Significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will take effect on Dec. 1, 2015, absent congressional action. According to the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the amendments are aimed at achieving three goals: (i) to “improve early and active judicial case management through amendments to Rules 4(m) and 16″; (ii) to “enhance the means of keeping discovery proportional to the action through amendments to Rules 26, 30, 31, 33, 34 and 36″; and (iii) to “encourage increased cooperation among the parties through an amendment to Rule 1.”1 Additionally, Rule 37(e), providing for sanctions for the failure to preserve electronically stored information (ESI), has been substantially amended, abrogating aspects of Second Circuit spoliation law.
Time Lines and Scheduling
Rule 4—Shortened Time Limits for Service. Current Rule 4(m) provides that a summons and complaint must be served on the defendant within 120 days after the complaint is filed. The amended Rule 4(m) shortens the time for service to 90 days with the stated goal of reducing delay at the beginning of litigation.2 The Advisory Committee recognizes that this change will likely “increase the frequency for occasions to extend the time for good cause.”3
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