Agenda Items for Upcoming Advisory Committee on Civil Rules Meeting

Tom Rowe of Duke Law school is reporting that although there are no action items on the agenda for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Civil Rules meeting in Santa Rosa, the Committee will be considering whether to move forward on any of several possible projects, including:

--modernizing the list of affirmative defenses in Rule 8(c), and more broadly the possibility of changes to the notice-pleading approach of Rule 8 generally;

--cleaning up Rule 15 on amending pleadings (again);

--clarifying whether employees designated as testifying experts must provide an expert report under Rule 26(a)(2)(B), as to which the cases are split;

--improving Rule 30(b)(6) on designated corporate deposition witnesses;

--adding a provision to Rule 48 about polling juries;

--revising Rule 56 on summary judgments; and

--clarifying district-court authority to provide indicative rulings on motions, such as those for relief from a judgment under Rule 60(b), made while an appeal is pending.

Thanks to Professor Rowe for this information.