Judge Robert W. Schroeder III

An opposed discovery related motion, or any response thereto, shall not exceed 7 pages. Attachments to a discovery related motion, or a response thereto, shall not exceed 5 pages. No further briefing is allowed absent a request or order from the Court.

limiting any motion or response to no more than 7 pages of briefing and 5 pages of attachments (all of which must comply with the spacing and type requirements of the Local Rules).

Where a party conducts a mock jury trial, focus group, or similar study in which participants reside in the division where the case is pending, the party IS ORDERED to apply the following procedures:

The party or parties who commission the study shall retain, to the extent practicable, the name and address of each participant in the study.

Upon receipt of any jury list, the party or parties who commissioned the study shall immediately cross-reference the jury list with the identities of the participants and advise all other parties to the case and the Court of any prospective juror who participated in any study.

If the case is not disposed of by settlement or otherwise, the party or parties who commissioned the study shall advise all other parties to the case, as well as the Court, in writing, that such a study occurred. Such notice shall be provided at least 10 days before the pre-trial conference.

Before jury selection, the party or parties who commissioned the study shall provide the names and addresses of all participants in the study to the Court in camera.

the Court ORDERS the plaintiff to provide a separate proposed Final Judgment when the plaintiff is seeking to dismiss the last remaining defendant.

The proposed Final Judgment shall comply with the format described in Local Rule CV-7(a) and reference the order(s) dismissing each defendant, such that the Final Judgment records the manner of dismissal of each defendant in the action.

The proposed order shall comply with the format described in Local Rule CV-7(a), clearly indicate whether the dismissal is with or without prejudice, and, if applicable, provide that any pending requested relief is denied as moot.

the Court ORDERS that any request for dismissal under Rule 41, whether by notice, stipulation, or motion, include a proposed order dismissing the action.

if the parties have legitimate disputes on which they cannot agree, they shall file a motion—in accordance with Local Rule CV-54—indicating their areas of disagreement with specificity.

Any such request must demonstrate: a) that the information sought to be protected is of such a sensitive nature that its disclosure creates a risk of harm that outweighs the strong presumption in favor of public access to judicial proceedings; and b) that the parties have met and conferred in good faith concerning the manner in which the sensitive information will be presented at the hearing or at trial, with the goal of minimizing the need to seal the record and the courtroom.

Except for requests to redact information referenced in Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a), requests to seal or protect information after its public disclosure at a hearing or trial must, in addition to the preceding requirements, show good cause why the motion was not made in advance of the disclosure.

any such request must demonstrate: a) that the information sought to be protected is of such a sensitive nature that its disclosure creates a risk of harm that outweighs the strong presumption in favor of public access to judicial proceedings; and b) that the parties have met and conferred in advance and in good faith concerning the manner in which the sensitive information will be presented at the hearing or at trial, with the goal of minimizing the need to seal the record and the courtroom.

The Court ORDERS that the Plaintiff in each case file a notice that the case is ready for scheduling conference when all of the Defendants have either answered or filed a motion to transfer or dismiss. The notice shall be filed within five days of the last remaining Defendant's answer or motion. The notice shall include a list of any pending motions. For patent cases, the notice shall also include: (1) a list of any related cases previously filed in the Eastern District of Texas involving the same patent(s) or related patent(s); (2) the patent numbers for this case and any related case; and (3) the dates of any future Markman Hearing and/or Trial for related cases.

the parties shall jointly file a motion with the Court styled as follows: Joint Motion To Stay All Deadlines and Notice of Settlement. Such joint motion SHALL (1) affirmatively state that all matters in controversy between the parties have been settled in principle, (2) provide the general terms and amount of the settlement, (3) request that the Court stay for some specific and reasonable period of time, up to 30 days, the unreached deadlines contained in the Court’s Docket Control Order, or stay the entry of a Docket Control Order if one has yet to be entered, so that appropriate dismissal papers may be submitted and (4) stipulate that if any issues arise in formalizing the settlement papers, the parties agree to submit such issues to the Court for final resolution. The parties may request a stay for greater than 30 days if good cause is shown.

A motion indicating that the parties are communicating about settlement but one which stops short of an express indication that the matters in controversy have, in fact, settled will not ordinarily support an order staying the existing deadlines. Other filings (such as and for example only—a mere notice of settlement) shall not be adequate to comply with this Order or to secure a stay of existing deadlines. Such noncompliant filings shall not support later requests to reset missed deadlines or otherwise amend the Docket Control Order.