In The Matter Of: 

## SERVED: JANUARY 22, 2015

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF HEARINGS WASHINGTON, DC 

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DocketNo. FAA-2014-0685 SMYRNA AIR CENTER ) ) ) ) ) CaseNo. 2011CE190020 Respondent

ORDER SETTING LITIGATIONDATES AND PROCEDURES i:

On October 29, 2014, an Order Setting Rule 16 Litigation Scheduling Conference and Directing Rule 26(f) Planning and Submission was filed. OnJanuary 14, 2015, the parties filed a Draft Joint Section 13.217/Rule 26(f) Report Submittedby ComplainantFAA and Respondent SmyrnaAir Center. On January 22, 2015, the parties appeared by telephone for a Rule 16 Litigation Scheduling Conference, and discussed their calendar availability, hearing dates, and other litigation procedural matters. Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. §13.205(a)(1), (6) and (7), Civ. R. 16, 14 C.F.R. § 13.217, and 14 C.F.R. § 13.220, and after reviewing all relevant caselaw, regulation, statutory authority, and being fully advised;

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: A. The litigation dates, discovery procedures, and hearing dates are hereby set as follows: 1. January 30, 2015: Deadline for Initial Disclosures. To ensure that the parties have sufficienttime to address all issues in dispute, on orbeforeJanuary 30,2015 theparties shall serve each other with initial disclosures (as described in Civ. R: 26(a)(l)(A)(i), (ii), and (iii)) without waiting for a specific discoveryrequest. 2. On or before February 11,2015: General Discovery Initiated. Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. §13.220(a), the parties may immediately begin conducting general discovery. In orderto ensure full use ofthe discovery time allotted in this case, the parties shall begin exchangingor serving general discovery requests on orbefore February 11, 2015, pursuantto 14 C.F.R. §13.220 (b), (c), (d) and (e). General discovery includes, butis not limited to: notices ofdeposition; requests for production ofdocuments; propounding interrogatories; requests for admission; etc.

Page 1 of43. Service ofInterrogatories. Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. §13.220(k)(1 ), a party shall not serve more thanthirty (30) interrogatories upon each other. Each subpart ofan interrogatory shall be counted as a separate interrogatory.

a. Objection(s)to Interrogatories. Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. 

### § 13.220(k), any objection in response to an interrogatory must include the reason(s) supporting the objection. 4. Motions to Limit Discovery upon Receipt ofDiscovery Request: A party served with a discovery request who seeks to limit discovery pursuantto 14 C.F.R. 

### § 13.220(f), (g), and (h), shall file a Motion for Reliefwithin ten (10) days after service ofthe disputed discovery request.

a. Good Faith Declaration Included: The Motion should include a declaration bythe movingparty, confirming that the movant has already conferred or attemptedto confer in good faith with the opposing party regarding the disputed discovery or disclosure, to try and resolve the matter informally, priorto seeking court relief. b. Copy ofDisputed Discovery: Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. §13.220(b), only a copy of the disputed discovery, in support ofthe motion, shouldbe attached to the Motion orthe Response.

c. Response to Motionto Limit Discovery. Any Response to the Motion shouldbe filed no laterthan ten (10) days after service ofthe Motion. 5. Motions to Compel Discovery: A party seeking to compel discovery must file a Motion to Compel within ten (10) days after service ofa deficient response or after the response to the discovery is due, whichever occurs first.

a. Procedure for Motion: Any Motion and/or Response to Compel Discovery shall be filed in the same manner as directed above for Motions to Limit Discovery (paragraph 4and 4 (a)-(c)). 6. Retained/Hired or Employee Expert Witness Disclosures. Ifa party retains orhires a witness to provide expert testimony, or a party intends to utilize the testimony ofan employee to give experttestimony

- then the party intendingto offer such witness shall disclose this retained or employee expertwitness to the opposing side pursuantto the timeline below. The expert witness disclosure shall include the name ofthe witness, the witness's expertresume or qualifications, and the witness's writtenreport or statement of opinion (including disclosure ofthe basis ofthat opinion). a) FAA Expert Disclosure Deadline: July 10, 2015. b) Respondent Expert Disclosure Deadline: July 24, 2015. c) Expert Rebuttal Reports Deadline: August 7, 2015.

Page 2 of57. Duty to Supplement orAmend Discovery: Pursuantto 14 C.F.R. § 13.220(i), a party who has responded to a discovery request in this case has a duty to supplement or amend the response throughout the litigationperiod, as soon as the information is known. 

### 8. August 28, 2015: Deadline for Completing General Discovery. On orbefore August 28, 2015, the parties shall finish responding and serving answersto all general discovery requests pursuantto 14 C.F.R. §13.220. This includes the taking ofdepositions, pursuant to 14 C.F.R. §13.2200). 

