IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR

THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

NORTHERN DIVISION

FARMERS TELECOMMUNICATIONS )

COOPERATIVE, INC., )

 )

Plaintiff, )

 )

v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:06CV790-WC

 )

VERIZON BUSINESS NETWORK )

SERVICES INC., et al., )

 )

Defendants. )

UNIFORM SCHEDULING ORDER

Pursuant to the parties' Rule 26(f) Report (Doc. #15), this Court's order (Doc. #20), and the

scheduling conference held in this case, it is ORDERED:

SECTION 1. A pretrial hearing of this case is scheduled for 25 January 2008, at 10:00 a.m.

in Courtroom 5A, The Frank M. Johnson, Jr. United States Courthouse Complex, One Church

Street, Montgomery, Alabama, before the undersigned Magistrate Judge. This cause is set for jury

selection commencing on 25 February 2008, in Montgomery, Alabama, before Chief Magistrate

Judge Charles S. Coody. Trial will commence immediately following jury selection before the

undersigned Magistrate Judge.

SECTION 2. Any dispositive motions, i.e., motions to dismiss or motions for summary

judgment, shall be filed no later than November 27, 2007. A brief and all supporting evidence shall

be filed with any such motion. In all briefs filed by any party relating to the motion, the discussion

of the evidence in the brief must be accompanied by a specific reference, by page and line, to where

the evidence can be found in a supporting deposition or document. Failure to make such specific

reference will result in the evidence not being considered by the court. 

SECTION 3. On or before December 18, 2007, counsel for all parties shall conduct a faceto-face settlement conference at which counsel shall engage in good faith settlement negotiations.

If settlement cannot be reached, counsel shall also discuss whether mediation will assist the parties

in reaching settlement. Not less than FIVE (5) DAYS after this conference, counsel for the plaintiff

shall file a pleading titled "Notice Concerning Settlement Conference and Mediation". This pleading

shall indicate whether settlement was reached and, if not, whether the parties believe mediation will

assist them in resolving this case short of trial. Information about mediation is attached to this order.

SECTION 4. Any motions to amend the pleadings and to add parties shall be filed on or

Case 2:06-cv-00790-WC Document 29 Filed 03/01/2007 Page 1 of 8
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before May 15, 2007.

SECTION 5. Any motion for class certification shall be filed on or before May 30, 2007.

A brief discussing the factors enumerated in Rule 23(a) and (b) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure shall be filed with any such motion.

SECTION 6. The failure to file a response to any motion -- either dispositive or nondispositive -- within the time allowed by the court shall indicate that there is no opposition to the

motion.

SECTION 7. All discovery shall be completed on or before January 4, 2008, except that,

as to any witnesses whose names are not revealed until the last day allowed under SECTION 9 or

whose names are not revealed with sufficient time for the other parties to take a deposition prior to

the pretrial conference, the opposing party shall have the time extended in this paragraph to allow

for deposing such witnesses.

SECTION 8. The parties shall disclose to each other the identity of ANY person who may

be used at trial to present evidence under Rules 702, 703, or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence,

and provide the reports of retained experts or witnesses whose duties as an employee of the party

regularly involved giving expert testimony, required by Rule 26(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure, as follows:

From the plaintiff(s) -- on or before November 9, 2007.

From the defendant(s) -- on or before December 10, 2007.

The parties shall comply fully with all requirements of Rule 26(a)(2) in regard to disclosure

of expert testimony.

SECTION 9. GENERAL PROVISIONS: 

(A) All briefs on any matter before the court must be formal in format and filed with the

court. The court does not accept “letter briefs” or “letter reports.”

(B) A request or motion for extension of a deadline in any court order (i) must be in writing;

(ii) must indicate that movant has, in a timely manner, previously contacted counsel for all other

parties; and (iii), based on that contact, must state whether counsel for all other parties agree to or

oppose the extension request or motion. A request or motion that fails to meet this requirement will

be denied outright, unless the movant offers a credible explanation in the request or motion why this

requirement has not been met. Absent stated unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances beyond the

control of the movant, oral extension requests and motions are not allowed, and “eleventh hour”

extension requests and motions will be denied outright.

