State Court of Fulton County
`**E-FILED**
`18EV005677
`9/27/2019 3:43 PM
`LeN°ragigflzgfvngE
`IN THE STATE COURT OF FULTON COUNTY
`STATE OF GEORGIA
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`JAMAL WILLIAMS,
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`Plaintiff,
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`V.
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`METRO AMBULANCE SERVICES, INC. AND JOSEPH
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`WEBB,
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`CIVIL ACTION FILE
`NO. 18EV005677
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`VVVVVVVVVV
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`Defendants.
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`SCHEDULING ORDER
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`Having considered the parties’ Joint Motion to Extend Discovery and Motions Deadlines
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`and it appearing to this Court that the interests of the parties and the orderly management of the
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`Court’s business would be served by setting a schedule for the remainder of this litigation,
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`through trial, and for good cause shown,
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`1.
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`DISCOVERY (including, but not limited to, all written discovery, depositions,
`and any expert discovery) shall close on January 30, 2020. Specifically:
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`o Plaintiffs deadline to identify experts that are expected to testify is
`extended to October 3, 2019. Discovery depositions of all experts
`identified by Plaintiffs is extended to November 1, 2019.
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`0 Defendants’ deadline to identify experts that are expected to testify is
`extended to November 15, 2019. Discovery depositions of all experts
`identified by Defendants to be completed is extended to December 16,
`2019.
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`0 Deadline for parties to disclose any rebuttal experts is extended to
`January 2, 2020. Deadline for parties to make any rebuttal experts
`available for deposition is extended to January 30, 2020.
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`2.
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`MEDIATION Shall be completed no later than February 17, 2020. The parties
`shall contact the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) of the Fulton
`County Courts at (404) 612—4549, or select a mutually agreed upon private
`mediator, and arrange for mediation to take place prior to the deadline set forth
`above. All parties are to appear in-person and participate in this mediation and
`make a good faith effort to resolve the issues involved in this case.
`In the event
`that the named parties and counsel do not have full settlement authority, those
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`entities who do have authority shall attend the mediation along with parties and
`counsel.
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`3.
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`DISPOSITIVE and/0r RULE 702 MOTIONS shall be filed no later than
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`March 2, 2020.
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`o TRIAL shall be set by placement on the Court’s April 2020 Civil Jury Trial
`Calendar (if no motions pending) or the first available calendar following the
`Court’s order on any dispositive and/or Rule 702 motions. To request a special
`setting, the parties shall contact the Court’s Staff Attorney and state the basis for
`the request no later than the close of discovery.
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`4.
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`5.
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`6.
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`7.
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`8.
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`DISCOVERY DISPUTES — in addition to the obligations set forth by USCR
`6.4(B), the parties shall meet and confer in person or by telephone in a good faith
`effort to resolve any discovery disputes and, in the event the parties are unable to
`resolve the disputes, contact the Court’s Staff Attorney to request a telephonic
`hearing with the Court, prior to filing any discovery motion. The Court will
`schedule a telephonic hearing, if appropriate, or instruct the parties to brief the
`matter.
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`the identification of witnesses
`WITNESSES — the parties shall supplement
`(except for purposes of impeachment), in response to any applicable discovery
`request, no later than fifteen (15) days after the close of discovery. Failure to do
`so, absent extraordinary circumstances, will result
`in the exclusion of the
`unidentified or late-identified witness.
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`the
`COMMUNICATION WITH THE COURT — the parties may contact
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`Court’s Staff Attorney, Lisa Liang, at Lisa.Liang@fultoncountyga. gov, to inquire
`regarding any procedural issue (scheduling, case status, Court requirements, etc.)
`and/or to arrange a status conference or hearing. Unless instructed by the Court,
`the parties shall not submit letter briefs (including substantive emails addressing
`the merits) or “carbon copy” the Court on correspondence between the parties and
`addressing the merits.
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`PROPOSED ORDERS and COURTESY COPIES — the parties shall e—file
`proposed orders and any courtesy copies of proposed orders (if requested) shall be
`emailed to the Court’s Staff Attorney in Word format.
`The parties are
`discouraged from submitting courtesy copies of briefs to the Court, unless
`specifically requested.
`The parties, however, may contact
`the Court’s Staff
`Attorney regarding any consent/joint filings or other filings necessitating prompt
`action by the Court.
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`ORIGINAL DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPTS — the parties shall e-file scanned
`copies in lieu of original deposition transcripts and retain original deposition
`transcripts until specifically requested by the Court or trial.
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`Failure to comply with this Scheduling Order may result in sanctions, including striking of
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`pleadings, imposition of attorneys’ fees, and exclusion of witnesses and evidence. Except
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`for extraordinary cause shown and by Order of this Court, the deadlines set forth herein
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`shall not be amended.
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`Parties may contact the Staff Attorney, Lisa Liang, by email at
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`Lisa.Liang@fiiltonc0untyga.gov, to raise any scheduling issues not addressed by this Order or
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`request a status conference.
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`This 27th day of September, 2019.
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`/s/ Susan E. Edlein
`Susan E. Edlein
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`Judge, State Court of Fulton County
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