], MDL Docket No. [______].” All orders, pleadings, motions, and other documents will, when filed and docketed in the master case file, be deemed filed and docketed in each individual case to the extent applicable.

2. Captions; Separate Filing. Orders, pleadings, motions and other documents will bear a caption similar to that of this Order. If generally applicable to all actions, they shall include in their caption the notation that they relate to “ALL CASES” and be filed and docketed only in the master file. Documents intended to apply only to particular cases will indicate in their caption the case number of the case(s) to which they apply as assigned by the Clerk of this Court. Only an original of any pleading or paper shall be filed; no copies are necessary.

3. Procedures for Complex Litigation. Counsel will familiarize themselves with the Manual for Complex Litigation 3d, which is hereby adopted by the Court for general guidance. The provisions of this Order and its attachments supersede any inconsistent provisions of this District’s Local Rules, unless otherwise ordered.

4. State/Federal Coordination. To the extent possible, these proceedings will be coordinated with [State case], Coordination Proceeding No. [______] to avoid unnecessary conflicts and expense, conserve judicial resources and expedite the disposition of all the cases, as recommended by the Manual for Complex Litigation 3d, Section 31.31. This Court will consider, without limitation, the designation of joint document depositories, if appropriate, the appointment of an appropriate judicial officer as a joint special master to resolve discovery disputes or facilitate settlement discussions; and consultation with the state Coordination Trial Judge to avoid duplication and inconsistency with respect to rulings on common questions. Counsel are urged to confer to develop ways to avoid conflicts and duplication as the federal and state litigations proceed, and are to cross notice depositions and coordinate federal and state discovery with respect to all issues affecting the claims at issue here.

5. Discovery Requests and Responses. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d), discovery requests and responses will not be filed with the Court except to the extent offered in connection with a motion under Rule 11, 12, or 56 or a motion seeking a ruling by the Court on a discovery dispute.

   2. Organization of Plaintiffs’ Counsel.

   a. Plaintiffs. To act on behalf of plaintiffs, the Court designates

   (1) Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel:

   ___________________________

   ___________________________

   ___________________________

   ___________________________

   ___________________________

   Telephone: [_______________]

   (2) Plaintiffs’ Litigation Committee

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   Telephone: [_______________] Telephone: [_______________]

   (3) Plaintiffs’ Related Case Litigation Committee

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   ___________________________ ___________________________

   Telephone: [_______________] Telephone: [_______________]

2. Duties of Plaintiffs’ Designated Counsel.

   (1) Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel.

   Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel shall have the following responsibilities:

   (

1. To call joint meetings of the Committees described in Paragraph 2a.(l), (2) and (3) above;

   (b) To establish and maintain a document depository on behalf of plaintiffs;

   (c) To communicate with the Court on behalf of plaintiffs;

   (d) To file petitions for the coordination and transfer of tag along cases;

   (e) To maintain and distribute to the Court, to counsel for plaintiffs and counsel for defendants an up to date service list; and

   (f) To receive orders and notices from the Court on behalf of all parties within their Liaison Group and to be responsible for the preparation and transmittal of copies of such orders and notices to the parties in the Liaison Group.

   (2) Plaintiffs’ Litigation Committees. The Plaintiffs’ Litigation Committees shall have the following responsibilities for their respective cases:

   (

1. To brief and argue motions and file opposing briefs in proceedings initiated by other parties;

   (b) To initiate and conduct discovery proceedings;

   (c) To file the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaints and to file class related motions, including motions for class certification;

   (d) To act as plaintiffs' spokespersons at pretrial conferences and to consult with plaintiffs’ counsel on matters of common concern;

   (e) To conduct pretrial, trial, and post trial proceedings;

   (f) To consult with and employ experts;

   (g) To perform all tasks reasonably necessary to carry out the functions of the Plaintiffs’ Litigation Committee; and

   (h) To negotiate with defense counsel with respect to settlement and other matters.

   3. Defendants. To act as Defendants’ Liaison Counsel, the Court designates:

   [______________________]

   (1) Responsibilities of Defendants’ Liaison Counsel. Defendants’ Liaison Counsel shall have the responsibility of communicating with the Court on behalf of defendants and to receive orders and notices from the Court on behalf of all parties within their Liaison Group and to be responsible for the preparation and transmittal of copies of such orders and notices to the parties in the Liaison Group.

   3. Service of Documents. Only counsel listed in Paragraph 2 above shall be served by overnight courier with a copy of each pleading, motion, or other document filed by a party, and with a copy of each order entered by the Court.

   4. Refinement of Issues.

1. Consolidated Complaint. The plaintiffs in the merits cases and plaintiffs in the related cases may each file a single Consolidated Amended Complaint which shall replace the underlying complaint in each of the actions listed on Attachments [____], respectively, on or before [______________] (the “Consolidated Complaints”).

2. Responsive Pleadings and Rule 12 Motions. Each defendant shall have 30 days from the date of filing of the respective Consolidated Complaints to serve and file its responsive pleadings thereto. The plaintiffs shall have 30 days following service of any motion to dismiss to serve and file opposition briefs (with all supporting papers). The moving defendants shall have until 30 days following service of opposition papers to serve and file joint reply briefs (with all supporting papers).

3. Class Action. The parties will undertake to reach agreement on any class issues to which class certification may be stipulated. Any unresolved matters will be briefed by motions.

   5. Discovery.

1. Schedule. Counsel are directed to meet and establish a proposed schedule for the completion of discovery. (See Attachment “D.”) Discovery matters shall be referred to Magistrate Judge [_____________] for consideration and resolution.

2. General Limitations. All discovery requests and responses are subject to the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 (b) (1) and (g).

3. Documents.

   (1) Preservation and Confidentiality Order. See Attachment E.

   (2) Numbering System. Counsel shall develop and use a system for identifying by a unique number or symbol each document produced or referred to during the course of this Litigation. All copies of the same document should ordinarily be assigned the same identification number.

   (3) Document Depositories. The parties are directed to meet and confer to consider the adoption of a Document Depository Order as provided for in Attachment F.

   (4) Avoidance of Multiple Requests. Counsel shall, to the extent possible, coordinate and consolidate their requests for production and examination of documents to eliminate duplicative requests from the same party.

4. Interrogatories. Counsel shall, to the extent possible, combine their interrogatories to any party into a single set of questions. No question shall be asked that has already been answered in response to interrogatories filed by another party unless there is reason to believe that a different answer will be given. No “contention” interrogatories may be propounded without prior Court order upon a showing of good cause, except...