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(C) Any proposed orderthat a party desires the court to enter should be submitted to the court

in both (a) an Adobe Acrobat PDF format attachment to the motion and (b) by transmitting an

electronic copy of the proposed pretrial order to the court as an attachment to an email message sent

to <propord_capel@almd.uscourts.gov>. For these purposes, the electronic copy should be in

WordPerfect or Word format and not in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

SECTION 10. On or before January 4, 2008, each party shall, pursuant to the provisions

of Rule 26(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, exchange the names, addresses and

telephone numbers of all witnesses, except witnesses solely for impeachment purposes, separately

identifying those whom the party expects to present and those whom the party may call if the need

arises. The witness list should include the names of any witnesses required to be disclosed under

Paragraph 8. Unless specifically agreed between the parties or allowed by the Court for good cause

shown, the parties shall be precluded from calling any witness not so identified.

SECTION 11. On or before February 11, 2008, the parties shall, pursuant to the provisions

of Rule 26(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, identify any part of a deposition or other

document that a party expects to use at trial. Adverse parties shall within ONE WEEK

THEREAFTER identify any responsive parts of depositions expected to be used, and a party shall

within THREE DAYS of the designation of such responsive parts designate any part which is

desired as a rebuttal thereto. Unless specifically agreed between the parties or allowed by the Court

for good cause shown, the parties shall be precluded from using any part of a deposition or other

document not so listed, with the exception of parts of depositions or documents to be used solely for

the purpose of impeachment. Except to the extent written objections are served and filed on or

before February 18, 2008, each party shall be deemed to have agreed that one of the conditions for

admissibility under Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is satisfied with respect to any

such deposition and that there is no objection to the testimony so designated. 

SECTION 12. On or before February 11, 2008, the parties shall, pursuant to the provisions

of Rule 26(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, furnish opposing counsel for copying and

inspection all exhibits or tangible evidence to be used at the trial, and proffering counsel shall have

such evidence marked for identification prior to trial. Unless specifically agreed between the parties

or allowed by the Court for good cause shown, the parties shall be precluded from offering such

evidence not so furnished and identified, with the exception of evidence to be used solely for the

purpose of impeachment. Except to the extent written objections are served and filed no later than

February 18. 2008, the evidence shall be deemed genuine and admissible in evidence. The written

objections shall set forth the grounds and legal authorities. All trial exhibits must be premarked prior

to trial.

SECTION 13: If a jury trial: The parties shall file any requested voir dire questions,

motions in limine fully briefed, and any proposed jury instructions, together with citations of law

thereon, ON OR BEFORE TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE TRIAL DATE UNLESS SAID

TIME IS SHORTENED BY THE COURT ON MOTION OF EITHER PARTY. Parties

Case 2:06-cv-00790-WC Document 29 Filed 03/01/2007 Page 3 of 8
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opposing any motion in limine are required to file a response brief together with citations of law on

or before 5 days after the motion is filed. Trial counsel are DIRECTED to review the jury

questionnaire used in this court and to avoid any duplication of matters addressed therein in their

voir dire questions. The jury questionnaire is available on the court's website at

http://www.almd.uscourts.gov/juryinfo.htm.

SECTION 14. The parties are hereby DIRECTED to schedule an appointment with Karlene

Buckhard, Automation, ((334)-954-3600) on or before February 18, 2008, for automation training,

if they intend to use the courtroom's technological equipment during the upcoming trial. Counsel

wishing to use his or her own laptop during trial is required to bring all necessary cables to ensure

a connection. 

SECTION 15. In cases involving jury trials, the term TRIAL DATE as used in the

foregoing deadlines shall mean the date set for jury selection.

SECTION 16. If any party has an objection to these deadlines, the party should inform

the Court within 14 days from the date of this Order; otherwise, the Court will assume that the

deadlines are agreeable to all parties. Unless this Order be modified by subsequent Order of the

Court, the provisions hereinabove set out are binding on the parties.

DONE this 1st day of March, 2007.

/s/ Wallace Capel, Jr.

WALLACE CAPEL, JR.

