The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“the Act”) introduced a broad array of regulatory reforms in the financial sector. Among those reforms is Title II of the Act, which provides a process for the identification and orderly liquidation of distressed, systemically important financial institutions. Title II also directs the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) to study the resolution of distressed financial institutions under Title 11 of the United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code). The AOUSC submitted its first report pursuant to section 202(e) of the Act on July 21, 2011 (“First Report”). The AOUSC now submits this second report in compliance with section 202(e)’s instruction that it summarize the results of its study in a report “[n]ot later than 1 year after the date of enactment of th[e] Act [and] in each successive year until the third year.” This report to Congress was prepared with the assistance of the Federal Judicial Center.

This report summarizes the findings of a study of the operation of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26(f) and 16(b) in a nationwide sample of recently terminated civil cases.

The Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) asked the Federal Judicial Center to develop and administer a short survey of district court judges to assess the frequency with which jurors use social media to communicate about cases during trial and deliberation. The survey also sought to identify strategies judges have found to be effective and appropriate in curbing this behavior. This report presents the findings from the survey. A subsequent survey in 2014 also considered attorneys' use of social media.

In our March 2011 report, we indicated that following the Supreme Court decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim were granted more frequently with leave to amend the complaint. We also noted that the opportunity to amend the complaint may cure the defect and change the findings of the study. The Advisory Committee asked that we follow the events in the study cases, determine the extent to which the respondents submitted amended complaints, and report the outcome of any subsequent motions to dismiss.