UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO.: 22-22956-CIV-SINGHAL

MARSHA LAFOUNTAIN, Individually and as

Personal Representative for the Estate of

Thomas Lafountain, deceased,

Plaintiff,

v.

CARNIVAL CORPORATION,

RICO SUN TOURS, INC. d/b/a RST, and

XYZ CORPORATION(S),

Defendants.

__________________________________________/

ORDER REQUIRING SCHEDULING REPORT

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon a sua sponte review of the record. Within 

twenty (20) days of an appearance by a Defendant in this case, the parties are 

directed to prepare and file a joint scheduling report, as required by Local Rule 16.1.

1

The joint scheduling report and proposed order shall include all information required by

Local Rule 16.1(b)(2) and (3).

Detailed Discovery Schedule: Local Rule 16.1(a) provides for a differentiated 

case management system based on the complexity of each case and the requirement for 

judicial involvement. That system categorizes cases along three case management 

tracks: expedited, standard, or complex.

• Expedited track cases are relatively non-complex, require 1 to 3 days of 

trial, and between 90 and 179 days for discovery from the date of the 

scheduling order.

1 The parties may “meet in person, by telephone, or by other comparable means.” S.D. Fla. L.R. 16.1(b)(1).

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• Standard track cases require 3 to 10 days of trial, and between 180 and 269 

days for discovery from the date of the scheduling order.

• Complex track cases are unusually complex, require over 10 days of trial, 

and between 270 and 365 days for discovery from the date of the 

scheduling order.

“The following factors [are] considered in evaluating and assigning cases to a 

particular track: the complexity of the case, number of parties, number of expert 

witnesses, volume of evidence, problems locating or preserving evidence, time estimated 

by the parties for discovery and time reasonably required for trial, among other factors.” 

S.D. Fla. L.R. 16.1(a)(3).

Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) allows discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that 

is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case, 

considering the importance of the issues at stake in the action, the amount in controversy, 

the parties’ relative access to relevant information, the parties’ resources, the importance 

of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the 

proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit. The parties shall participate in good faith 

in developing a detailed discovery plan, including any agreed-upon limitation on scope, 

frequency and the extent of discovery. The parties shall include in their scheduling report 

any unique discovery matters, including any electronically stored information that should 

be preserved and accessed. The parties shall establish a detailed schedule for the 

preservation, disclosure and access of each different type or category of electronically 

stored information.

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Consistent with the differentiated case management system, other relevant local 

rules (such as Local Rule 16.2, regarding mediation), and the twin goals of expeditious 

and attentive case management, the Court anticipates the following scheduling deadlines 

in the run of cases:

• Selection of a mediator and scheduling of a time, date, and place for mediation 

within 30 days of the scheduling order.

• Deadline to amend pleadings and join parties within 60 days of the scheduling 

order.

• Completion of all discovery consistent with the case management track 

guidelines, and 120 days prior to trial.

• Completion of mediation prior to the deadline for dispositive pre-trial motions.

• Deadline for dispositive pre-trial motions and Daubert motions (which include 

motions to strike experts) 100 days prior to trial.

• Deadline for submission of joint pre-trial stipulation, proposed jury instructions 

and verdict form, or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, as 

applicable, 10 days prior to trial.

Those deadlines are not exhaustive of deadlines which may be set in the 

scheduling order.

The parties should address their joint scheduling report and their proposed pretrial deadlines both to the differentiated case management system and to the Court’s 

anticipated deadlines. The parties are encouraged to explain their proposed deadlines in 

light of those overarching guidelines, including as to the factors listed in Local Rule 

16.1(a)(3). The parties are cautioned that if they fail to submit a joint scheduling 

report by the applicable deadline, the Court may unilaterally set this case on a case 

management track in accordance with Local Rule 16.1(a) and calculated as if the 

scheduling report had been timely filed. The parties are advised that the failure to

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comply with any of the procedures contained in this Order or the Local Rules may result

in the imposition of appropriate sanctions, including, but not limited to, the dismissal of

this action or entry of default.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this 16th day of

September 2022.

Copies furnished to counsel of record via CM/ECF

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