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Judge
Robert M. Dow Jr. |
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Courtroom Deputy |
Law Clerks |
Court Reporter |
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(312)
435-5668 Room:
1914 |
Erin
Cole Patrick
Muench Jaime
Stilson |
Lois
LaCorte Room:
1919 |
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This website has been prepared to assist parties and
lawyers in cases assigned to Judge Dow. Please read the materials carefully
to facilitate the prompt, efficient, and equitable disposition of cases on
the Court's docket. Notice: Judge Dow will be absent from court from December 26 to December 28. He also will be absent from court from January 14 to January 18 and February 25 to February 29 attending Judicial Orientation programs. In the event of an emergency on any of these dates, please contact chambers before going to the Emergency Judge. COURT SCHEDULE Status Call: Tuesday – Thursday @ 9:00 a.m. Motion Call:
Tuesday – Thursday @ |
CASE MANAGEMENT PACKET
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Initial Status Reports and Conferences |
Initial Calendar - In all cases assigned to Judge Dow’s initial calendar from the calendar of another judge, the Court will issue an order setting a schedule for the filing of a Joint Status Report and an initial Status Conference.
Newly Filed Cases – For most newly filed cases, the Court will
schedule an initial status conference approximately 60 days after the filing
of the complaint. In some cases, the
scheduled status conference may take place before a defendant has responded to
the plaintiff’s complaint. Defendants who have been served with process
should participate in this conference even if they have not yet responded to
the complaint.
At least one week prior to the initial status conference, the parties are directed to file a joint written status report of not more than five pages. At the initial status conference, counsel will be asked to discuss (i) the nature of the case; (ii) factual and legal issues; (iii) settlement discussions to date and settlement potential; (iv) discovery taken to date and anticipated in the future; and (v) potential motions to be filed.
Counsel who believes that an
earlier initial status conference is warranted may make an appropriate
request by contacting the Courtroom Deputy.
In removed cases where a remand motion is filed, the Court ordinarily
will expedite the initial status conference. |
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Discovery |
General Procedures - All parties must comply with FRCP 26 and N.D. Ill. L.R. 26.1. Parties are advised that there is no “order” in which discovery must occur. One party’s failure or inability to respond to discovery requests does not excuse any other party’s timely compliance. Parties also are reminded that the pendency of a motion – even a dispositive motion – does not operate as an automatic stay of discovery. Discovery Disputes
Generally
- Parties should make every effort to resolve discovery disputes without the
need for judicial intervention. Accordingly, discovery motions should be
filed only as a last resort and will not be heard unless the moving party has
complied with the “meet and confer” requirement of Local Rule 37.2. Any
discovery motion must state with specificity when and how the moving party
complied with Local Rule 37.2. Compliance with Local Rule 37.2 requires a
good faith effort to resolve discovery disputes and ordinarily requires
face-to-face or telephonic communication. In most instances, exchange of
correspondence will not be sufficient under the Local Rules. |
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Depositions |
Ordinarily, disputes should not arise during depositions. If counsel expect significant disputes to arise, they may schedule a deposition in the attorney and witness room at the courthouse, where the Judge or Magistrate Judge will be available to resolve disputes. When disputes arise during depositions outside the courthouse, counsel should contact the Courtroom Deputy, who will make arrangements for a conference call at which the Judge or Magistrate Judge will be available to rule on such disputes on the record over the telephone.
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Motion Practice and Memoranda of Law |
Please drop a courtesy copy of
all motions in the box outside of the Courtroom Deputy’s office, located at
Room 1914. All motions must be
noticed for a date certain. Please attach copies of any
cited authorities that are not available on Westlaw or Lexis. If a motion is joint,
uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the
motion. A party seeking an extension of
time must contact all other parties in the case to determine whether the
motion is opposed. The party seeking
the extension should indicate in the motion (i) the reason for the request,
(ii) the number of previous extensions, and (iii) whether the motion is
opposed. To the extent possible, the
Court will endeavor to rule on motions in advance of the date on which the
motion is to be presented. After Counsel also may call the Courtroom Deputy, Theresa Kinney (312-435-5668) to inquire on the status of the motion. If an appearance is not necessary, counsel for the moving party should notify counsel for the responding party or parties.
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Correspondence with the Court |
Unless directed by the Court and with the exception of courtesy copies, neither counsel nor pro se litigants may communicate about a case by letter. All communications must be made in the form of a motion, brief, or a status report, properly noticed and served on opposing counsel.
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Summary Judgment |
Motions for summary judgment and
responses must comply with Local Rules
56.1(a) and 56.1(b). The statements of undisputed material fact and
responses shall be filed separately from the memoranda of law and shall
include the line, paragraph, or page number where the supporting material may
be found in the record. Courtesy copies of exhibits to summary judgment
motions should be tabbed for easy access. |
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Cross Motions for Summary Judgment |
The following briefing schedule will apply if cross motions for summary judgment will be filed. Defendant's summary judgment motion will be due on the dispositive motion filing deadline. Plaintiff's combined cross motion and response to the defendant's motion will be due three (3) weeks thereafter. Defendant's reply in support of its motion and response to the plaintiff's cross motion will be due three (3) weeks thereafter. Plaintiff's reply in support of its cross motion shall be due two (2) weeks thereafter.
