28 U.S.C. § 473 — Content of civil justice expense and delay

Page 165 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 473 account the particular needs and circumstances of the district court, litigants in such court, and the litigants’ attorneys. (3) The advisory group of a district court shall ensure that its recommended actions include significant contributions to be made by the court, the litigants, and the litigants’ attorneys toward reducing cost and delay and thereby fa- cilitating access to the courts. (d) The chief judge of the district court shall transmit a copy of the plan implemented in ac- cordance with subsection (a) and the report pre- pared in accordance with subsection (b) of this section to— (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts; (2) the judicial council of the circuit in which the district court is located; and (3) the chief judge of each of the other United States district courts located in such circuit. (Added Pub. L. 101–650, title I, § 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5090.) § 473. Content of civil justice expense and delay reduction plans (a) In formulating the provisions of its civil justice expense and delay reduction plan, each United States district court, in consultation with an advisory group appointed under section 478 of this title, shall consider and may include the following principles and guidelines of litiga- tion management and cost and delay reduction: (1) systematic, differential treatment of civil cases that tailors the level of individual- ized and case specific management to such cri- teria as case complexity, the amount of time reasonably needed to prepare the case for trial, and the judicial and other resources re- quired and available for the preparation and disposition of the case; (2) early and ongoing control of the pretrial process through involvement of a judicial offi- cer in— (A) assessing and planning the progress of a case; (B) setting early, firm trial dates, such that the trial is scheduled to occur within eighteen months after the filing of the com- plaint, unless a judicial officer certifies that— (i) the demands of the case and its com- plexity make such a trial date incompat- ible with serving the ends of justice; or (ii) the trial cannot reasonably be held within such time because of the com- plexity of the case or the number or com- plexity of pending criminal cases; (C) controlling the extent of discovery and the time for completion of discovery, and en- suring compliance with appropriate re- quested discovery in a timely fashion; and (D) setting, at the earliest practicable time, deadlines for filing motions and a time framework for their disposition; (3) for all cases that the court or an indi- vidual judicial officer determines are complex and any other appropriate cases, careful and deliberate monitoring through a discovery- case management conference or a series of such conferences at which the presiding judi- cial officer— (A) explores the parties’ receptivity to, and the propriety of, settlement or pro- ceeding with the litigation; (B) identifies or formulates the principal issues in contention and, in appropriate cases, provides for the staged resolution or bifurcation of issues for trial consistent with Rule 42(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Pro- cedure; (C) prepares a discovery schedule and plan consistent with any presumptive time limits that a district court may set for the comple- tion of discovery and with any procedures a district court may develop to— (i) identify and limit the volume of dis- covery available to avoid unnecessary or unduly burdensome or expensive dis- covery; and (ii) phase discovery into two or more stages; and (D) sets, at the earliest practicable time, deadlines for filing motions and a time framework for their disposition; (4) encouragement of cost-effective dis- covery through voluntary exchange of infor- mation among litigants and their attorneys and through the use of cooperative discovery devices; (5) conservation of judicial resources by pro- hibiting the consideration of discovery mo- tions unless accompanied by a certification that the moving party has made a reasonable and good faith effort to reach agreement with opposing counsel on the matters set forth in the motion; and (6) authorization to refer appropriate cases to alternative dispute resolution programs that— (A) have been designated for use in a dis- trict court; or (B) the court may make available, includ- ing mediation, minitrial, and summary jury trial. (b) In formulating the provisions of its civil justice expense and delay reduction plan, each United States district court, in consultation with an advisory group appointed under section 478 of this title, shall consider and may include the following litigation management and cost and delay reduction techniques: (1) a requirement that counsel for each party to a case jointly present a discovery-case man- agement plan for the case at the initial pre- trial conference, or explain the reasons for their failure to do so; (2) a requirement that each party be rep- resented at each pretrial conference by an at- torney who has the authority to bind that party regarding all matters previously identi- fied by the court for discussion at the con- ference and all reasonably related matters; (3) a requirement that all requests for exten- sions of deadlines for completion of discovery or for postponement of the trial be signed by the attorney and the party making the re- quest; (4) a neutral evaluation program for the presentation of the legal and factual