STATE OF GEORGIA! i,- 1 ii tu 1, Rs I fa~~~~~,

Transcription

1 THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY I STATE OF GEORGIA! i,- 1 ii tu 1, Rs I fa~~~~~, IN RE: PROCEDURE FOR ALL ) I I CIVIL CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE ) JUDGE KELLY LEE EI:I:ERBE - - ELLERBE'S DIVISION ) AMENDED STANDING CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER FOR CIVIL CASES IN JUDGE KELLY LEE ELLERBE'S DIVISION SECTION 1. E-FILING NOTICE. Electronic filing ( e-filing) is mandatory in Fulton County Superior Court effective October 5, All parties shall create an account with efilega and add a service contact to this case to ensure consistent service of orders and other notices from the Court. Please visit for account registration, information, and training. Filing fees will apply for all e-filing transactions. The parties are still required to send courtesy copies to the Court as detailed in Section 7. Additionally, the parties are now required to provide their exhibits in digital form as further detailed in Section 11 (F). Please visit for more information and to see the May 16, 2017 Standing Order Regarding Electronic Filing for Civil Cases. SECTION 2. GENERAL. This Case Management Order shall guide the future progress of this case and inform the parties and/or their attorneys of the Court's order, expectations and deadlines. Please read it carefully and provide it to all co-counsel and the Page 1 of20

2 paraprofessionals who will be assisting you in handling this case. Parties without attorneys ("Self-Represented Litigants") are responsible for understanding and following the instructions and procedures described herein without additional guidance from the Court. This Order is being entered after the Court provided the parties advance Notice of the Court's Intent to Enter Case Management Order setting forth a sixmonth discovery deadline, with other pre-trial and trial deadlines keying off the discovery deadline. Notice of the Court's Intent to Enter Case Management Order was served on the parties or their counsel of record via efilega unless otherwise noted. The parties were provided an opportunity to communicate their requests concerning the Court's proposed deadlines and to request a conference with the Court before this Case Management Order was entered. The parties are hereby ordered to abide by the following: SECTION 3. COMMUNICATING WITH THE COURT. The Court bas chosen to communicate by , whenever possible, for the sake of efficiency and economy. Please include your address on all Court submissions. If you do not check your s, please arrange to have them forwarded to someone in your office who will be responsible for checking them and informing you of the messages/documents that have been sent. To avoid ex parte communications, submit all questions, explanations and discussions Page 2 of20

3 concerning this case by , with a copy to opposmg counsel to Jennifer.Ventry@fultoncountyga.gov. For this same reason and to prevent miscommunications, please avoid telephoning except in exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, the Court cannot counsel on procedure or on the law. SECTION 4. DEADLINE EXTENSIONS, GENERALLY. Notify the Court immediately of any problem or dispute ( e.g., discovery issues, witness unavailability, illness, or the late addition of parties or claims) that could delay the deadlines or hearing dates set forth herein. Modification of any deadline or hearing date requires the Court's approval, even if all parties consent to the change. Any requests for deadline extensions should be made as soon as the need arises and before the deadline expires. No continuances will be granted except for good cause shown. Extensions of discovery are governed by Section 6F. SECTION 5. EARLY MOTIONS. "Early Motions" is defined as motions which are dispositive of some or all of the issues in the case and for which discovery is not needed. "Early Motions" include motions to dismiss, motions for more definite statement and the like. All "Early Motions" shall be due on or they will be waived. In the event an "Early Motion" is filed which stays discovery under the Civil Practice Act, such as where O.C.G.A (±) applies, discovery will stay and resume as indicated in the Rule absent further Order of this Court. Page 3 of20

4 SECTION 6. DISCOVERY. A. Discovery Deadlines The period in which the parties can compel discovery shall end on. All discovery requests must be served early enough so that the responses thereto are due on or before the last day of the discovery period. B. Expert Discovery The disclosures shall include the names, subject matters, substance of facts and opinions, and a summary of the grounds for each opinion which any expert is expected to testify at trial on issues which the disclosing party bears the burden of proof. Disclosures shall be made 30 days prior to the end of discovery. C. Discovery Responses - Boilerplate and General Objections Boilerplate objections in response to discovery requests are strongly discouraged. Parties should not carelessly invoke the usual litany of rote objections, i.e., attorney-client privilege, work-product immunity from discovery, overly broad/unduly burdensome, not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, unless the responding party has a valid basis for these objections. General objections are disfavored, i.e., a party should avoid including in his response to a discovery request an introductory or "General Objections" section stating that the party objects to the discovery request "to the extent that" it violates some rule pertaining to discovery, e.g., the attorney-client Page 4 of20

