Sound Rivers, Inc. et al v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service et al

Filing 39

ORDER granting 38 Motion for Reconsideration of Scheduling order and for Alternative Scheduling Order. The "Scheduling Order" dated October 27, 2018 (ECF No. 34) is hereby VACATED. Counsel should read the order in its entirety for critical deadlines and information. Signed by District Judge James C. Dever III on 12/17/2018. (Sellers, N.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
EASTERN DIVISION
No: 4:18-CV-00097-D
SOUND RIVERS, INC., et al.,
Plaintiffs,

v.

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ORDER

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U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE,
et al,
Defendants.

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Before the Court is the Federal Defendants' "Motion for Clarification of the Court's
October 27, 2018 Scheduling Order and for Alternative Scheduling Order."
UPON CONSIDERATION of the motion and being otherwise fully advised in the
premises, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Federal Defendants' motion is
GRANTED.
The "Scheduling Order" dated October 27, 2018 (ECF No. 34) is hereby VACATED.
The Court hereby adopts the proposed deadlines set forth in the joint report of the parties'
planning meeting and proposed schedule (ECF No. 30) as follows:
Administrative Record
February 15, 2019

Federal Defendants shall lodge with the Court and produce the
Agencies' administrative records to Plaintiffs and the NCDOT
Defendants.

March 22, 2019

Plaintiffs shall notify Defendants of their position on whether
they believe the administrative records are complete and will
provide Defendants with any materials they seek to include in the
administrative records, specifying in which record they seek to
include the materials.

April3, 2019

Defendants shall respond to Plaintiffs' notification as to
completeness of the administrative records.

April17,2019

Plaintiffs shall file any motion challenging the completeness of the
administrative records, the applicability of any exceptions to
record review; or the need for judicial review of extra-record
materials.

May 8, 2019

The NCDOT Defendants and Federal Defendants will each file
their response to any motion challenging the completeness of the
administrative records, the applicability of any exceptions to
record review, or the need for judicial review of extra-record
materials.

May 22,2019

Plaintiffs shall file their reply brief in support of any motion
challenging the completeness of the administrative records, the
applicability of any exceptions to record review, o~ the need for
judicial review of extra-record materials.

Summary Judgment Briefing Schedule
If record motion briefing proceeds as set forth above~ the parties will submit a joint status
report within fourteen (14) days of the CoUrt's decision resolving the record motion, proposing a
schedule for resolving the merits of Plaintiffs' claims. In the event that no record motion is filed,
the parties shall resolve the merits ofPlaintiffs' claims through cross-motions for summary
judgment as follows:

April23, 2019

Plaintiffs shall file their motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs'
supporting memorandum shall not exceed 50 pages.

May 29,2019

The NCDOT Defendants and Federal Defendants shall each file
their oppositions to Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and
cross-motions for summary judgment. Defendants' respective
supporting memoranda shall not exceed 50 pages each.

June 27, 2019

Plaintiffs shall file their combined reply and response in opposition
to Defendants' respective cross-motions. Plaintiffs' supporting
memorandum shall not exceed 40 pages.

July 19, 2019

The NCDOT Defendants and Federal Defendants each shall file

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their replies. Defendants' respective supporting memoranda shall
not exceed 25 pages each.
In addition, motions to join additional parties and to amend pleadings must be made
promptly after the information giving rise to the motion becomes known to the party or counsel.
Any such motion filed after December 21, 2018, must meet the standards ofFed. R. Civ. P. 15
and 16.
Finally, the parties are reminded that, on request, this court will assist with settlement
negotiations or other ADR such as summary jury trial by making available a judge other than the
trial judge to explore possibilities.
SO ORDERED. This ..1..1._ day ofDecember 2018.

United States District Judge

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