United States District Court, E.D. California
ORDER SETTING MANDATORY SCHEDULING
CONFERENCE
ERICA
P. GROSJEAN U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Rule 16
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ.
P.”) requires the Court to enter a Scheduling
Conference Order within 120 days of the date the complaint is
served upon the defendant.[1] Therefore, it is ordered that all
parties attend a formal Scheduling Conference before United
States Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean, in Courtroom 10 at
the United States Courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA
93721.
Service
of Summons and Complaint
The
Court is unable to conduct the Scheduling Conference until
the defendant has been served with the summons and complaint.
Accordingly, the plaintiff shall diligently pursue service of
the summons and complaint and dismiss any defendant the
plaintiff no longer intends to name in this action. The
plaintiff shall promptly file proofs of service of the
summons and complaint so the Court has a record of service.
Counsel are referred to Fed.R.Civ.P. 4, regarding the
requirement of timely service of the complaint. Failure to
timely serve the summons and complaint may result in the
imposition of sanctions, including dismissal of unserved
defendants.
Plaintiff’s
counsel shall also serve a copy of this Order on the
defendant, or, if identified, on their counsel, promptly upon
receipt of this Order. Thereafter, Plaintiff shall file an
appropriate proof of such service with the Court, in
compliance with Rule 135(a) of the Local Rules for the
Eastern District of California.
Appearance
at Scheduling Conference
Attendance
at the Scheduling Conference is mandatory for all
parties. Parties may appear by their counsel, if represented.
If a party is not represented by counsel, they must appear
personally at the Scheduling Conference. Telephonic
appearances are not available for pro se parties, i.e., those
not represented by counsel. Trial counsel should
participate in this Scheduling Conference whenever possible.
If one
or more parties are represented by counsel and wish to appear
telephonically, counsel shall contact Michelle Means Rooney,
Courtroom Deputy Clerk, at (559) 499-5962 sufficiently in
advance of the conference so that a notation can be placed on
the court calendar. If more than one party is appearing
telephonically, counsel shall decide who will be responsible
for arranging a one-line conference call and shall initiate
the call at the designated time. After all parties are on
the line, the call should then be placed to Judge
Grosjean’s chambers at (559) 499-5960. Additionally,
counsel are directed to indicate on the face page of their
Joint Scheduling Report that the conference will be
telephonic.
Joint
Scheduling Report
A Joint
Scheduling Report, carefully prepared and executed by all
counsel shall be electronically filed in CM/ECF, one (1) full
week prior to the Scheduling Conference and shall be emailed
in Word format to epgorders@caed.uscourts.gov. The
Joint Scheduling Report shall indicate the date, time, and
courtroom of the Scheduling Conference. This information is
to be placed opposite the caption on the first page of the
Report.
At
least twenty (20) days prior to the Mandatory Scheduling
Conference, trial counsel for all parties shall conduct a
conference at a mutually agreed upon time and place. This
should preferably be a personal conference between all
counsel but a telephonic conference call involving all
counsel/pro se parties is permissible. The Joint Scheduling
Report shall contain the following items by corresponding
numbered paragraphs:
1.
Summary of the factual and legal contentions set forth in the
pleadings of each party, including the relief sought by any
party presently before the Court.
2.
Summary of major disputed facts and contentions of law.
3. A
proposed deadline for amendments to pleadings. Any proposed
amendment to the pleadings shall be referenced in the
Scheduling Conference Report. If the matter cannot be
resolved at the Scheduling Conference, the moving party shall
file a motion to amend in accordance with the Local Rules of
the Eastern District of California.
4. The
status of all matters which are presently set before the
Court, ...