UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

CHAMBERS OF

MADELINE COX ARLEO

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

MARTIN LUTHER KING COURTHOUSE

50 WALNUT ST.

ROOM 2060

NEWARK, NJ 07101

973-297-4903

September 14, 2011

Louis D. Tambaro, Esq. 

Marks & Klein LLP 

63 Riverside Avenue 

Red Bank, NJ 07701

Dolores Francesca DiBella, Esq. 

Proskauer Rose, LLP 

Eleven Times Square 

New York, NY 10036 

 LETTER ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 16.1

RE: Anthony Stokes v. John Stephens et al 

 Civil Action No. 11-3849 (SDW)

Dear Counsel:

A scheduling conference shall be conducted before the undersigned at 12:30 pm on

Thursday, October 27, 2011, in Courtroom 2A of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Courthouse Building,

50 Walnut Street, Newark, New Jersey. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16.1 and L.Civ.R. 16.1(a).

Counsel are advised that the initial disclosures of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 will be enforced.

Therefore, counsel shall immediately review that rule and comply with either the time of objection

process set forth in submission (1)(c) of Rule 26.

At least fourteen (14) days prior to the conference scheduled herein, counsel shall personally

meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f), and shall submit a discovery plan to the

undersigned not later than 72 hours prior to the conference with the Court. The discovery plan

shall include (1) a brief summary of the claims and defenses; and (2) a proposed schedule for

completing fact and expert discovery. The discovery plan may include a summary of the status of

settlement negotiations. (THE DISCOVERY PLAN SHALL BE IN THE FORM ATTACHED

AND SHALL BE SUBMITTED JOINTLY.)

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At the conference, the Court will address scheduling of all motions. No motions except those

required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as, for example, listed in Rule 12 (b) shall be filed

without prior leave of Court. If any motions have already been filed, please advise the Court

immediately, in writing, regarding the nature of the motion and its present status. Pursuant to my

Standing Procedures found in Appendix 2 of Lite’s New Jersey Federal Practice Rules, you may

submit unopposed applications for pro hac vice admissionwithmyChambers. Please obtain consent

of your adversary prior to filing your application, advising both in your cover letter and proposed

Order that you have consent. 

At the conference, all parties who are not appearing pro se must be represented by counsel

who shall have full authority to bind their clients in all pre-trial matters. Counsel shall also be

prepared to discuss the merits of the case and have settlement authority. Clients or persons with

authority over the matter shall be available by telephone. See L.Civ.R. 16.1(a).

Counsel for plaintiff(s) shall notify any party, who hereafter enters an appearance, of the

above conference, and forward to that party a copy of this Order.

The parties must advise this Court immediately if this action has been settled or terminated

so that the above conference may be canceled.

Failure to comply with the terms herein may result in the imposition of sanctions.

SO ORDERED this 14 day of September, 2011. th

s/Madeline Cox Arleo 

MADELINE COX ARLEO

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Orig: Clerk

cc: Courtroom Deputy

File

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

 DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

: Civil Action No.

Plaintiff(s), : Hon.

 v. : JOINT DISCOVERY PLAN

:

Defendant(s). :

1. Set forth a factual description of the case. Include the causes of action and affirmative

defenses asserted.

2. Have settlement discussions taken place? Yes __________ No __________

If so, when? ____________________________________________________________

(a) What was plaintiff’s last demand?

 (1) Monetary demand: $ ___________

(2) Non-monetary demand: __________

(b) What was defendant’s last offer?

(1) Monetary offer: $ ___________

(2) Non-monetary offer: __________

3. The parties [have ______ -have not ______] exchanged the information required by

Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1). If not, state the reason therefor.

4. Describe any discovery conducted other than the above disclosures. 

5. Generally, dispositive Motions cannot be filed until the completion of discovery.

Describe any Motions any party may seek to make prior to the completion of discovery. 

Include any jurisdictional Motions and Motions to Amend.

6. The parties proposed the following:

(a) Discovery is needed on the following subjects:

(b) Should discovery be conducted in phases? If so, explain.

(c) Number of Interrogatories by each party to each other party: ________

(d) Number of Depositions to be taken by each party: ___________

(e) Plaintiff’s expert report due on _______________.

(f) Defendant’s expert report due on ______________.

(g) Motions to Amend or to Add Parties to be filed by _______________.

(h) Dispositive motions to be served within ______days of completion of discovery.

(i) Factual discovery to be completed by .

(j) Expert discovery to be completed by ____________.

(k) Set forth any special discovery mechanism or procedure requested, including data 

 preservation orders or protective orders:

(l) A pretrial conference may take place on .

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(m) Trial by jury or non-jury Trial?

(n) Trial date: ______________________.

7. Do you anticipate any discovery problem(s)? Yes __________ No __________

 If so, explain. 

8. Do you anticipate any special discovery needs (i.e., videotape/telephone depositions, 

problems with out-of state witnesses or documents, etc.)? Yes ________ No _______ 

 If so, explain.

9. State whether this case is appropriate for voluntary arbitration (pursuant to L. Civ. R. 

201.1 or otherwise), mediation (pursuant to L. Civ. R. 301.1 or otherwise), 

appointment of a special master or other special procedure. If not, explain why and

state whether any such procedure may be appropriate at a later time (i.e., after exchange

of pretrial disclosures, after completion of depositions, after disposition of dispositive

motions, etc.).

10. Is this case appropriate for bifurcation? Yes __________ No __________

11. We [do _____ do not ] consent to the trial being conducted by a Magistrate

Judge.

 

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s)

 

Attorney(s) for Defendant(s)

Case 2:11-cv-03849-SDW -MCA Document 11 Filed 09/14/11 Page 4 of 5 PageID: 68
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

IN THE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

Mediation is the Alternative Dispute Resolution ( “ADR”) program in this Court.

Mediation is governed by Local Civil Rule 301.1. The mediation program under this rule is

supervised by a judicial officer (at present United States Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo)

who is available to answer any questions about the program. 

Any district judge or magistrate judge may refer a civil action to mediation. This

may be done without the consent of the parties. However, the Court encourages parties to confer

among themselves and consent to mediation. Moreover, you are reminded that, when counsel

confer pursuant to Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Civil Rule 26.1,

one of the topics that must be addressed is the eligibility of a civil action for participation in ADR.

A civil action may be referred to mediation at any time. However, one of the

advantages of mediation is that, if successful, it enables parties to avoid the time and expense of

discovery and trial. Accordingly, the Court encourages parties to consent to mediation prior to or

at the time that automatic disclosures are made pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of

Civil Procedure.

If parties consent to mediation, they may choose a mediator either from the list of

certified mediators maintained by the Court or by the selection of a private mediator. If a civil

action is referred to mediation without consent of the parties, the judicial officer responsible for

supervision of the program will select the mediator.

Mediation is non-judgmental. The role of the mediator is to assist the parties in

reaching a resolution of their dispute. The parties may confer with the mediator on an ex parte

basis. Anything said to the mediator will be deemed to be confidential and will not be revealed

to another party or to others without the party’s consent. The mediator’s hourly rate is $300.00,

which is borne equally by the parties.

If you would like further information with regard to the mediation program please

review the Guidelines for Mediation, which are available on the Court’s Web Site

“pacer.njd.uscourts.gov” and appear as Appendix Q to the Local Civil Rules. You may also make

inquiries of the judicial officer responsible for supervision of the program.

Civil actions in which there are pro se parties (incarcerated or not) are not

eligible for mediation.

DNJ-Med-001 Rev. (10/00)

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