IN THE STATE COURT OF FULTON COUNTY
`STATE OF GEORGIA
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`_____________________________,
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`_____________________________,
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`Defendant.
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`CIVIL ACTION FILE
`NO. ____EV____________D
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`CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
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`Pursuant to Judge Edlein’s Standing Order in E-File Cases, the parties conducted an early
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`planning conference on ______________________, with the following counsel (and/or pro se
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`parties) in attendance:1
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`Party
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`Counsel (name and email address)
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`___________________________________ ___________________________________
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`___________________________________ ___________________________________
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`___________________________________ ___________________________________
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`___________________________________ ___________________________________
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`___________________________________ ___________________________________
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`Parties not in attendance: __________________________________________________
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`The parties having conferred in an effort to settle the case, discuss discovery, limit issues,
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`and discuss other matters addressed by this Case Management Order (“CMO”),
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`1 Please also provide those parties (with answers on file) who failed to attend the early planning
`conference.
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`State Court of Fulton County
`***EFILED***
`File & ServeXpress
`Transaction ID: 65627808
`Case Number: 20EV001885
`Date: May 11 2020 12:13PM
`LeNora Ponzo, Chief Clerk
`Civil Division
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`IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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` DISCOVERY (including, but not limited to, written discovery, depositions, and
`any expert discovery) commenced on ___________________ pursuant to USCR
`5.1 and shall close on ___________________. [Guideline: Personal Injury – 6
`months; Complex Personal Injury (including Wrongful Death) – 12 months;
`Medical Malpractice – 12 months; Complex Medical Malpractice (including
`Wrongful Death) – 18 months; Contract – 6 months; Complex Contract – 12
`months; Other – 6 months (12 months if Complex)] Basis for any departure from
`designation:2
`the
`guideline
`or
`for
`“complex”
`__________________________________________________________________
`__________________________________________________________________
`__________________________________________________________________
`_________________________________________.
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` EXPERT DISCOVERY (if applicable): All expert discovery must be
`completed by the above discovery deadline. The plaintiff(s) shall identify
`experts that are expected to testify at trial no later than __________________.
`Discovery depositions of all experts identified by the plaintiff(s) shall be
`completed no later than ____________________. The defendant(s) shall identify
`experts that are expected to testify at trial no later than __________________.
`Discovery depositions of all experts identified by the defendant(s) shall be
`completed no later than ___________________. The parties shall disclose any
`rebuttal experts within 45 days of the conclusion of the deposition of the expert to
`be rebutted, but no later than __________________, and shall make any rebuttal
`experts available for deposition no later than __________________.
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` MEDIATION, through the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) of
`the Fulton County Courts (404.612.4549) or private mediator mutually agreed
`upon by the parties, shall be completed no later than 15 days after the close of
`discovery, __________________.3 All parties are to 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 entities who do have authority shall attend the mediation along with parties
`and counsel.
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`2 Complex cases involve large number of parties, large number of claims and defenses, highly
`technical and exceptionally complex issues and proof, multiple experts, greater than normal
`amount of documents and evidence (including electronically-stored information), problems
`locating and preserving documents and evidence (including electronically-stored information),
`and extensive discovery outside the State of Georgia.
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`3 Alternatively, the parties may request a referral to a Judicially-Hosted Settlement Conference.
`Such request shall be directed to the Court’s Staff Attorney no later than ninety (90) days prior to
`the mediation deadline set by the CMO and shall set forth the reasons for the request.
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` DISPOSITIVE and/or RULE 702 MOTIONS shall be filed no later than thirty
`(30) days after the close of discovery. Prior to filing any Rule 702 motion, the
`parties shall meet and confer in a good faith effort to resolve the evidentiary
`issue(s).
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` TRIAL BY JURY shall be set by placement on the Court’s Civil Jury Trial
`calendar approximately sixty (60) days after the close of discovery (if no motions
`pending) or on the next civil trial calendar after 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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`IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the following PRACTICES and PROCEDURES
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`govern this litigation:
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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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` WITNESSES – the parties shall supplement the identification of witnesses
`(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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` COMMUNICATION WITH THE COURT – the parties may contact the
`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. Email correspondence, ensuring
`all parties are copied to the email, is highly preferred. 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 CMO may result in sanctions, including striking of pleadings,
`imposition of attorneys’ fees, and exclusion of witnesses and evidence. Except for good
`cause shown and by Order of this Court, the deadlines set forth by this CMO shall not be
`amended.
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`This ____ day of _____________, 2019.
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`Submitted by:
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`_____________________________
`Susan E. Edlein
`Judge, State Court of Fulton County
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