5 privilege, the work product immunity from discovery, and the prohibition against discovery requests that are vague, ambiguous, overly broad, or unduly burdensome. Instead, each individual discovery request should be met with every specific objection that actually applies to that particular request. All general objections may be disregarded by the Court. Finally, a party who objects to a discovery request but then responds to the request must indicate whether the response is complete. For example, in response to an interrogatory, a party is not permitted to raise objections and then state, "Subject to these objections and without waiving them, the response is as follows" unless the party expressly indicates whether additional information would have been included in the response but for the objection(s). Evidence introduced at trial which was requested but not disclosed during the discovery period will not be admitted. D. Conduct During Depositions i. At the beginning of the deposition, deposing counsel shall instruct the witness to ask deposing counsel, rather than the witness' own counsel, for clarifications, definitions or explanations of any words, questions or documents presented during the course of the deposition. The witness shall abide by these instructions. ii. All objections except those that would be waived if not made at the deposition under O.C.G.A (d) (3) (B) and those necessary to assert a Page 5 of20

6 privilege or to present a motion pursuant to O.C.G.A (d), shall be preserved. Therefore, those objections need not be made during the course of depositions. If counsel defending a deposition feels compelled to make objections during depositions, counsel shall limit the objections to only "objection to form." Defending counsel shall only elaborate on the objection upon the request of deposing counsel. Defending counsel shall avoid speaking objections except in extraordinary circumstances. Counsel shall not make objections or statements that might suggest an answer to a witness. iii. Counsel shall not instruct a witness not to answer a question unless that counsel has made a well founded objected to the question on the ground that the answer is protected by a privilege or a limitation on evidence directed by the Court. iv. Counsel and their witnesses-clients shall not engage m private off-therecord conferences during depositions or during breaks regarding any of counsel's questions or the witness' answers, except for the purpose of deciding whether to assert a privilege. Any conferences that occur pursuant to, or in violation of, this rule are a proper subject for inquiry by deposing counsel to ascertain whether there has been any witness-coaching and, if so, what. Any conferences that occur pursuant to, or in violation of, this rule shall be noted on the record by the counsel who participated in the conference. Page 6 of20

7 v. Deposing counsel shall provide to the witness' counsel a copy of all documents shown to the witness during the deposition. The copies shall be provided either before the deposition begins or contemporaneously with the showing of each document to the witness. The witness and the witness' counsel do not have the right to discuss documents privately before the witness answers questions about them. vi. Depositions are limited to seven hours of time on the record. Breaks do not count when calculating the duration of the deposition. E. Discovery Disputes Motions to compel must conform to the requirements of Uniform Superior Court Rules 6.4(A) and (B). The Court has noticed a number of litigants not adhering to the requirement that they confer with one another prior to sending a discovery dispute. "At the time of filing the motion, counsel shall also file a statement certifying that such conference has occurred and that the effort to resolve by agreement the issues raised failed." Ga. Unif. Super. Ct. R. 6.4(B). The motion to compel shall be limited to no more than 5 single line spaced pages. Responses to the motion to compel shall be filed within one (1) week of the filing of the motion to compel and shall be limited to no more than 5 single line spaced pages. Neither replies nor sur-replies will be considered without prior approval from the Court. Approval may be requested informally by and Page 7 of20

8 should explain the reason why a reply or sur-reply is needed. If prior Court approval is obtained, replies and/or sur-replies shall also be limited to no more than 5 pages, single spaced. The Court will address discovery issues via telephone conference, as appropriate. F. Discovery Extensions Except in extraordinary circumstances where a request is made and good cause shown prior to the expiration of the discovery period, no extension of time for discovery or other discovery motions will be granted. The request for a discovery extension, for which a formal motion is not required, shall include all the current deadlines and all proposed litigation deadline extensions, including the new proposed deadlines for filing dispositive motions and readiness for trial. All requests for discovery extensions shall also include a list of discovery conducted thus far, the requested deadline extension, and a schedule of outstanding discovery to be completed during the requested extension. Without this detail, requests for discovery extensions will not be considered. G. Failure to Disclose A party's failure to disclose a witness who may be called to testify at trial prior to the close of discovery will not be cause to continue a trial and, unless good cause is shown for the omission, may cause the undisclosed witness' testimony to be excluded, the striking of pleadings or other sanctions. Kohler v. Van Peteghem, Page 8 of20

