Opinion
Civil Action No. 06-cv-00361-MSK-PAC.
March 14, 2006
ORDER SETTING HEARING UNDER FED.R.CIV.P. 16
THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon a Complaint filed by the Plaintiff seeking, inter alia, to recover benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). In light thereof, a hearing pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(b) and D.C.COLO.LCivR 16.1 is necessary.
IT IS ORDERED:
(1) A hearing is set for May 24, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. in Courtroom A901 of the United States Courthouse located at 901 19th Street, Denver, Colorado.
(2) On or before May 10, 2006, and in conformance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f), D.C.COLO.LCivR 16.1, 16.2 and 26.1, and this Order, the parties shall prepare and submit a proposed scheduling order. The proposed scheduling order shall be in the form specified by D.C.COLO.LCivR Appendix F except that:
(a) It shall not contain a signature line for a judicial officer.
(b) It shall address the following:
Standard of Review:
• Do the plan documents confer discretion upon the plan administrator to interpret the plan?
• Is this Court's review of the plan administrator's decision de novo or under an arbitrary and capricious standard?Administrative Record:
• What documents comprise the administrative record?
• How much time do the parties need to compile and submit the administrative record?Discovery:
• Does the claimant contend that the plan administrator had a conflict of interest in administering the plan? If so, are there facts in dispute concerning this issue?
• Is there a need for discovery?
(c) It shall not address the matters set forth in Section 7 (Case Plan and Schedule), Section 9 (Other Scheduling Issues) or Section 10 (Dates for Further Conferences) of Appendix F.
(3) No later than April 19, 2006, the parties shall meet and confer regarding the contents of the proposed scheduling order pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f).
(4) No later than May 10, 2006, the parties shall stipulate to and file all pertinent ERISA plan documents including summary plan descriptions. At the conference, the parties shall be prepared to address all applicable provisions in the plan documents.
(5) At the scheduling conference, the parties shall be prepared to address the issues covered by the proposed scheduling order and any other issues enumerated in Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c).
(6) No later than March 28, 2006, the Plaintiff shall serve a copy of this Order on the Defendant with the Complaint, or without the Complaint if the Complaint has already been served on the Defendant, and file a certificate of service with the Court no later than April 4, 2006.