basis of a Page 166 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 474 case to a neutral court representative selected by the court at a nonbinding conference con- ducted early in the litigation; (5) a requirement that, upon notice by the court, representatives of the parties with au- thority to bind them in settlement discussions be present or available by telephone during any settlement conference; and (6) such other features as the district court considers appropriate after considering the recommendations of the advisory group re- ferred to in section 472(a) of this title. (c) Nothing in a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan relating to the settlement au- thority provisions of this section shall alter or conflict with the authority of the Attorney Gen- eral to conduct litigation on behalf of the United States, or any delegation of the Attorney General. (Added Pub. L. 101–650, title I, § 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5091.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(B), are set out in the Appendix to this title. § 474. Review of district court action (a)(1) The chief judge of each district court in a circuit and the chief judge of the circuit shall, as a committee— (A) review each plan and report submitted pursuant to section 472(d) of this title; and (B) make such suggestions for additional ac- tions or modified actions of that district court as the committee considers appropriate for re- ducing cost and delay in civil litigation in the district court. (2) The chief judge of a circuit may designate another judge of the court of appeals of that cir- cuit, and the chief judge of a district court may designate another judge of such court, to per- form that chief judge’s responsibilities under paragraph (1) of this subsection. (b) The Judicial Conference of the United States— (1) shall review each plan and report sub- mitted by a district court pursuant to section 472(d) of this title; and (2) may request the district court to take ad- ditional action if the Judicial Conference de- termines that such court has not adequately responded to the conditions relevant to the civil and criminal dockets of the court or to the recommendations of the district court’s advisory group. (Added Pub. L. 101–650, title I, § 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5093; amended Pub. L. 102–198, § 2(2), Dec. 9, 1991, 105 Stat. 1623.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1991—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–198, § 2(2)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘chief judge’’ for ‘‘chief judges’’ and struck out ‘‘court of appeals for such’’ after ‘‘judge of the’’ in in- troductory provisions. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 102–198, § 2(2)(B), substituted ‘‘circuit may designate another judge of the court of appeals of that circuit,’’ for ‘‘court of appeals’’ and ‘‘court, to perform that’’ for ‘‘court to perform the’’. § 475. Periodic district court assessment After developing or selecting a civil justice ex- pense and delay reduction plan, each United States district court shall assess annually the condition of the court’s civil and criminal dock- ets with a view to determining appropriate addi- tional actions that may be taken by the court to reduce cost and delay in civil litigation and to improve the litigation management practices of the court. In performing such assessment, the court shall consult with an advisory group ap- pointed in accordance with section 478 of this title. (Added Pub. L. 101–650, title I, § 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5093.) § 476. Enhancement of judicial information dis- semination (a) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall prepare a semiannual report, available to the public, that discloses for each judicial officer— (1) the number of motions that have been pending for more than six months and the name of each case in which such motion has been pending; (2) the number of bench trials that have been submitted for more than six months and the name of each case in which such trials are under submission; and (3) the number and names of cases that have not been terminated within three years after filing. (b) To ensure uniformity of reporting, the standards for categorization or characterization of judicial actions to be prescribed in accord- ance with section 481 of this title shall apply to the semiannual report prepared under sub- section (a). (Added Pub. L. 101–650, title I, § 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5093.) § 477. Model civil justice expense and delay re- duction plan (a)(1) Based on the plans developed and imple- mented by the United States district courts des- ignated as Early Implementation District Courts pursuant to section 103(c) of the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990, the Judicial Con- ference of the United States may develop one or more model civil justice expense and delay re- duction plans. Any such model plan shall be ac- companied by a report explaining the manner in which the plan complies with section 473 of this title. (2) The Director of the Federal Judicial Center and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts may make rec- ommendations to the Judicial Conference re- garding the development of any model civil jus- tice expense and delay reduction plan. (b) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall transmit to the United States district courts and to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives copies of any model plan and accompanying report.