9 330 Ga. App. 230 (2014); Hart v. Northside Hosp., Inc., 291 Ga. App. 208, 210, n. 9 (2008). SECTION 7. MOTIONS. Except as otherwise provided in the Civil Practice Act or ordered by the Court, all motions, including dispositive motions, such as motions for summary judgment and Daubert motions, must be filed and served upon the opposing party in accordance with the Civil Practice Act and the Uniform Superior Court Rules, within a month after the close of fact discovery. Except upon written permission of the Court, briefs and responsive briefs shall be limited to limited to twenty-five (25) pages in length, excluding exhibits. Approval may be requested informally by . Every ministerial motion ( e.g., motion to extend, exceed page limits, withdrawal) must be accompanied by a proposed order. Generally, motions will be determined upon the written motion and supporting documents; however, the Court may allow oral argument sua sponte, upon good-cause shown in a written request, or as otherwise prescribed in the Civil Practice Act. Submit any requests for oral argument relating to summary judgment motions in accordance with U.S.C.R Failure to respond to any motion within the time afforded by the Uniform Superior Court Rules (unless extended) will indicate that there is no opposition to Page 9 of20

10 the motion. The Court notes Odyssey, the Court's case management system, only notifies the Court when motions, dismissals, or stipulations are filed and are docketed as such. The Court does not receive notice of briefs though the Court will check the docket after the thirty-third day to see if a response brief has been filed. If a motion or response brief is over thirty (30) pages in length, including exhibits, it must be hand delivered or mailed to Chambers. SECTION 8. PROPOSED ORDERS. Proposed orders may be efiled or ed to the Court. If the proposed order is efiled, it must contain the signature ( electronic or ink) of the counsel who prepared the proposed order. Proposed orders shall include a distribution list only if there are parties who are not registered for efilega. SECTION 9. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The parties are expected to utilize a formal ADR process to resolve their disputes and will be allowed to choose the timing and manner of their efforts. If the parties choose to participate in mediation, the neutral must be registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. When the parties participate in ADR, they shall schedule mediation or arbitration so as not to delay discovery, motions, trial or otherwise affect the progress of the litigation. A request for the Court to enter an Order directing this case to mediation through the Fulton County ADR Page 10 of20

11 Office shall be submitted in writing with a copy to opposing counsel. Your participation in ADR will not cause the continuance of any deadline contained herein. SECTION 10. CONSOLIDATED PRE-TRIAL ORDERS. A. Generally If a party files a jury demand in this case, or if a party anticipates wanting a trial by jury, then the parties shall submit, by , a fully consolidated pre-trial order directly to the Judge's chambers one (I) week before the trial calendar, designated below, begins. Plaintiff/Petitioner shall be responsible for consolidating the pre-trial order. All other parties shall provide their portions of the consolidated pre-trial order to the Plaintiff/Petitioner no later than two (2) business days prior to the due date. No party may submit their own individual portions of the pre-trial order to the Court without written certification detailing their good-faith efforts to present the Court with a fully consolidated order. Extensions for submitting proposed pre-trial orders will be granted only for good-cause shown. ''Failure of counsel to... present a proposed pre-trial order shall authorize the court to... enter such pre-trial order as the court shall deem appropriate, or impose any other appropriate sanction." Ga. Unif. Super. Ct. R See also Triple A Distrib. v. Carrier Reps, USA, Inc., 193 Ga. App. 348 (I 989) (plaintiffs counsel who failed to Page 11 of 20

