Dominic Duree and Denise Chambliss v. Brian Bennett, et. al.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO DOMINIC DUREE, and DENISE CHAMBLISS Plaintiffs, v. No. 2:26-cv-01957-KWR-JHR BRIAN BENNETT, et. al., Defendants.

INITIAL SCHEDULING ORDER This case is assigned to me for scheduling, case management, discovery, and other non- dispositive motions. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, as well as the Local Rules of the Court will apply to this lawsuit.

The parties, appearing through counsel or pro se, will “meet and confer” no later than Thursday, October 1, 2026, to formulate a provisional discovery plan. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f). The time allowed for discovery is generally 120 to 150 days. The parties will cooperate in preparing a Joint Status Report and Provisional Discovery Plan (“JSR”) which follows the sample JSR available at the Court’s website.1 The blanks for suggested/proposed dates are to be filled in by the parties. Actual dates will be promulgated by order in the court shortly after entry of the JSR.

Plaintiff(s), or Defendant(s) in removed cases, is responsible for filing the JSR by Thursday, October 8, 2026. Good cause must be shown and written approval obtained for any modification of dates in the scheduling order that issues from the JSR.

1 Pursuant to Administrative Order No. 06-173, the JSR replaces and supersedes the Provisional Discovery Plan and the Initial Pretrial Report, effective January 2, 2007. Please visit the Court’s webpage dedicated to generic forms (www.nmd.uscourts.gov/forms) and select “Joint Status Report and Provisional Discovery Plan” from the drop-down list of available forms.

Initial disclosures under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) shall be made on or before Thursday, October 8, 2026.

A scheduling conference pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 will be conducted by telephone on Friday, October _16, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time. To join the proceedings, counsel shall call my toll-free line at (855) 244-8681 and enter the access code 2300 7117 and press #. At the scheduling conference, counsel will be prepared to discuss discovery needs and scheduling, all claims and defenses, the use of scientific evidence and whether a Dauber?’ hearing is needed, initial disclosures, and the time of expert disclosures and reports under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2). Parties and the judge will also discuss settlement prospects and alternative dispute resolution possibilities. Client attendance is not required. If service on all parties is not complete, Plaintiff(s), appearing through counsel or pro se, is responsible for notifying all parties of the content of this order.

Pre-trial practice in this cause shall be in accordance with the foregoing.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

HON. JERRY H. RITTE United States Magistrate Judge See generally Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993).