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Proposed Orders |
Proposed Orders should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court. Instead, counsel should submit Proposed Orders electronically in a format that is compatible with Word Perfect to Proposed_Order_Dow@ilnd.uscourts.gov. The subject line of the e-mail should include the case name and number, the docket number of the corresponding motion, if any, and the title of the order that is proposed as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing. Counsel should serve a copy of the Proposed Order on all other parties.
Judge Dow also requires that a courtesy copy of any such Proposed Order be delivered to his Courtroom Deputy, Theresa Kinney, Room 1914.
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Emergency Motions |
In order to constitute an emergency, the circumstances giving rise to the motion must be of such a nature that a delay in hearing the motion would cause serious harm to one or more parties. Requests to set a hearing on an emergency should be made to the Courtroom Deputy with as much advance notice as possible, and all reasonable efforts to give actual notice to opposing counsel should be made.
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Protective Orders – Presumption of Public
Access |
There is a presumption that the
public will have access to all court filings.
In light of this presumption, Judge Dow will not sign a protective
order which allows counsel, in their absolute discretion, to decide which
matters are to be deemed confidential and filed under seal. Where the circumstances warrant, the
parties should file a proposed order which specifies the categories of
documents or other matters which may be subject to the order (e.g. trade
secrets, medical records, personnel files) and a motion in which the parties
set forth why a protective order is necessary as to each category. The court will then independently review
the motion and determine if the order should be signed. The issuance of a protective
order in light of this Standing Order will constitute the court's determination,
as required by Rule 26(c),
that good cause existed for such issuance. Issuance of any protective order
will not, however, be given binding effect as a determination of good cause
for Rule 26(c) purposes if at any future time either party moves for relief
from the limitations of the protective order. At that time, this court will
engage in an appropriate balancing of the interests between privacy and
public access in order to make a new determination of good cause in light of
the facts then before this court. See Jepson,
Inc. v. Makita Elec. Works, Ltd.,
In any case in which Judge Dow permits a portion of a document to be filed under seal, the party filing the document must also file a public-record version that includes the entire filing except for the portions that are being filed under seal.
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Settlement Conferences |
This Court strongly urges parties to exhaust settlement
possibilities at the earliest practicable point in the litigation. Parties appearing before the Court should
expect to be continually asked about the settlement status of the case and
invited to attend settlement conferences with the Court. Parties who desire a settlement conference
with the Court should request one in open court or by telephone from the
Courtroom Deputy. In cases that may
proceed to a bench trial, any settlement conference likely will be referred
to the Magistrate Judge.
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Bankruptcy Appeals |
The court will set a briefing schedule by minute order.
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Proceeding Before Magistrate Judges |
The Court strongly encourages counsel to consider and to inform their clients of the efficiencies and potential cost savings to be gained by having cases tried before a United States Magistrate Judge.
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Final Pre Trial Order and Motions in
Limine |
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Expert |
Expert Witness Disclousres and Motions Disclosures regarding experts’ opinions, the basis and supporting data, information and exhibits, qualifications, fees, and other cases in which the expert has testified in the last four years are automatically required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2). Expert disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) shall be made no later than sixty (60) days before the discovery cut-off date, unless otherwise ordered. Rebuttal information required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) must be provided no later than thirty (30) days before the discovery cut-off date, unless otherwise ordered. Compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) is a required before an expert may be designated as a trial witness in the final pretrial order. Any motions concerning expert qualifications filed pursuant to Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993), and its progeny, shall be filed at least sixty (60) days prior to trial, or ten (10) days prior to the discovery cut-off date, whichever is earlier. |
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Jury Selection |
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Jury Instructions |
The Seventh Circuit Model Jury Instructions are to be used
to the extent they apply. If
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Trials |
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Transcripts |
Realtime or draft transcripts and any official transcript of a proceeding are available by placing an order with Judge Dow’s court reporter, Lois LaCorte, who can be reached at (312) 435-5558 or by e-mail.
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Patent Cases |
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Stipulations to Dismiss |
Original paper copies of signed stipulations to dismiss must be delivered directly to the Courtroom Deputy.
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Settlement Agreements |
In connection with any settled
matter in which counsel desire to have this court retain jurisdiction to
enforce any future obligations under the settlement agreement, the parties'
stipulation for dismissal of the action with such retention of jurisdiction must
not refer to dismissal "with prejudice." See Blue Cross v. Am. Express Co.,
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Criminal Matters |
Arraignment/Bond/Detention
Hearings All arraignments/bonds/detention hearings will be set before the designated Magistrate Judge with the following schedule to be set:
Change
of Plea - Counsel is requested to contact the judge’s courtroom deputy at
least one day in advance of a change of plea hearing if the plea is not
going forward. In addition, a draft copy of the proposed plea
agreement should be delivered to the judge’s chambers or to courtroom deputy,
Room 1914, at least one day in advance of the date of the hearing. |