12 prepare pretrial order could be required to pay attorney fees to defendant for its counsel's time in preparing proposed order). B. Statement of Contentions The plaintiff shall explicitly state all theories of liability together with the type and amount of each type of damage sought. The specific actionable conduct shall be set out, and, in a multi-defendant case, the actionable conduct of each defendant shall be identified. The defendant shall explicitly set out any affirmative defenses upon which it intends to rely at trial, as well as satisfy the above requirements with respect to any counterclaims. C. Potential Witnesses In identifying witnesses, it is not sufficient to include boiler plate language covering groups of potential witnesses, such as "all individuals identified during discovery." Instead, trial witnesses must be identified by name. Failure to identify a witness, including expert witnesses, by name in the consolidated pretrial order may result in the exclusion of the undisclosed witness' testimony from trial. In listing witnesses or exhibits, a party may not reserve the right to supplement his list, nor shall a party adopt another party's list by reference. D. Exhibits, Depositions, and Discovery Requests In preparing the pre-trial order, each party shall identify to opposing counsel each deposition, interrogatory or request to admit response, or portion thereof, Page 12 of20

13 which the party expects to or may introduce at trial, except for impeachment. All exhibits, depositions, and interrogatory and request to admit responses shall be admitted at trial when offered unless the opposing party indicates an objection to it in the pre-trial order. SECTION 11. TRIAL AND TRIAL PREPARATION. This case will be placed on the trial calendar, which is approximately four months after the close of fact discovery. You will receive a Notice of Trial approximately one month prior to the date of the trial calendar. It is possible, due typically to the case load of the Court, that this case will be placed on a later trial calendar. However, the parties should anticipate this case will be tried in the month indicated above. The Court will not specially set a case for trial, even if the case involves professional or out of town witnesses. The Court will call the cases for trial in the order in which they appear on the calendar, except in exceptional circumstances. The Court will notify the parties or their counsel of trial by publication in the Fulton County Daily Report at least twenty-one days before the call of the first case listed. Immediately upon publication of the trial calendar, the parties are ordered to contact the Staff Attorney (jennifer.venhy@fultoncountyga.gov), with the status of the case, the estimated length of trial and the possibilities of settlement during the trial calendar. All conflict letters must be submitted one week before Page 13 of20

14 the trial calendar begins and must follow U.S.C.R. 17.l in proposrng a resolution. Continuances will be granted only on the basis of exceptional circumstances. The Court handles a large number of civil and criminal cases each month with limited resources. Please assist the Court in efficiently and effectively managing its workload and resources by avoiding requests that do not meet this threshold. A. Motions in Limine and Depositions Used at Trial. Motions in Li mine shall be made in writing, filed no later than one (1) week pnor to the beginning of the trial calendar. If the parties intend to rely on deposition testimony, attorneys are instructed to confer prior to trial and attempt to agree on the testimony to be presented. If the attorneys cannot agree on what portions of the deposition testimony should be excluded, the attorneys are instructed to jointly prepare a list of the page and line numbers at issue and provide it to the Court at the time they file their motions in limine, along with the relevant text from the deposition. B. Voir Dire. The Court will prepare and read general vorr dire questions to the Jury. Attorneys may submit special voir dire questions for the Court's consideration one (1) week prior to the beginning of the trial calendar. Attorneys will be allowed to conduct their own individual voir dire, based on the questions Page 14 of20

15 they submit for the Court's consideration. C. Verdict Forms. The attorneys shall submit any proposed verdict forms to the Staff Attorney by no later than one (I) week prior to the beginning of the trial calendar. D. Jury Charges. Each attorney shall list by title and pattern number the applicable pattern charges that he or she requests be given, using the current pattern charges published by the Council of Superior Court Judges, (the pattern charges are updated January and July of each year). Please do not recite the text of the pattern charge, just list the title and pattern number. In addition, attorneys may request non-pattern charges, if there is no pattern charge that covers the issue. In requesting non-pattern charges, attorneys shall reference applicable statutory or case authority. The parties are limited to requesting 20 non-pattern jury charges absent prior Order from the Court based on motion and good cause shown for requesting additional non-pattern jury charges. The Court will not give duplicative charges and will defer to pattern, rather than non-pattern charges. Therefore, please do not burden Court resources by unnecessarily requesting non-pattern charges. In addition to filing jury charge requests with the Clerk, attorneys shall also a copy m Word version to the Staff Attorney Page 15 of20

