United States District Court 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 

SHERMAN DIVISION 

DONALD BLACKWOOD AND 

DELOIS BLACKWOOD 

v. 

AMERICAN ECONOMY INSURANCE 

CO. 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

Civil Action No. 4:23cv780 

Judge Mazzant 

SCHEDULING ORDER 

 The Court, after reviewing the case management report required by Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 26(f) and conferring with the parties either by e-mail or scheduling conference, enters 

this case-specific order which controls disposition of this action pending further order of the Court. 

The following actions shall be completed by the date indicated.1

DEADLINE EVENT

November 14, 2023 Deadline for motions to transfer. 

December 2, 2023 Deadline to add parties. 

July 18, 2024 Mediation deadline. 

January 9, 2024 Disclosure of expert testimony pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 

26(a)(2) and Local Rule CV-26(b) on issues for which the 

party bears the burden of proof. 

January 23, 2024 Deadline for Plaintiff to file amended pleadings (A motion 

for leave to amend is required). 

February 6, 2024 Disclosure of expert testimony pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 

26(a)(2) and Local Rule CV-26(b) on issues for which the 

party does not bear the burden of proof. 

February 6, 2024 Deadline for Defendant’s final amended pleadings (A 

motion for leave to amend is required). 

6 weeks after disclosure of an

expert is made 

Deadline to object to any other party’s expert witnesses.

Objection shall be made by a motion to strike or limit expert 

testimony and shall be accompanied by a copy of the 

expert’s report in order to provide the court with all the 

information necessary to make a ruling on any objection. 

1

 If a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday as defined in FED. R. CIV. P. 6, the effective date is the 

first federal court business day following the deadline imposed. 

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July 18, 2024 Deadline for motions to dismiss, motions for summary 

judgment, or other dispositive motions. 

April 16, 2024 Discovery deadline. All discovery shall be commenced in 

time to be completed by this date. 

October 25, 2024 Notice of intent to offer certified records. 

October 25, 2024 Counsel and unrepresented parties are each responsible for 

contacting opposing counsel and unrepresented parties to 

determine how they will prepare the Joint Final Pretrial 

Order (See www.txed.uscourts.gov) and Proposed Jury 

Instructions and Verdict Form (or Proposed Findings of 

Fact and Conclusions of Law in non-jury cases). 

November 1, 2024 Deposition Designations due. Each party who proposes

to offer a deposition shall serve on all other parties a 

disclosure identifying the line and page numbers to be 

offered. All other parties will have seven calendar days to 

serve a response with any objections and requesting cross 

examination line and page numbers to be included. 

Counsel must consult on any objections and only those 

that cannot be resolved shall be presented to the court. 

The party who served the initial Video Deposition 

Designation is responsible for preparation of the final 

edited video in accordance with all parties’ designations 

and the court’s rulings on objections. 

November 6, 2024 Motions in limine due. 

File Joint Final Pretrial Order (See www.txed.uscourts.gov). 

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November 21, 2024 Responses to motions in limine due.2

File objections to witnesses, depositions extracts, and 

exhibits, listed in pre-trial order.3 This does not extend the 

deadline to object to expert witnesses. If numerous 

objections are filed, the court may set a hearing prior to 

docket call. 

File Proposed Jury Instructions and Form of Verdict (or 

Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law). 

Date will be set by Court. 

Usually within 10 days prior to 

the Final Pretrial Conference. 

If numerous objections are filed, the court may set a hearing 

to consider all pending motions and objections. 

December 5, 2024 Final Pretrial Conference at 9:00 a.m. at the Paul Brown 

United States Courthouse located at 101 East Pecan Street 

in Sherman, Texas. Date parties should be prepared to try 

case. All cases on the Court’s Final Pretrial Conference 

docket for this day have been set at 9:00 a.m. However, 

prior to the Final Pretrial Conference date, the Court will 

set a specific time between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. for each 

case, depending on which cases remain on the Court’s 

docket. 

2

 This is not an invitation or requirement to file written responses. Most motions in limine can be decided without a 

written response. But, if there is particularly difficult or novel issue, the Court needs some time to review the matter. 

To save time and space respond only to items objected to. All others will be considered to be agreed. Opposing 

counsel shall confer in an attempt to resolve any dispute over the motions in limine within five calendar days of the 

filing of any response. The parties shall notify the court of all the issues which are resolved. 

3

 Within five calendar days after the filing of any objections, opposing counsel shall confer to determine whether 

objections can be resolved without a court ruling. The parties shall notify the court of all issues which are resolved. 

The court needs a copy of the exhibit or the pertinent deposition pages to rule on the objection. 

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To Be Determined. Jury selection and trial at 10:00 a.m. at the Paul Brown 

United States Courthouse located at 101 East Pecan Street 

in Sherman, Texas. Cases that remain for trial following 

the Court’s Pretrial docket will be tried between January 6, 

2025, and January 31, 2025. A specific trial date in this 

time frame will be selected at the Final Pretrial 

Conference. 

