The opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
BRADLEY CLYDE FUDGE,
Plaintiff,
v. No. CV 20-674 JB/CG
ALAN J. BROWN, et al.,
Defendants.
INITIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
This case is assigned to me for scheduling, case management, discovery, and all
other non-dispositive motions. Counsel are required to comply with the Local Civil Rules of
the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, in addition to the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. Civility, professionalism, and cooperation are required of counsel
throughout this litigation.
Counsel and any pro se parties will “meet and confer” no later than Tuesday,
February 15, 2022, to discuss: (1) the nature and bases of their claims and defenses; (2)
the possibility of a prompt resolution or settlement; (3) making or arranging for complete
initial disclosures as required by Rule 26(a)(1); (4) preserving discoverable information; and
(5) the formulation of a provisional discovery plan. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1), (f). In formulating
a provisional discovery plan, counsel and pro se parties should meaningfully discuss: (i) the
subjects on which discovery may be needed, when discovery should be completed, and
whether discovery should be conducted in phases or limited to particular issues; (ii) any
issues about the disclosure, discovery, or preservation of electronically stored information,
including the form(s) in which it should be produced; (iii) any issues about claims of privilege
or confidentiality of materials, including exploring whether the parties can agree on a
procedure to assert these claims and whether they will ask the Court to include any
agreement in an order; (iv) whether any changes should be sought to the limitations on
discovery imposed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the Local Civil Rules; and (v)
the facts and the law governing the case to which the parties are willing to stipulate.
Pursuant to Rule 26(d)(2), the parties may deliver discovery requests under Rule 34
prior to the “meet and confer” date, however those requests are not considered to have
been served until the first “meet and confer” session.
Initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) must be made within fourteen (14) days of the
meet and confer session, unless a different time is set by stipulation or court order. The
parties are advised to strictly follow the letter and spirit of Rule 26(a)(1) in preparing their
initial disclosures. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1). Initial disclosures are intended to accelerate the
exchange of core information about the case and eliminate the need for formal discovery at
the early stages of litigation. See 1993 Advisory Committee Notes to Fed. R. Civ. P.
26(a)(1). The parties must seek to meet these objectives in making their initial disclosures,
and should be prepared to explain how they have fully complied with their obligations under
Rule 26(a)(1) at the Rule 16 Scheduling Conference.
The parties will cooperate in preparing a Joint Status Report and Provisional
Discovery Plan (“JSR”) which follows the sample JSR form available on the United States
District Court for the District of New Mexico’s website. All attorneys must show their
complete mailing address and telephone number(s) under the “Appearances” section of the
JSR. Do not indicate witnesses’ addresses as “in care of” an attorney’s office. The city or
town of residence of each witness must be included so that the trial judge can consider that
information in determining the trial location. The parties are to fill in the blanks for proposed
dates, bearing in mind that the time allowed for discovery is generally 120 to 180 days from
the date of the Rule 16 Initial Scheduling Conference. The Court will determine actual case
management deadlines after considering the parties’ requests. Plaintiff, or Defendant in
removed cases, is responsible for electronically filing the JSR by Tuesday, February 22,
2022.
Parties may not modify case management deadlines on their own. Good cause must
be shown and the Court’s written approval obtained for any modification of the case
management deadlines that the Court establishes at the scheduling conference.
A Rule 16 Scheduling Conference will be conducted by telephone on Tuesday,
March 1, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Parties shall call Judge Garza’s AT&T Teleconference line at
(877) 810-9415, follow the prompts, and enter the Access Code 7467959, to be connected
to the proceedings.
At the conference, counsel and any pro se parties must be prepared to discuss all
claims and defenses, initial disclosures, discovery requests and scheduling, issues relating
to the disclosure, discovery, or preservation of electronically-stored information, the timing of
expert disclosures and reports under Rule 26(a)(2), and the use of scientific evidence and
whether it is anticipated that a Dauberf' hearing will be needed. We will also discuss
settlement prospects and alternative dispute resolution possibilities. Lead counsel and
parties appearing pro se must participate unless excused by the Court. Parties represented
by counsel need not attend.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
THE HONORABLE CARMEN E. GARZA
CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
1 Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993).