16 at least three (3) business days before the beginning of the trial calendar. E. Exhibits & Demonstrative Evidence. All exhibits and demonstrative evidence shall be marked with exhibit labels and exchanged among the parties prior to the beginning of the trial of the case. The parties are instructed to work together and agree, at least as to authenticity, on all such exhibits where possible. In the event that over I 00 exhibits are anticipated and in dispute, the parties must notify the court one week in advance of trial so that the Court can decide whether to schedule a pre-trial hearing. F. Digital Submission of Exhibits. Pursuant to Rules 2.2 and 4.2 of the Judicial Council of Georgia, counsel is required to mark with exhibit labels and provide all documentary evidence to the court reporter in digital format at the time of tender, unless otherwise ordered by the court. Due to the size limits of efilega, counsel is required to: (1) scan all exhibits individually and them to the court reporter; or (2) scan all exhibits individually and place them on a disc for the court reporter. For oversized or nonpaper exhibits, e.g., guns, poster boards, etc., you may submit a digital photograph of the object marked with an exhibit sticker. If no photograph is submitted, then a piece of paper describing the exhibit, e.g., gun, poster board, etc., will be inserted Page 16 of20

17 by the court reporter in its place as the exhibit attached to the transcript. Regarding DVDs/CDs exhibits, provide the court reporter with the original and one copy. They will need to be contained in a hard case (e.g., jewel case). Geraldine Glover 1s the Court's assigned court reporter and her address 1s Gera1dine.G1over@fultoncountyga.gov. G. Courtroom Technology Superior Court of Fulton County has state of the art technology for displaying evidentiary materials. Please prepare for trial by contacting Court Technology Services at (404) at least one week before trial to make certain the evidence viewing equipment has the associated media player, drivers and accessories necessary for you to make an effective presentation and that you are trained on use of the equipment before day one of trial. See also The Court not available to give tips on how to work the courtroom technology. SECTION 12. COURTROOM CONDUCT. These instructions are designed to promote uniformity and proper decorum m the courtroom practice. Members of the Bar and parties, including Self Represented Litigants, should adhere to these instructions to the maximum practical extent. Page 17 of20

18 A. Examination of Witnesses and Argument. Counsel should conduct examination of witnesses from the lectern or the counsel table. Do not approach a witness without receiving permission of the Court. If permission is granted for the purpose of working with an exhibit, resume examination from the table or lectern when finished with the exhibit. During opening statements and summation, Counsel should stand at the lectern or table, unless the Court grants permission to approach another area for a proper purpose. B. Objections to Questions or Testimony. When objecting during trial, state only that you are objecting and specify the ground(s) for the objection. Do not utilize objections for the purpose of making a speech, recapitulating testimony, or attempting to guide the witness. Typically, the grounds for objections can be stated in three words or less ( calls for speculation, lack of foundation, hearsay, asked and answered). Argument upon the objection will not be heard until permission is given or argument is requested by the Court. The parties may request a sidebar discussion if there is a need to elaborate on the grounds for or response to an objection. C. Court Hours and Promptness. The Court makes every effort to begin proceedings at the time set, and thus, promptness is expected from counsel, parties and witnesses. Arrange the schedule of the case to avoid unnecessary delay. If a witness is scheduled to testify on a Page 18 of20

19 certain date, have the witness ready to take the stand when reached, so as not to delay trial. If you have reason to anticipate any scheduling difficulties, or that any question of law or evidence will provoke an argument, provide the Court with advance notice. Finally, the Court reminds the parties that failure to strictly adhere to the Local Procedures, the Uniform Superior Court Rules, the Civil Practice Act, or the Court's orders in the above-captioned case may result in sanctions. SECTION 13. SANCTIONS. The parties should note that sanctions for the failure to abide by the deadlines set out in this or any other Order, or for failing to timely supplement disclosure responses as required by O.C.G.A. 9-l l-26(e) and this Order, may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the striking of pleadings, entry of default, exclusion of evidence, and charging of costs against the offending party. See Kohler v. Van Peteghem, 330 Ga. App. 230 (2014); Hart v. Northside Hospital, Inc., 291 Ga. App. at 210, n. 9; OTS, Inc. v. Weinstock & Scavo, P. C., 339 Ga. App. 511 (2016); Doherty v. Brown, 339 Ga. App. 567 (2016). Further, the Court may choose to consider motions filed outside of the deadlines set in this Case Management Order to prevent manifest injustice. See Velasco v. Chambless, 295 Ga. App. 376 (2008). Page 19 of20

20 SO ORDERED, this rit of 1)~UW\\,,w, KE LY L E LLERBE, JUDGE SUPERI OURT OF FULTON COUNTY ATLANTA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT Page 20 of20