ORDER AMENDING THE PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER

GARLAND E. BURRELL, Jr., Senior District Judge.

The status (pretrial scheduling) conference scheduled for hearing on February 23, 2015, is vacated since the parties' Joint Status Report filed on February 9, 2015 ("JSR") indicates the following Order should issue.

Pursuant to Chief Judge Morrison England's December 12, 2014 Recusal Order, and the parties' JSR, the November 19, 2014 Pretrial Scheduling Order, (ECF No. 7), is amended as follows:

DISCOVERY

All discovery shall be completed by February 18, 2016. "Completed" means all discovery shall be conducted so that any dispute relative to discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate orders, if necessary, and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been complied with on or before the prescribed "completion" date.

Each party shall comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) and (C)'s initial expert witness disclosure requirements on or before September 18, 2015, and any contradictory and/or rebuttal expert disclosure authorized under Rule 26(a)(2)(D)(ii) on or before October 19, 2015.

MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE

The last hearing date for a motion is April 18, 2016, commencing at 9:00 a.m. Any motion shall be briefed as prescribed in Local Rule 230.

The parties are cautioned that an untimely motion characterized as a motion in limine may be summarily denied.

FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

The final pretrial conference is set for June 20, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. The parties are cautioned that the lead attorney who WILL TRY THE CASE for each party shall attend the final pretrial conference. In addition, all persons representing themselves and appearing in propria persona must attend the pretrial conference.

The parties shall file a JOINT pretrial statement no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the final pretrial conference. The joint pretrial statement shall address the applicable portions of Local Rule 281(b), and shall set forth each theory of liability ("claim") and affirmative defense which remains to be tried, and the ultimate facts on which each theory/defense is based. Furthermore, each party shall estimate the length of trial. The Court uses the parties' joint pretrial statement to prepare its final pretrial order and could issue the final pretrial order without holding the scheduled final pretrial conference. See Mizwicki v. Helwig, 196 F.3d 828, 833 (7th Cir. 1999) ("There is no requirement that the court hold a pretrial conference.").

Final pretrial procedures are "critical for `promoting efficiency and conserving judicial resources by identifying the real issues prior to trial, thereby saving time and expense for everyone.'" Friedman & Friedman, Ltd. v. Tim McCandless, Inc., 606 F.3d 494, 498 (8th Cir. 2010) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 16 Advisory Committee Note (1983 Amendment to subdivision (c)). "Toward that end, Rule 16 directs courts to use pretrial conferences to weed out unmeritorious claims and defenses before trial begins." Smith v. Gulf Oil Co., 995 F.2d 638, 642 (6th Cir. 1993). The parties are therefore provided notice that a claim or affirmative defense may be dismissed sua sponte if it is not shown to be triable in the joint final pretrial statement. Cf. Portland Retail Druggists Ass'n v. Kaiser Found. Health Plan, 662 F.2d 641, 645 (9th Cir. 1981) (indicating that a party shall be provided notice and an opportunity to respond with facts sufficient to justify having a claim or affirmative defense proceed to trial); Portsmouth Square, Inc. v. S'holders Protective Comm., 770 F.2d 866, 869 (9th Cir. 1985) (stating "the district court has . . . authority to grant summary judgment sua sponte in the context of a final pretrial conference").

If feasible, at the time of filing the joint pretrial statement counsel shall also email it in a format compatible with WordPerfect to: geborders@caed.uscourts.gov.

TRIAL SETTING

Trial shall commence at 9:00 a.m. on September 27, 2016.

EARLY SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

The parties state they "are interested in an effort to settle the matter, and would welcome a settlement conference with the trial judge or a magistrate." (JSR at 4:2-3.)

The parties are hereby authorized to contact the courtroom deputy assigned to a magistrate judge for the purpose of attempting to schedule a settlement conference at a mutually convenient date and time.

IT IS SO ORDERED.