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16 Fed. Cts. L. Rev. 1 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/fecourtl16 and id is 1 raw text is: THE FEDERAL COURTS LAW REVIEW*
Volume 16                                                    2024
RULE 16(B)(4): IS GOOD CAUSE A GOOD
THING? WHY I HATE SCHEDULING
ORDERS
Hon. Jeremiah J. McCarthy*
INTRODU   CTION  ...................................................................  1
I.   THE GOOD CAUSE STANDARD .................................. 2
II.  M IXED  SIGNALS...........................................................3
III. CONSEQUENCES OF ENFORCEMENT ........................... 5
C ON CLU SION  ......................................................................  7
INTRODUCTION
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (Rule) 16 requires courts to
issue a scheduling order setting deadlines for the completion of
various pretrial proceedings.1 Rule 16(b)(4) provides that the
schedule set by the court may be modified only for good cause and
with the judge's consent, but does not define what is meant by
good cause. This article discusses the vastly different approaches
which courts have taken in defining and applying the good cause
* The Federal Courts Law Review is a publication of the Federal Magistrate Judges
Association. Editing support is provided by the members of the Mississippi Law Journal.
United States Magistrate Judge, Western District of New York. I wish to thank
my legal assistants, Matthew Yusick and Joanna Dickinson, as well as my courtroom
deputy clerk, Eric Glynn, for their assistance in the preparation of this article.
1 Editor's Note: Hereinafter, all citations to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
will follow this designation.

1

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