### 9. September 25,2015: Deadlines for Filing Dispositive Motion(s). The last date for both parties to file any/all pre-hearing dispositive motions, including Default Motions and/or Summary Judgment Motions. a) October30, 2015: Deadline for filing Answer to Dispositive Motion(s); b) November 13,2015: Deadline for filing Reply (ifany). 10. Telephone Motion Conference: December3, 2015 (10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET). The parties shall convene by telephone for oral argument on any filed dispositive motions on December 3,2015 (10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET). N.B. Ifthe parties do not file dispositive motions, then this Telephone Conference will be automatically converted and held as a Pre-Hearing Status Conference. 11. February 5, 2016: List ofWitnesses/Exchange ofExhibits. On orbefore February 5, 2016, the parties will serve and file the following: a) A list ofthe witnesses the party intends to call; b) A short statement ofthe testimony expected from each such witness; c) The .resume or statement ofqualifications ofeach witness who will be offered as an expert; d) The documents the party intends to offer in evidence (pre-marked as noted in paragraph E, infra); and e) An index cover sheet with a briefdescription ofeach document. 12. February 26,2016: Written Stipulations and/orAgreed Motions in Limine. On or before February 26, 2016, the parties shall file any written stipulations that narrowthe factual or legal issues, and/orthat are agreed Motions 

### in Limine. 13. March 15, 2016- March 17,2016: Hearing Dates. Based onthe parties' agreement, the Hearing will take four (2.5) days or less. The Hearing will begin on Tuesday, March 15,2016 (9:00a.m-5:00p.m. ET) inthe Nashville, Tennessee area. The Hearing will continue on March 16,2016 (9:00 a.m-5:00 p.m. ET) and conclude at noon on March 17,2016 (9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST). The specific location ofthe Hearing will be provided to the parties priorto the Hearing. B. Discovery Requests and Exchanges: Discovery requests and exchanges need not be filed with the Office ofHearings, except as part ofa motionregarding limited discovery, disputed discovery, or as part ofa motion to compel discovery.
Page 3 of5C. Failure to Move for Timely Relief/Late Service ofDiscovery: The failure to timely respond to discovery requests, and/orto timely move for relief regarding discovery disputes during the discovery period, may result ina finding thatthe party has, through its actions, waived its right to relief. Late service ofdiscovery requests may also be grounds for denial ofa motion to compel compliance with such requests. D. Scheduling Motion or Pre-Hearing Conferences on the Judge's Calendar: Priorto the Hearing date(s), ifa party wishes to schedule oral argument on any motion, or set up any type ofpre-hearing telephone conference onthe Judge's calendar, the party shall first confer with opposing counsel about mutually agreeable alternate dates. The movant shall next contact Mr. Cody L. Smith, Attorney-Advisor, at the Office ofHearings (202-366-6941) as soon as possible, with at least three (3) mutually-agreed, proposed alternate dates/times for the Judge's consideration. E. Exhibits Brought to the Hearing: Eachparty mustbring to the Hearing at least three copies ofany documents it intends to offer in evidence as exhibits (two for the Judge and one for the courtreporter). The exhibits must have an index cover sheet, and should be pre-marked. Complainant's exhibits should be marked "C-1," "C-2," "C-3," etc. Respondent's exhibits shouldbe marked "R-1," R-2," "R-3," etc. F. Examination Process at the Hearing: At the Hearing, there will be the opportunity for direct examination, cross-examination, and redirect examination ofeach witness. Only one representative ofa party may direct or cross-examine a witness on behalfofthat party. Pursuantto 14 C.F.R. §13.205 and 14 C.F.R. 

### §13.222, the Federal Rules ofEvidence will be utilized as a guideline in determiningthe admission ofall evidence. G. Attorney Withdrawal: Pursuant to 14 C.P.R. §13.218, an attorney who wishes to withdraw from representing a party must file a Motion to Withdraw. Inthis Motion, the attorney shall confirm the following:

a. The date the Respondent was served with written notice ofthe attorney's intentto withdraw; b. The name ofthe designated agent/lay representative ifthe Respondent inthe action is a business entity; c. The current business address, telephone number, and fax number ofthe Respondent and ofits designated agent; d. A statement thatthe Respondenthas been notified in writing ofthe pendinghearing dates inthis litigation, as well as the pending pre-hearing discovery deadlines and telephone conferences; and

·e. A statementthat the Respondent has beenprovided a copy ofall Orders issued in this litigation, as well as any other legal documents to which the Respondent is entitled.

Page 4 of5H. CourtFiling ofExhibits with the Hearing Docket: All Exhibits thatthe parties have moved for admission during the Hearing will be attached to the courttranscript and filed by the courtreporter. I. Requests for Modification ofthis Order: Any requests for modification ofthe litigation dates and procedures set forth inthis Order should be made by written Motion. The parties may also file an agreed writtenrequest. J. Clarification or Questions: For clarifications ofthis orderor questions with regard to the procedures to be followed inthis case, please contact Mr. Cody L. Smith, Attorney-Advisor, at the Office ofHearings (202-366-6941).

Attachment: Service List

Page 5 of 5DocketNo. FAA-2014-0685 (Civil Penalty Action) SERVICE LIST- BY U.S. MAIL ORIGINAL & ONE COPY Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20591 Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430 Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2W1000 1 ONE COPY Mr. Ryan M. Landers Complainant's Counsel Federal Aviation Administration Office ofthe Regional Counsel, AS0-7 Southern Region 1701 Columbia Avenue College Park, GA 30337 TEL: 404-305-5200 FAX: 404-305-5223 Mr. Thomas F. Mink, II Respondent's Counsel P.O. Box 198742 219 Second AvenueNorth, Suite 400 Nashville, TN 37219-8742 TEL: 615 -256-0138 FAX: 615-730-5997
Judge J.E. Sullivan US. Administrative LawJudge Office ofHearings, M-20 U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue, S.E. (Ell-310) Washington, DC 20590 TEL: 202-366-6941 FAX: 202-366-7536 Smyrna Air Center, Inc. Respondent c/o Neal Ropp, Accountable Manager 300 Warpoole Road Symrna, TN 37167

1Service was by U.S. Mail. For service in person or by expedited courier, use the following address: Federal Aviation Administration, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2Wl000, Washington, DC 20591; Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC--430.