Johnson v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Filing 16

(This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no pdf document associated with this entry.) ORDER: An amended final scheduling order, clarifying various procedures, and resetting trial date, will issue. Signed by Judge D. P. Marshall Jr. on 8/27/2014. (mkf)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
PINE BLUFF DIVISION
BRENT JOHNSON
v.

PLAINTIFF
5:13-cv-41-DPM

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY

DEFENDANT

SECOND AMENDED FINAL SCHEDULING ORDER
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b), the Court orders:
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Deadline to request any
pleading amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 November 2014

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Joint status report due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 December 2014

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Plaintiffs shall identify all
expert witnesses and produce
their opinions by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 December 2014

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Defendants shall identify all
expert witnesses and produce
their opinions by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 January 2015

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Plaintiff shall identify any rebuttal
expert witnesses and produce
their opinions by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 January 2015

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Discovery cutoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 January 2015

January 2014

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Dispositive motions due1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 February 2015

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Joint status report, including
settlement conference request, due . . . . . 13 February 2015

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Deposition designations exchanged2 . . . . . . . 11 March 2015

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Motions in limine due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 March 2015

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Local Rule 26.2 pre-trial
disclosure sheets due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 April 2015

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Joint report on deposition designation
disputes (if any) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 April 2015

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Trial briefs due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 April 2015

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Jury Instructions
(agreed or disputed) due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 April 2015

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Responding trial briefs due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 April 2015

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Jury Trial, Pine Bluff Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 May 2015

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Courtroom. Unless otherwise noted, all proceedings will
be in Courtroom B-155 at the Richard Sheppard Arnold
U.S. Courthouse in Little Rock. If the parties need lots of
technology, we will relocate to a courtroom in the annex.

1

Note and follow the procedure specified infra.

2

Note and follow the procedure specified infra.

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Amending Pleadings. Local Rule 5.5(c) requires a party to
attach the proposed amended pleading to the motion.
Please make this attachment a redline or comparison copy
showing all proposed changes.

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Protective Orders. Before filing a motion for approval,
counsel should email a draft order in WordPerfect to
chambers for review. Alert the law clerk on the case to the
draft’s submission. Avoid legalese. Short, plain orders are
better than long, complicated ones. Incorporate Fed. R.
Civ. P. 5.2's mandate for redaction if practicable before any
filing under seal. The order should remain in effect no
longer than one year after litigation ends, not in perpetuity.

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Discovery Disputes. Counsel should confer in good faith
in person before bringing any discovery dispute to the
Court. Do not file motions to compel. Do not file a motion
to quash or for protective order unless there is an
emergency. If the parties reach a discovery impasse, they
should file a joint five-page report explaining the
disagreement. Attach documents (such as disputed written
discovery) as needed. The Court will rule or schedule a
hearing. Alert the law clerk on the case to the joint report’s
filing. If a dispute arises during a deposition, call
chambers so the Judge can rule during the deposition.

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Summary Judgment. Motions must comply with Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and Local Rules 7.2 and 56.1.
Make the complete condensed transcript of any deposition
cited an exhibit. Limit your Rule 56.1 statements to material
facts. Include a specific supporting record citation for each
fact asserted. Responding statements of fact must repeat
the statement being responded to—like a discovery
response. Include a specific supporting record citation for
each fact disputed or asserted in the responding statement.

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A party’s substantial failure to follow these procedures will
result in the party having to correct its filing. If the
summary judgment papers are voluminous, the Court
would appreciate the parties sending a courtesy paper
copy to chambers.
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Deposition Designations: The Court strongly encourages
the parties to use live testimony, rather than testimony by
deposition, at trial. If the parties nonetheless need to use
deposition testimony, then they must use the following
procedure. Thirty days before Local Rule 26.2 pre-trial
disclosure sheets are due, the parties should exchange
deposition designations. As soon as practicable thereafter,
counsel must meet and confer in person. They should try
hard to agree on what deposition testimony will be
presented at trial and resolve any objections. If any dispute
or objection remains unresolved, then the parties should
file a joint report explaining the dispute on the same date
pre-trial disclosure sheets are due. The parties must certify
that they met and conferred in person but failed to resolve
the disputed issue. The parties should also deliver to
chambers a paper copy of the entire transcript of any
deposition involved in any dispute.

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Jury Instructions. The Court will use its own introductory
and general instructions. The parties should submit
proposed instructions only on elements and anything
unusual and proposed verdict forms. The Court strongly
encourages the parties to confer and agree on these
instructions and forms. The parties should also submit an
agreed proposed statement of the case. Note authority on
the bottom of the each proposed instruction. Please
explain the reason for any disputed instructions in your
submission. Send agreed and disputed instructions in
WordPerfect to [e-mail]. Alert

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the law clerk on the case that you have submitted the
instructions.
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Exhibits. The Court strongly encourages the parties to
agree on as many of the exhibits as possible before the
pre-trial. Deliver the original exhibits, and one copy, in
three-ring binders to the Courtroom Deputy on the last
business day (usually a Friday) before the trial starts
(usually on a Monday).

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Pre-Trial Hearing. We will address motions in limine,
deposition excerpts for use at trial, jury instructions, trial
architecture, exhibits, and voir dire.

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Conflicts Of Interest. Counsel must check the Court's list
of financial interests on file in the U.S. District Clerk's
Office to determine whether there is any conflict that might
require recusal. If any party is a subsidiary or affiliate of
any company in which the Court has a financial interest,
counsel should bring that fact to the Court's attention
immediately.

Please communicate with Martha Fugate, Courtroom Deputy, by email at [e-mail] to check your position on the
calendar as the trial date approaches. In the event of settlement,
advise Ms. Fugate immediately.
AT THE DIRECTION OF THE COURT
JAMES W. McCORMACK, CLERK
By: /s/ Martha Fugate
Courtroom Deputy to Judge D. P. Marshall Jr.
27 August 2014
January 2014
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