28 U.S.C. § 473 : US Code - Section 473: Content of civil justice expense and delay reduction plans

Search 28 U.S.C. § 473 : US Code - Section 473: Content of civil justice expense and delay reduction plans

(a) In formulating the provisions of its civil justice expense
and delay reduction plan, each United States district court, in
consultation with an advisory group appointed under section 478 of
this title, shall consider and may include the following principles
and guidelines of litigation management and cost and delay
reduction:
(1) systematic, differential treatment of civil cases that
tailors the level of individualized and case specific management
to such criteria as case complexity, the amount of time
reasonably needed to prepare the case for trial, and the judicial
and other resources required and available for the preparation
and disposition of the case;
(2) early and ongoing control of the pretrial process through
involvement of a judicial officer in -
(A) assessing and planning the progress of a case;
(B) setting early, firm trial dates, such that the trial is
scheduled to occur within eighteen months after the filing of
the complaint, unless a judicial officer certifies that -
(i) the demands of the case and its complexity make such a
trial date incompatible with serving the ends of justice; or
(ii) the trial cannot reasonably be held within such time
because of the complexity of the case or the number or
complexity of pending criminal cases;
(C) controlling the extent of discovery and the time for
completion of discovery, and ensuring compliance with
appropriate requested discovery in a timely fashion; and
(D) setting, at the earliest practicable time, deadlines for
filing motions and a time framework for their disposition;
(3) for all cases that the court or an individual judicial
officer determines are complex and any other appropriate cases,
careful and deliberate monitoring through a discovery-case
management conference or a series of such conferences at which
the presiding judicial officer -
(A) explores the parties' receptivity to, and the propriety
of, settlement or proceeding with the litigation;
(B) identifies or formulates the principal issues in
contention and, in appropriate cases, provides for the staged
resolution or bifurcation of issues for trial consistent with
Rule 42(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
(C) prepares a discovery schedule and plan consistent with
any presumptive time limits that a district court may set for
the completion of discovery and with any procedures a district
court may develop to -
(i) identify and limit the volume of discovery available to
avoid unnecessary or unduly burdensome or expensive
discovery; and
(ii) phase discovery into two or more stages; and
(D) sets, at the earliest practicable time, deadlines for
filing motions and a time framework for their disposition;
(4) encouragement of cost-effective discovery through voluntary
exchange of information among litigants and their attorneys and
through the use of cooperative discovery devices;
(5) conservation of judicial resources by prohibiting the
consideration of discovery motions unless accompanied by a
certification that the moving party has made a reasonable and
good faith effort to reach agreement with opposing counsel on the
matters set forth in the motion; and
(6) authorization to refer appropriate cases to alternative
dispute resolution programs that -
(A) have been designated for use in a district court; or
(B) the court may make available, including mediation,
minitrial, and summary jury trial.
(b) In formulating the provisions of its civil justice expense
and delay reduction plan, each United States district court, in
consultation with an advisory group appointed under section 478 of
this title, shall consider and may include the following litigation
management and cost and delay reduction techniques:
(1) a requirement that counsel for each party to a case jointly
present a discovery-case management plan for the case at the
initial pretrial conference, or explain the reasons for their
failure to do so;
(2) a requirement that each party be represented at each
pretrial conference by an attorney who has the authority to bind
that party regarding all matters previously identified by the
court for discussion at the conference and all reasonably related
matters;
(3) a requirement that all requests for extensions of deadlines
for completion of discovery or for postponement of the trial be
signed by the attorney and the party making the request;
(4) a neutral evaluation program for the presentation of the
legal and factual basis of a case to a neutral court
representative selected by the court at a nonbinding conference
conducted early in the litigation;
(5) a requirement that, upon notice by the court,
representatives of the parties with authority to bind them in
settlement discussions be present or available by telephone
during any settlement conference; and
(6) such other features as the district court considers
appropriate after considering the recommendations of the advisory
group referred to in section 472(a) of this title.
(c) Nothing in a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan
relating to the settlement authority provisions of this section
shall alter or conflict with the authority of the Attorney General
to conduct litigation on behalf of the United States, or any
delegation of the Attorney General.