This page contains information about the Attorney Planning Meeting Reports, Scheduling Orders, Amended Scheduling Orders, and the court's Standard Protective Order in effect under DUCivR 26-2.

In most civil cases, the court will enter an Order to Propose Schedule that will contain specific instructions and deadlines for filing a motion for the Attorney Planning Meeting Report and a Proposed Scheduling Order. In the absence of an Order to Propose Schedule, counsel should nonetheless conduct an Attorney Planning Meeting Conference under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) as soon as practicable. 

Motion for Scheduling Order: Under the Order to Propose Schedule, if any, or after the Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) Attorney Planning Meeting Conference, the parties must file one of the following motions:

• If the parties reach agreement on all issues in the Attorney Planning Meeting Report, they must file a Stipulated Motion for Scheduling Order and attach the jointly signed Attorney Planning Meeting Report. They must also email a stipulated Proposed Scheduling Order in an editable format to the magistrate judge assigned to the case or, if none, to the assigned district judge.

• If the parties do not agree on all issues in the Attorney Planning Meeting Report, they must file a Motion for Scheduling Conference and attach a copy of the Attorney Planning Meeting Report. They must also email their respective Proposed Scheduling Orders in an editable format to the magistrate judge assigned to the case or, if none, to the assigned district judge.

Amendments to a Scheduling Order: To amend an existing Scheduling Order, a Motion (or Stipulated Motion) to Amend Scheduling Order should be filed. It is improper to use a combined "motion and order" to amend a Scheduling Order. The Motion to Amend Scheduling Order should include the existing dates and the proposed dates. When a motion is filed, the filing party must simultaneously email a new Proposed Scheduling Order in an editable format to the magistrate judge assigned to the case or, if none, to the assigned district judge. Even if the parties stipulated to the amendment, the motion must reflect good cause or, if the deadlines have passed, excusable neglect under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1).

If the amendment would cause the case to be pending for more than three years from the date it was commenced, the motion may be denied or the judge may schedule a hearing to determine whether good cause or excusable neglect exist before amending the scheduling order.

Forms: The standard forms found on this page are preferred.