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party’s claims or defenses” and a “descrip-
tion of the nature of the information each
such person is believed to possess.”
2. State the names, addresses and telephone
numbers of “all persons” who have given
written or recorded statements “relevant
to any party’s claims or defenses” and
“attach a copy of each such statement” to
the response.
3. “List documents [and] electronically
stored information (‘ESI’)” that you believe
“may be relevant to any party’s claims or
defenses” whether or not the items are
in your possession, custody or control.
If too voluminous to list separately, “you
may group similar documents or ESI into
categories and describe the categories with
particularity.” Identify the “custodians” of
the documents or ESI.
4. For each of your claims or defenses,
“state the facts relevant to it and the legal
theories upon which it rests.”
5. Provide a computation of “each category
of damages claimed by you” and “a descrip-
tion of the documents or other evidentiary
material” on which the claim of damages
is based.
6. Identify and describe “any insurance or
other agreement” that may satisfy all or
part of a possible judgment in the action
or to indemnify or reimburse a party for
payments made to satisfy the judgment.
All “reasonably available” pertinent
material must be disclosed; no party will
be excused from full disclosure simply
because it “has not fully investigated the
case.” Standing Order ¶ A(1)(b).
Critically, and unlike other mandatory
disclosure obligations such as those con-
tained in FRCP 26, parties must provide
information “whether favorable or unfavor-
able, and regardless of whether they intend
to use the information in presenting their
claims or defenses.” Standing Order ¶ A(2).
Mandatory Answer Even When Motions to
Dismiss Are Filed
The Pilot requires defendants to file their
answers in the time set forth in FRCP 12.
Standing Order ¶ (A)(3). Defendants must
do so even if they intend to move to dismiss
for failure to state a claim. Only motions
challenging jurisdiction or claiming immu-
nity may defer the answer if “good cause”
exists. The mandatory answer is designed
to inform the parties’ understanding of the
scope of issues in dispute for purposes of
completing their initial disclosures.
Within 30 Days of the Answer, Parties Must
Serve their Initial Discovery Responses
Within 30 days of the answer, parties must
serve their initial responses to the manda-
tory discovery, i.e., description of witnesses,
documents, ESI, legal claims and defenses,
and insurance policies. Parties must also
produce or make available hardcopy docu-
ments. Standing Order ¶ A(4), ¶¶ B(3),
C(1). ESI production occurs later.
Parties may object to the mandatory
initial discovery subjects to the same extent
as with respect to party-initiated discovery,
including objections claiming that the
mandatory discovery “would involve dis-
proportionate expense or burden, consider-
ing the needs of the case.” Standing Order
¶ A(2). Boilerplate objections, however,
are not permitted; rather, the party must
“explain with particularity the nature of the
objection and its legal basis and provide a
fair description of the information being
withheld.” Withholding based on the
attorney client privilege or work product
protections requires a privilege log, unless
the parties jointly agree that privilege logs
are not required. Standing Order ¶ A(2).
The parties must certify that the initial
response is “complete and correct.” This
is signed by the party “under oath,” and
by the attorney pursuant to Rule 23(g).
Standing Order ¶ A(1)(b).
The parties do not file initial discov-
ery responses with the Court, but rather
file a notice of service with the Court.
The Northern District of Illinois website
contains information regarding how to
electronically file the notice.
Two limited exceptions to the initial
response deadline exist. First, initial
responses are unnecessary if the parties
jointly stipulate that there will be no dis-
covery whatsoever in the case. Second, in
an effort to promote early resolution, initial
responses may be deferred “one time” for
30 days if the parties jointly certify that
they have a “good faith belief ” that the
matter will settle within 30 days of the
due date for their initial response. Standing
Order ¶ A(4).
ESI Is Due Within 40 Days of Initial Response
The parties must confer promptly regard-
ing ESI and the protocol for disclosure,
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