Effective June 1, 2006

LR 26 GENERAL DISCOVERY PROVISIONS (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26)

LR 26.1 Initial Conference of Counsel for Discovery Planning (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f))

Unless exempted under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(E) or otherwise ordered by the Court:

(a) The parties shall hold a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) initial conference of counsel for discovery planning within thirty (30) days after all defendants have been served. Counsel for plaintiff(s), upon learning the identity of counsel for defendant(s), shall initiate communications with counsel for defendant(s). All counsel shall then confer as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f).

(b) No written report of the initial conference of counsel for discovery planning is required (other than the form that is referred to in LR 26.2), but the parties shall be prepared to report orally to the Court as to their discovery plan.

(c) The parties may seek discovery once the initial conference of counsel for discovery planning contemplated by this local rule has occurred.

LR 26.2 Initial Disclosures (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1))

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, parties who agree to forgo the disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) can do so using the form issued at the time of filing and found in the Appendix of Forms #16.

Commentary to LR 16.2, LR 26.1, and LR 26.2

The US District Court for Oregon encourages, but does not require, parties to opt out of the initial disclosures and to proceed with discovery without delay once they have held the Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) initial conference of counsel for discovery planning. This tends to prevent a discovery lull for several weeks at the beginning of each case and to prevent satellite disputes about the initial disclosures.

LR 26.3 Pretrial Disclosures (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3))

Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the time for pretrial disclosures will be set at a Rule 16 conference.

LR 26.4 Expert Testimony (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2))

(a) Disclosure Requirements

Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the time for disclosure of experts under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) and discovery regarding experts generally, will be set at a Rule 16 conference.

(b) Non-Filing Requirements (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2), LR 5.2, and LR 16).

LR 26.5 Discovery Motions (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and LR 37)

(a) Document Title (See LR 10.2)

The document title shall substantially comply with the following format:

Example 1	PLAINTIFF JOHN SMITH'S MOTION TO COMPEL
Example 2	DEFENDANT ABC CORPORATION'S ReSPONSE TO PLAINTIFF JOHN SMITH'S MOTION TO COMPEL PRODUCTION

(b) Page Limits

Without prior Court approval, memoranda must be ten (10) pages or less (exclusive of exhibits).

(c) No Replies

Unless otherwise directed by the Court, a movant may not file a reply supporting a discovery motion.

(d) Motions to Compel (See LR 37).

(e) Calendaring (See LR 7.1(d) and LR7.1(e))

(f) Resolving Discovery Disputes by Telephone Conference

Parties encountering a discovery problem may telephone the assigned judge to set up a telephone conference to help resolve the issue(s). If the assigned judge is unavailable, the Court will attempt to have the telephone conference handled by another judge.

LR 26.6 Motions for Protective Orders (See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), LR 3.8, and LR 3.9)

A party or person asserting there is good cause for the Court to make an order that would limit access to discovery materials not filed with the Court, or would authorize a party or person to file any materials with the Court under seal, must show with respect to each particular material or category of materials that specific prejudice or harm will result if no order is granted. The showing must be sufficiently detailed to permit the Court in its good cause examination to identify specific factors supporting entry of the order sought. Where the order sought would authorize a party to file materials under seal, the showing also must articulate why, as an alternative to filing under seal, the information sought to be protected could not be redacted. Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples or articulated reasoning does not satisfy the requirements of this rule. The showing must be made even if the other party stipulates to the entry of the order.

Practice Tip

Parties or persons applying for protective orders or orders authorizing the party or person to file materials under seal should review Foltz v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co,, 331 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir. 2003); Phillips v. General Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206 (9th Cir. 2002); Beckman Industries, Inc. v International Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470 (9th Cir. 1992); Gisby v Les Schwab Tire Center of Oregon, Inc., 2004 WL 848191 (D. Or. 2004); and Fischer v City of Portland, 2003 WL 23537981 (D. Or. 2003).

LR 26.7 Waiver of Objections

(a) Objections Must be Timely

Failure to object to a discovery request within the time permitted by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or within the time to which the parties have agreed, constitutes a waiver of any objection.

(b) Description Within Reasonable Time

By making a timely objection, a party may preserve its privilege or its protection against production of attorney work product or trial preparation material without simultaneously providing a "privilege log" or a description of the claims of privilege or work product required by Fed R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5). However, such a "privilege log" or description of the claims of privilege or work product required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5) shall be provided within a reasonable time after service of timely objections to a discovery request.