Judge Weisman will not hear motions on February 21, 2019. No motions should be noticed for hearing on that day.
The Court is participating in the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project. Please refer to Judge Weisman's Standing Order Regarding Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project for more information, click here.
Parties are asked to submit courtesy copies of all electronic filings. Please deliver courtesy copies to Judge Weisman’s chambers (Room 1318) within one business day of filing.
Please generate all electronic filings by printing to PDF from the original word processing file, so that the text of the digital document is searchable. PDF images created by scanning are not searchable and should be used only for appendix or reference materials not available in PDF format.
Counsel should call Judge Weisman’s courtroom deputy (312-408-5058) as soon as possible if the parties resolve an issue that is scheduled for argument or is under consideration by the judge. After normal business hours, counsel may leave a message on the courtroom deputy’s voicemail (312-408-5058).
The Court employs these policies and rules to facilitate the efficient and equitable disposition of civil cases. Judge Weisman appreciates your willingness to familiarize yourself with these materials and to act accordingly to ensure the successful implementation of all case management procedures.
The parties are directed to Local Rule 16.1 and the Standing Order Establishing Pretrial Procedure in the Northern District of Illinois to the extent that the Standing Order is not modified by the specific orders and procedures articulated by this Court.
All counsel should note that, on December 1, 2015, important amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect. The Rules affected by the amendments are Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 55, and 84 as well as the Appendix of Forms. Counsel’s knowledge of the new rules is presumed for all cases pending before Judge Weisman.
Among other things, counsel should take particular note of the following amendments:
(1) The time for service of process under Rule 4(m) has been shortened from 120 days to 90 days.
(2) The permitted scope of discovery under Rule 26(b)(1) has been changed, and the need for discovery to be proportional to the needs of the case, among other things, is highlighted. The parties are expected to justify their positions on discovery disputes by reference to this standard. The Court will do the same. Rule 26(d) also now changes the time by which a party may serve requests for production of documents on another party.
(3) Rule 34 has been amended with respect to the timing of the production of documents requested and a party’s obligation to state expressly whether it is withholding any documents based on an asserted objection. This latter requirement is intended to avoid litigation over hypothetical disputes. A party may have objections to the wording and scope of various discovery requests. While these objections may be of academic interest to litigants, the Rules require, as does this Court, that a party identify whether any discovery production is actually being withheld based on the objection. See “How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?,”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin%3F.
(4) Rule 37(e) has been rewritten substantially to address the preservation, and consequences that can flow from the loss, of electronically stored information.
(5) Rule 1 has been amended to state expressly that the parties as well as the courts have an obligation to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2074(a) and by order of the United States Supreme Court dated April 29, 2015, the amendments govern all proceedings commenced on or after December 1, 2015, and all proceedings then pending “insofar as just and practicable.”
