(1) in an action placed or likely to be placed in a scheduling category for which the case management plan adopted pursuant to Rule 16-302 (b) requires a scheduling conference;

(2) in an action in which an objection to computer-generated evidence is filed under Rule 2-504.3 (d);

(3) in an action in which jury selection or any other significant proceeding will be conducted by remote electronic participation; or

(4) in an action in which a party requests a scheduling conference and represents that, despite a good faith effort, the parties have been unable to reach an agreement (A) on a plan for the scheduling and completion of discovery, (B) on the proposal of any party to pursue an available and appropriate form of alternative dispute resolution, or (C) on any other matter eligible for inclusion in a scheduling order under Rule 2-504.

(1) complete sufficient initial discovery to enable them to participate in the conference meaningfully and in good faith and to make decisions regarding (A) settlement, (B) consideration of available and appropriate forms of alternative dispute resolution, (C) limitation of issues, (D) stipulations, (E) any issues relating to preserving discoverable information, (F) any issues relating to discovery of electronically stored information, including the form in which it is to be produced, (G) any issues relating to claims of privilege or of protection, and (H) other matters that may be considered at the conference; and

(2) confer in person or by telephone and attempt to reach agreement or narrow the areas of disagreement regarding the matters that may be considered at the conference and determine whether the action or any issues in the action are suitable for referral to an alternative dispute resolution in accordance with Title 17, Chapters 100 and 200 of these rules.

Committee note: Examples of matters that may be considered at a scheduling conference when discovery of electronically stored information is expected, include:

(1) its identification and retention;

(2) the form of production, such as PDF, TIFF, or JPEG files, or native form, for example, Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.;

(3) the manner of production, such as CD-ROM;

(4) any production of indices;

(5) any electronic numbering of documents and information;

(6) apportionment of costs for production of electronically stored information not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost;

(7) a process by which the parties may assert claims of privilege or of protection after production; and

(8) whether the parties agree to refer discovery disputes to a magistrate or Special Magistrate.

The parties may also need to address any request for metadata, for example, information embedded in an electronic data file that describes how, when, and by whom it was created, received, accessed, or modified or how it is formatted. For a discussion of metadata and factors to consider in determining the extent to which metadata should be preserved and produced in a particular case, see, The Sedona Conference, The Sedona Principles: Best Practices Recommendations and Principles for Addressing Electronic Document Production, (2d ed. 2007), Principle 12 and related Comment.