40.53 CERCLA Case-Management Order 

[caption]

Order No. 				

It is ORDERED:
1.	Limited Consolidation. Until further order of the court, the above-captioned actions, Civil Action 
No.           and Civil Action No.            (collectively, the “Actions”), are consolidated before the undersigned for the limited purposes of coordinated case management and discovery.
2.	Lodging of the Administrative Record; Stay of Administrative Record Discovery. On or before  [date]  , plaintiff, the United States of America, will lodge with the court the administrative record developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in connection with the initial Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Studies (RI/FS) for the 		        Landﬁll (the “Landﬁll”); on or before       [date]        , 	                         plaintiff, the United States of America, will lodge with the court the administrative record developed by the EPA in connection with the record of decision (including the Supplemental Feasibility Study). No discovery shall be permitted at this time as to what documents constitute or will constitute these administrative records until further Order of the court.
3.	Temporary Stay of Counterclaims, Cross-Claims, and Third-Party Claims. Until       [date]      , the date established herein for the second case-management conference, no counterclaims, cross-claims, or third-party claims in either of the Actions, and no claims related to the Landﬁll by defendants in one of the Actions against defendants in the other of the Actions, shall be ﬁled. The stay as to counterclaims and third-party claims shall be addressed at the second case-management conference. All counterclaims, cross-claims, or third-party claims ﬁled prior to the entry of this order are stayed until the second case-management conference.
4.	Filing of Claims. At the second case-management conference, scheduled herein, the court will establish a schedule for ﬁling of the claims referred to in paragraph 3. Nothing in this order shall prejudice the right of any defendant in either of the Actions to assert any such claims, nor shall any such claims be barred by laches or by any statute of limitations by virtue of the delay in ﬁling such claims required by this order.
5.	Realignment of Pleadings. The United States of America, in Civil No.           , and the State Department of Environmental Protection, in Civil No.          , are hereby granted leave to ﬁle amended complaints, not later than         [date]       ,without the necessity of a motion. The purposes of these amended complaints are to cure misnomer problems; to add defendants; to dismiss defendants already named, without prejudice; to conform the defendants named in the two amended complaints to the degree that the plaintiffs deem appropriate; and to clarify the causes of action, demands, and relief sought in the amended complaints to the degree that the plaintiffs deem appropriate. Existing defendants who have already answered or otherwise responded to the complaint need not answer or otherwise respond to the amended complaint unless they choose to do so. All other defendants shall answer or otherwise respond within the time provided in the Rules.
6.	Joinder of New Parties. Except as provided herein or by subsequent order, no party may join an additional party in this case. The joinder of new parties may occur through the amendment of the complaints (see          above), or by the coordinated efforts of the defense litigation committee to be formalized by the defendants. The defense litigation committee will serve as a clearinghouse for information pertinent to identifying new parties through coordinated discovery efforts. Discovery with respect to joining new parties is discussed in paragraphs              below. No later than        [date]       , the defense litigation committee shall have assembled a list of new parties whose joinder will be considered at the second case-management conference on          [date]          .
		To the extent feasible, this listing shall be selective, seeking joinder of parties with a relatively higher degree of alleged responsibility and continuing viability, and avoiding joinder of parties with a relatively lower degree of alleged responsibility or which are of doubtful viability. It is anticipated that leave to ﬁle a consolidated third-party complaint joining the new parties in an orderly fashion, and leave for individual defendants to ﬁle contractual indemnification claims, will be granted at the second case-management conference. [There will be an additional opportunity to join further new parties in the future as the cases unfold.]
7.	Amendments. The goal of the amended complaints and the consolidated third-party complaint is to have a more uniﬁed and orderly set of pleadings and joinders so that these Actions may go forward expeditiously.
8.	Scope of Discovery. Discovery shall be limited at present to the following issues:
(a)	Identification of new parties.
(b)	Quantity, quality, and nexus of parties’ wastes to the                                               Landﬁll.
[It is anticipated that parties providing full discovery on these issues and believing themselves to have no nexus of hazardous wastes to the Landﬁll will be permitted to seek summary judgment in the near future.]