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 2:06-cv-00790-WC Document 29 Filed 03/01/2007 Page 4 of 8
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR

THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

NORTHERN DIVISION

FARMERS TELECOMMUNICATIONS )

COOPERATIVE, INC., )

 )

Plaintiff, )

 )

v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:06CV790-WC

 )

VERIZON BUSINESS NETWORK )

SERVICES INC., et al., )

 )

Defendants. )

ORDER ON PRETRIAL HEARING

This cause coming on to be heard on a regular pretrial hearing on _______________, and

all parties being present in person or by counsel, the following action was thereupon taken:

1. PARTIES AND TRIAL COUNSEL:

COUNSEL APPEARING AT PRETRIAL HEARING: (same as trial counsel or

indicate if different)

2. JURISDICTION AND VENUE:

3. PLEADINGS: The following pleadings and amendments were allowed:

Sections 4 and 5 of the pretrial order are the most important because they focus

specifically on the claims and defenses of the parties, and thus provide the framework for

the court's preliminary and final instructions to the jury. The format for these sections is

very specific and must be followed. Failure to complete these sections in the form

Case 2:06-cv-00790-WC Document 29 Filed 03/01/2007 Page 5 of 8
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prescribed will result in the court's rejection of the proposed pretrial order.

4. PLAINTIFF(S)' CLAIMS: [in this section, the plaintiff should specifically state

the claims which are to be presented to the trier of fact and provide the court with the statutory

basis for each claim and a brief statement of the facts in support of the claim. Where the basis of

the claim is non-statutory, the plaintiff should provide the court with the citation of a case setting

forth the elements of the claim as well as a brief statement in support of the claim.] Each claim

should be separately listed.

5. DEFENDANT(S)' DEFENSES: [in this section, the defendant should

specifically state the affirmative defenses which are to be presented to the trier of fact and a brief

statement of the facts which support those defenses. Where the defense presented is a factual

defense, the defendant shall address each of the plaintiff’s claims and set forth a brief factual

statement of the defense to those claims.] Each defense should be separately listed.

6. It is ORDERED by this court that all of the above-named allowances and agreements

be, and the same are hereby, binding upon all parties in the above-styled cause unless this Order

be hereafter modified by Order of the court.

The plaintiff shall insure that the original of the proposed pretrial order is received by

the court NOT LATER THAN FIVE BUSINESS days prior to the pretrial conference by

either delivery of the order to chambers or by transmitting an electronic copy of the proposed

pretrial order to the court as an attachment to an email message sent to

propord_capel@almd.uscourts.gov. For this purpose, the electronic copy should be in

WordPerfect or Word format and not in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

DONE this ________ day of ___________, 200___.

WALLACE CAPEL, JR.

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 2:06-cv-00790-WC Document 29 Filed 03/01/2007 Page 6 of 8
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

PROGRAM OF VOLUNTARY MEDIATION

This court has established a program of voluntary mediation to assist litigants in resolving

their disputes prior to trial. The court stresses that mediation is completely voluntary and

confidential. The court strictly enforces the confidentiality of mediation.

The court encourages litigants to consider the salutary benefits of resolving at an early stage

their dispute through voluntary mediation. Mediation is a process of confidential negotiation through

which parties may often achieve results which could not be gained through submission of their case

to a jury. Successful mediation saves the substantial time and expense involved with a trial.

Successful mediation allows parties to alleviate the risk of trial and, at the same time, permits the

parties to play an active role in the final decision about their case. The mediation process generally

involves a joint meeting with all parties and counsel to discuss the case and each side's position.

After this meeting the mediator will meet with each side individually for a full discussion of that

side's case. Throughout the process the goal of the mediator is to assist the parties in negotiating a

settlement. Often the mediator will provide to the parties a frank, honest opinion about the strengths

and weaknesses of their case. Often an objective viewpoint assists parties in making good decisions

about settlement. 

 

The scheduling order entered in this case requires that not less than 14 days after the date for

filing dispositive motions, counsel for the parties shall personally meet and attempt to reach

settlement of the case. If counsel in good faith cannot reach settlement, counsel are also required

to consider whether mediation will assist the parties in resolving this case. Within five days after

this conference counsel are to notify the trial judge in writing whether they have settled the case and,

if not, whether they believe mediation will assist the parties in resolving the case. Upon such

notification, the trial judge may assign a mediator to schedule a mediation conference. However,

a judge of this court may assign a mediator at any time.

Except in extraordinary circumstances the mediator will be a judicial officer. Under the

existing internal operating understandings of this court, a nonjudicial mediator will not be assigned

to a case without the knowledge and concurrence of the parties.

The court also encourages parties to consider settlement negotiations and mediation well

before the time when a settlement conference is required. At any time while a case is pending, the

parties may seek assistance in settling their dispute through mediation.

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