| Initial
Status Conference |
The court will set cases for early status conferences, usually 49 days
after filing of the complaint except 1) in ERISA and mortgage
foreclosure cases, which call for a more extended timetable, 2) in
cases with U.S. defendants (98 days after filing) and 3) in removed
cases (a shorter timetable). For the procedures relating to such
initial conferences, review the text of the typical form
minute order entered by this court.
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| Informal
Exchange of Discovery |
In conjunction with the provisions of this Court's initial scheduling order and the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civil. ("Rule") 26(a)(1), see:
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| Scheduling
and Settlement Conferences |
After the initial status conference, the court will hold scheduling
(and, if appropriate, settlement) conferences at appropriate
intervals. Some of these will be held by telephone to accommodate out of state counsel.
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| Motion
Practice |
Scheduling of Motions
The court hears motions on Monday through Friday at 9:15 a.m. with 2 days notice. LR 5.3(b) requires that the presentment date for any motion must not be scheduled beyond ten business days after the notice of presentment is filed.
Unless counsel has received a written ruling or the court has told a party that it need not appear, counsel is expected to be present whether or not the motion is agreed upon with opposing counsel.
Agreed-upon motions, however, are often granted by electronically filed orders. If such is not the case as to motions that are agreed upon or as to which no opposition is
expected, counsel are encouraged to telephone chambers on the day before the
presentment date to learn whether appearance is necessary.
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| Discovery
Motions |
Meeting Requirement
The court encourages the parties to work out discovery disputes and
discourages the filing of discovery motions. Discovery disputes are
normally resolved at a status call or a pretrial conference without
briefing. If the matter is not resolved, then the court will set a
briefing schedule.
With regard to the filing of motions for discovery and production
of documents under the Rules, the court will not hear or consider any
discovery motions unless the parties have complied with Rule 37(a)(2)
and the District Court's LR 37.2.
In any motion for discovery or production of documents, the movant
shall include the required certification under Rule. 37(a)(2)(A)
and (B). Failure to comply with these rules will result in the
imposition of sanctions. Most often the court will rule on these
motions after oral argument at the motion call and without briefing.
The court will also consider these motions at a status call or a
settlement conference.
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| Protective
Orders - Special Provisions |
Whenever parties are contemplating their entry into a protective
order that includes the possibility that documents that are designated
as "Confidential" or that are otherwise subject to limited
disclosure ("restricted documents" within the meaning of
this District Court's LR 26.2(a)) may be filed in court, three special
provisions must be included:
1. No filing under seal, or any other designation as a restricted
document, is to be permitted without previously-obtained court
approval (see Citizens First Nat'l Bank v. Cincinnati Ins. Co.,
178 F.3d 943 (7th Cir. 1999)).
2. After the case is closed in the District Court (this requirement
differs from LR 26.2(e), which speaks of the case's "final
disposition including appeals"), the parties may obtain
the return of any previously-sealed or previously-restricted documents
by a motion filed within a specified time period after the case is
closed. Counsel are free to agree on that specified time period, but
they should not designate more than a 63-day period. Any documents
that are not so withdrawn will become part of the public case file,
and the protective order must so provide.
3. If the protective order contains any provision that would permit
its amendment by agreement of the parties without requiring court
approval, that power of amendment cannot extend to the subjects
covered in paragraphs 1 and 2.
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| Consent
to Proceed before a Magistrate Judge |
Too often litigants are unaware of the efficiencies to be gained by
having their cases tried before United States Magistrate Judges. The
court strongly encourages counsel to inform their clients of this
option, and to discuss it with opposing counsel. Magistrate
Judge Consent Form
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| Bankruptcy
Appeals |
Counsel should not file briefs in connection with appeals from the United States Bankruptcy Court before the initial status conference set by the court. Judge Shadur most often permits the parties to stand on their briefs filed before the Bankruptcy Court, with supplemental briefing only to the extent necessary to present the appeal and oppositions thereto.
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| Other Topic Areas |
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If a motion is to be presented and heard during a scheduled status hearing, then notice the motion for the status hearing time, not the 9:15 motion time.
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No notices will be mailed out when a status hearing is held and a next status hearing date is set. Counsel must make their own notation of the new date.
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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 Lynch v. SamataMason Inc., 279 F.3d 487, 489 (7th Cir. 2002) and Shapo v. Engel, 463 Fd.3d 641 (7th Cir. 2006)).
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| Submitting a Proposed Order, Agreed or Otherwise, for Electronic Entry by the Judge |
Proposed Orders are technically not to be "filed." Rather, they are to be "submitted" to the judge to consider, to modify if appropriate, and to enter electronically. For example, proposed orders such as stipulated protective orders require court approval before actually being given full effect. To prevent confusion, such proposed orders must be attached to an e-mail sent to the e-mail address of the assigned judge, Proposed_Order_Shadur@ilnd.uscourts.gov The subject line of the e-mail must include the case number and name, 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 (NEF). All such documents must be submitted to the court in a format compatible with WordPerfect, which is a "Save As" option in most word processing software. Such proposed orders should also be served on all parties. |
