Initial Conference (Law)
Encyclopedia
An Initial conference is one of the first steps of the discovery
process in a civil case
. In the U.S. federal court system
, initial conferences are governed by Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
.
, the plaintiff
must initiate a conference between the parties
to plan for the discovery process
after the complaint was served to the defendants. The parties must confer as soon as practicable after the complaint was served to the defendants — and in any event at least 21 days before a scheduling conference is to be held or a scheduling order is due under Rule 16(b). The parties should attempt to agree on the proposed discovery plan, and submit it to the court within 14 days after the conference.
plan must state the parties' proposals on subject of discovery, limitations on discovery, case management schedule and timing deadlines for each stage of discovery processes, including:
Only after the Initial Disclosures have been sent, the main discovery process begins which includes: depositions
, interrogatories
, request for admissions
(RFA) and request for production
of documents(RFP). Parties must supplement their Initial Disclosures each time when they discover new witnesses or documents that they want to use in court to support their claims or defenses.
Discovery (law)
In U.S.law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the opposing party by means of discovery devices including requests for answers to interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for...
process in a civil case
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
. In the U.S. federal court system
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
, initial conferences are governed by Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then the United States Congress has 7 months to veto the rules promulgated or they become part of the...
.
Rule 26 Conference
According to the FRCPFederal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then the United States Congress has 7 months to veto the rules promulgated or they become part of the...
, the plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
must initiate a conference between the parties
Party (law)
A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. Parties include: plaintiff , defendant , petitioner , respondent , cross-complainant A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be...
to plan for the discovery process
Discovery (law)
In U.S.law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the opposing party by means of discovery devices including requests for answers to interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for...
after the complaint was served to the defendants. The parties must confer as soon as practicable after the complaint was served to the defendants — and in any event at least 21 days before a scheduling conference is to be held or a scheduling order is due under Rule 16(b). The parties should attempt to agree on the proposed discovery plan, and submit it to the court within 14 days after the conference.
Discovery Plan
The discoveryDiscovery (law)
In U.S.law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the opposing party by means of discovery devices including requests for answers to interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for...
plan must state the parties' proposals on subject of discovery, limitations on discovery, case management schedule and timing deadlines for each stage of discovery processes, including:
- End-date of the discovery. This should be at least 60 days before the trial. The trial target date is usually 6 months to 2 years after the conference.
- Amendments to the deadlines for filing pleadings under FRCP 7&15, if any.
- Deadline for amending pleadings. Normally it is at least 30 days before the discovery ends.
- Deadline for joining claims, remedies and parties (FRCP 18&19). Normally it is at least 30 days before the discovery ends.
- Deadline for initial expert disclosures and rebuttal expert disclosures. Normally it is at least 30 days before the discovery ends.
- Deadline for dispositive motions. Usually it is at least 30 days after the discovery end-date.
- Deadline for Pre-trial order. If any dispositive motions are filed, the Joint Pretrial Order can be filed at least 30 days after the last decision on the merits.
Initial Disclosures
Unless all parties agree otherwise, the parties should submit to each other the Initial Disclosures under Rule 26(a) within 14 days after the conference. At minimum, the Initial Disclosures should list:- People that may have discoverable information, their addresses and the subjects of information (including names of the opposite party).
- Description by category and location of documents that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses. The actual copies of the documents can be either attached with the Initial Disclosures or more frequently provided later on the opposite party's request.
- Computation of each category of damages claimed by the disclosing party.
- Any insurance agreement under which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment.
Only after the Initial Disclosures have been sent, the main discovery process begins which includes: depositions
Deposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
, interrogatories
Interrogatories
In law, interrogatories are a formal set of written questions propounded by one litigant and required to be answered by an adversary, in order to clarify matters of fact and help to determine in advance what facts will be presented at any trial in the case.In civil cases, the issues to be decided...
, request for admissions
Request for admissions
A request for admissions are a set of statements sent from one litigant to an adversary, for the purpose of having the adversary admit or deny the statements or allegations therein. Requests for admissions are part of the discovery process in a civil case. In the U.S...
(RFA) and request for production
Request for production
A request for production is a legal request for documents, electronically stored information, or other tangible items. In civil procedure, during the discovery phase of litigation, a party to a lawsuit may request that another party provide any documents that it has that pertain to the subject...
of documents(RFP). Parties must supplement their Initial Disclosures each time when they discover new witnesses or documents that they want to use in court to support their claims or defenses.