		No discovery is permitted at this time regarding issues of “release or threatened release” at the Landﬁll, or of “the incurring of response costs consistent with the NCP at the Landﬁll.” Enlarging discovery to these issues, and the precise extent, timing, and appropriateness of summary judgment motion practice relating to some or all liability issues, will be considered at the second case-management conference, following lodging of the administrative records under                         , above.
Forms of Discovery
9.	Document Production. Production of documents shall be coordinated and go forward promptly and responses shall be served within       days of service. The deposition of representatives of the EPA, the DEP [State Department of Environmental Protection], or a defendant shall not go forward until that party has responded to the document production request upon it.
10.	Depositions. Depositions are permitted at this time only with respect to the issues of identification of new parties and quantity, quality, and nexus. Such depositions may be taken, on these issues, of existing parties and nonparties, except that no depositions of representatives of the EPA or the DEP or of a defendant are permitted until that party has timely responded to the document production request upon it. Scheduling of depositions on behalf of defendants will be coordinated between the plaintiffs and the defense litigation committee, endeavoring to conduct not more than one deposition at a time.
11.	Procedure for Scheduling Depositions
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12.	Interrogatories to Plaintiffs. The plaintiffs shall serve certified responses to a common set of interrogatories, derived from the set of interrogatories served by                    on behalf of fourteen defendants, pertaining to quantity, quality, nexus, and identification of additional parties, within 
       days after service, to the same extent as if served on behalf of all 	   defendants in the United States case and all                    defendants in the state case. All other interrogatories are stricken, without prejudice, and need not be answered.
13.	Interrogatories to Defendants. The plaintiffs may propound a set of common interrogatories on the above issues upon each of the defendants, each of whom shall serve certified responses to same within 
         days after service.
14.	Requests for Admission. Requests for admission shall not be served until further order of the court, to be discussed at the second case-management conference.
15.	Liaison Counsel for Defendants. The court recognizes the defendants’ selection of                           , 
                              , as liaison counsel for defendants with respect to communications from the court to the defendants.
16.	Service List. Liaison counsel for the defendants shall prepare and promptly ﬁle with the clerk the service list containing the names, addresses, and telephone and facsimile numbers of attorneys appearing in this case and of unrepresented parties.
17.	Cooperation Among Defendants; Defense Litigation Committee. Cooperation efforts among defendants in the Actions for the purpose of coordinating discovery, trial, counsel, or otherwise minimizing expenses in the Actions are being conducted at the direction of the court for its convenience in the resolution of the Actions and they shall not constitute evidence of conspiracy, concerted action, or any other wrongful conduct in this or any other proceeding. The defendants are hereby directed to take reasonable steps to eliminate duplication of effort and redundant discovery. The defendants have also informed the court that they have selected and will continue to organize a defense litigation committee, the duties of which shall be better deﬁned before the interim status conference on         [date]        at
						.
18.	Privileges Preserved. All information and/or documents exchanged among the defendants in the Actions shall be communicated for the limited purpose of assisting in a common defense in this litigation only, and such exchange shall not constitute a waiver of any attorney–client work product, trade secret, or other privilege. All discussions will be treated as not admissible into evidence in accordance with the terms of Fed. R. Evid. 408.
19.	Cooperation Between Plaintiffs and Exchange of Information. Exchange of information and/or documents between the plaintiffs relating to the prosecution of these actions is communication for the limited purpose of assisting in a common cause and shall not constitute a waiver of whatever attorney–client, work product, enforcement-sensitive, or any other privilege, if any, may apply.
20.	Preservation of Documents. All parties and their counsel are hereby directed to preserve any information in their possession, custody, or control that constitutes or contains material or information that may be relevant in these Actions. All parties and their counsel are directed to take all reasonable steps to communicate the requirements of this provision to the individuals employed by that party who must know of this provision in order for it to be effective. Plaintiffs shall instruct their RI/FS contractors and subcontractors (and any other of plaintiffs’ contractors and subcontractors) to preserve all such information.

Dated: 												
									United States District Judge