SCOPE OF DISCOVERY

 Modification. Taking into account the needs of the case, the amount in controversy, the 

parties’ resources, the importance of the issues at stake in the litigation, and the importance of the 

proposed discovery in resolving the issues, the Court modifies the parameters of discovery in the 

following respects. See FED. R. CIV. P. 26(b)(2). 

 Disclosure. The parties are reminded of the requirement, set out in this court’s Initial 

Order Governing Proceedings, to have already disclosed, without awaiting a discovery request, 

information in addition to that required by FED. R. CIV. P. 26, including names of persons likely to 

have, and documents containing, information “relevant to the claim or defense of any party.” 

 If there are any questions about whether information is “relevant to the claim or defense of 

any party” review Local Rule CV-26(d). A party that fails to timely disclose any of the information 

required to be disclosed by order of this court or by the Federal Rules of Procedure, will not, unless 

such failure is harmless, be permitted to use such evidence at trial, hearing or in support of a 

motion. 

 Electronic Discovery. Electronically stored information will be produced in hard copy 

form or multi-page TIFF format, unless the parties agree otherwise. 

 The parties are excused from the pretrial disclosure requirements set forth in Federal Rule 

of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3), as such disclosure is cumulative of this court’s pre-trial order 

procedures. 

 

DISCOVERY DISPUTES

 In the event the parties encounter a discovery dispute, no motions to compel may be filed 

until after the parties fulfill the “meet and confer” requirement imposed by this Court’s Local 

Rule CV-7(h). If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute without court intervention, the 

parties must then call the Court’s chambers to schedule a telephone conference regarding the 

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subject matter of the dispute prior to filing any motion to compel. After reviewing the dispute, the 

Court will resolve the dispute, order the parties to file an appropriate motion, or direct the parties 

to call the discovery hotline. 

 A magistrate judge is available during business hours to immediately hear discovery 

disputes and to enforce provisions of the rules. The hotline number is (903) 590-1198. See Local 

Rule CV-26(e). 

RESOURCES

 The Eastern District of Texas website (http://www.txed.uscourts.gov) contains 

information about Electronic filing, which is mandatory, Local Rules, telephone numbers, 

general orders, frequently requested cases, the Eastern District fee schedule, and other 

information. The electronic filing HelpLine is 1-866-251-7534. 

COMPLIANCE 

 A party is not excused from the requirements of this scheduling order by virtue of the fact 

that dispositive motions are pending, the party has not completed its investigation, the party 

challenges the sufficiency of the opposing party’s disclosure or because another party has failed to 

comply with this order or the rules. 

 Failure to comply with relevant provisions of the Local Rules, the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure or this order may result in the exclusion of evidence at trial, the imposition of sanctions 

by the Court, or both. If a fellow member of the Bar makes a just request for cooperation or seeks 

scheduling accommodation, a lawyer will not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold consent. 

However, the Court is not bound to accept agreements of counsel to extend deadlines imposed by 

rule or court order. See Local Rule AT-3(j). 

TRIAL 

 The deadlines for pre-trial matters, such as exchanging exhibits, and objections, are 

intended to reduce the need for trial objections, side-bar conferences, and repetitive presentation 

of evidentiary predicates for clearly admissible evidence. Counsel should be familiar with the 

evidence display system available in the courtroom. Copies of exhibits which will be handed to 

witnesses should be placed in a three ring binder, with an additional copy for the court. (To make 

it easy to direct the witness to the correct exhibit while on the stand, Plaintiff should use a dark 

colored binder such as black or dark blue. Defendant should use a light colored binder such as 

white, red, or light blue.) Alternatively, if exhibits have been scanned and will be presented via a 

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computer projection system, be sure there is a way for the court to view or read them separately so 

as to be able to understand motions and objections. 

 

 Counsel are responsible for informing their clients and witnesses about courtroom dress 

requirements and protocol, such as silencing pagers and phones, and not chewing gum, reading 

newspapers, or eating. 

 

OTHER MATTERS 

1. Please note the amendments to the Local Rules regarding motion practice. If a document 

filed electronically exceeds ten pages in length, including attachments, a paper copy of the 

filed document must be sent contemporaneously to the undersigned’s chambers in 

Sherman. See Local Rule CV-5(a)(9). Courtesy copies over twenty pages long should be 

bound to the left, and voluminous exhibits should be separated by dividers. 

2. If necessary, the parties should notify the court if assistance is needed in selecting a 

mediator. 

3. Any reply or sur-reply must be filed in accordance with Local Rule CV-6 and Local Rule 

CV-7(f). The parties are reminded that “[t]he court need not wait for the reply or sur-reply 

before ruling on the motion.” Local Rule CV-7(f) (emphasis added). 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

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