Jones v. Dolgencorp, Inc. et al

Filing 24

ORDER Initial Pretrial Conference and Motion Hearing re 18 MOTION to Stay Discovery and other Pretrial Motions, as well as other listed issues are set for 6/22/2010 10:00 AM in Courtroom 2, 100 Otis St, Asheville, NC 28801 before Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell. Signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell on 6/2/10. (ejb)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT F O R THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA S T A T E S V IL L E DIVISION 5 :1 0 cv 5 1 B R IA N JONES, P l a i n t if f , V s. D O L G E N C O R P , INC., D e fe n d a n t . _______________________________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

ORDER

T H IS MATTER is before the court on plaintiff's Motion to Stay Discovery an d Other Pretrial motions Pending Ruling From Multi-District Litigation Panel. A resp o n se to such motion has been filed and a reply is due to be filed not later than June 1 1 , 2010. A s the parties may have gathered from recent ECF notifications, the Western D istrict has internally transferred the 13 Dollar General cases to one district judge and o n e magistrate judge to further efficient use of court resources. The undersigned has re ad plaintiff's motion and defendant's response. While the court awaits plaintiff's R ep ly, it has determined from reading all the pleadings now of record that a hearing w ill be necessary to address the following issues: (1 ) d isp o sitio n of plaintiff's motion;

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(2 )

co n sid eratio n of administrative consolidation of these 13 cases pending tr ia l;

(3 ) (4 ) (5 ) (6 ) (7)

en try of a Pretrial Order either in each case or in a consolidated action; d iscu ssio n of the requirements of mediation; d iscu ssio n of what discovery remains to be taken; settin g a dispositive motions deadline; and s ettin g a firm trial date.

S o as not to catch any party off guard, all counsel are advised that the district judge to whom this case is assigned has very specific expectations as to civil case m a n a g e m e n t, which includes the prompt disposition of all civil cases. While the court w ill not decide the Motion to Stay until it reads the Reply and hears from counsel at th e hearing, respective counsel are advised to come to the hearing prepared to discuss th e above topics. Counsel should meet in advance of the hearing and decide on a m ed iato r as well as reach agreement as to a suggested Pretrial Order. The parties are advised that the court is particularly concerned with waste of scarce judicial resources in processing what apparently are identical motions and the e n tr y of identical orders. Equally, the court is concerned with wasting the resources o f the parties, inasmuch as it appears that identical motions, briefs, and extensive ex h ib its (143 pages) have been filed in all 13 cases.

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ORDER IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that plaintiff's Motion to Stay Discovery a n d Other Pretrial Motions Pending Ruling From Multi-District Litigation Panel , as w e ll as the above listed issues, are CALENDARED for hearing and an Initial Pretrial C o n f er en c e on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at 10 a.m. in Courtroom #2 in Asheville, N o rth Carolina. Attendance by lead and local counsel is, respectfully, required.

Signed: June 2, 2010

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