(a) All pretrial conferences shall be held as ordered by the Judges having jurisdiction of each case, with reasonable notice of the time thereof given to counsel or any party without counsel.

(b) Counsel or a party without counsel in any case may petition the Court to hold a pretrial conference at a time prior to the setting of a conference by order of the Court.

(c) Each represented party must be represented in the pretrial conference by at least one attorney who will participate actively in the trial of the action, and who has information and authority adequate for responsible and effective participation for all purposes, including settlement. At settlement conferences, all parties must be present, including, in the case of a party represented by an insurer, a claim representative with authority adequate for responsible and effective participation in the conference.

(d) If counsel for a party or a party without counsel fails to appear at a pretrial conference, the Judge may impose sanctions as appear proper, including costs and dismissal of the action or entry of default judgment.

(e) The following categories of action shall be exempted from the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b), unless otherwise ordered by the Judge to whom the action or proceeding is assigned:

(1) all actions in which one of the parties appears pro se

and is incarcerated;

(2) all actions for judicial review of administrative decisions of government agencies or instrumentalities where the review is conducted on the basis of the administrative record (this includes social security actions);

(3) prize proceedings, actions for forfeitures and seizures, for condemnation, or for foreclosure of mortgages or sales to satisfy liens of the United States;

(4) proceedings in bankruptcy, for admission to citizenship or to cancel or revoke citizenship;

(5) proceedings for habeas corpus or in the nature thereof, whether addressed to federal or state custody;

(6) proceedings to compel arbitration or to confirm or set aside arbitration awards;

(7) proceedings to compel the giving of testimony or productions of documents under a subpoena or summons issued by an officer, agency or instrumentality of the United States not provided with authority to compel compliance;

(8) proceedings to compel the giving of testimony or production of documents in this District in connection with discovery, or testimony de bene esse, or for perpetuation of testimony, for use in a matter pending or contemplated in a U.S. District Court of another District;

(9) proceedings for the temporary enforcement of orders of the National Labor Relations Board;

(10) actions for recovery of erroneously paid educational assistance;

(11) proceedings involving efforts by the Internal Revenue Service to enforce the tax laws.

(f) If a timely-filed dispositive motion remains pending on the seventh day before the date for submitting the final pretrial order, that date will be postponed and rescheduled to a date no earlier than 7 days after the date of decision on the motion, unless the Court orders otherwise. The court will also reschedule the final pretrial conference and the trial date accordingly. For purposes of this rule, "dispositive motion" means a motion for judgment on the pleadings, for summary judgment, to certify or decertify a class, to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or to involuntarily dismiss an action, including such a motion directed to fewer than all claims, issues, or parties.

COMMENT: The requirement that all parties be present at a pretrial conference held within 90 days of trial is eliminated. All parties are required to attend settlement conferences whenever they may be held.

July 1, 2010