Munoz, et al. vs. PHH Mortgage Corp., et al.

Filing 460

FIRST AMENDED PRETRIAL ORDER, signed by Judge M Miller Baker on 10/12/21. Motions in Limine Due by 11/19/2021. Jury Trial set for 2/15/2022 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 10 (13th Floor) of the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA, before Judge M Miller Baker. Pretrial Conference set for 1/12/2022 at 10:30 AM via WebEx before Judge M Miller Baker. (Gonzalez, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
EFRAIN MUNOZ, individually and on
behalf of all others similarly situated,
et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.

No. 1:08-cv-00759-MMB-BAM
FIRST AMENDED
PRETRIAL ORDER

PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION,
et al.,
Defendants.

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On August 9, 2021, the undersigned was designated to preside over the

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trial of this case (ECF 457). The court finds it necessary to amend the final

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pretrial order (ECF 456), which remains in effect except as amended by this

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order.

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I.

Trial date and location

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As provided in the Clerk’s Notice entered on October 5, 2021 (ECF 459),

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trial will commence on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. in Court-

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room 10 (13th Floor) of the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 I Street,

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Sacramento, California.

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II.

Status conference

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The trial status conference previously scheduled for December 13, 2021,

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is hereby rescheduled to Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. Pacific

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Standard Time via a Webex videoconference. No later than Wednesday,

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January 5, 2022, counsel are to contact the undersigned’s Case Manager, Ca-

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sey Anne Cheevers, at [e-mail] regarding technical ar-

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rangements for this Webex.

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The parties are to submit (via CM/ECF) a list of agenda topics they wish

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to discuss along with (as appropriate) a proposed action for the court to take as

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to each topic. Insofar as the parties disagree regarding actions items for the

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court, the list of agenda topics is to state each party’s position and the reason(s)

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therefor. The parties’ proposed agenda is due no later than Friday, Janu-

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ary 7, 2022.

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III.

Motions in limine

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The schedule for filing and briefing the anticipated motions in limine is

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hereby modified as follows. (1) Any motions in limine the parties elect to file

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are due no later than Friday, November 19, 2021. (2) Any responses thereto

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are due no later than 21 days after a motion is filed. (3) Any replies in support

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of motions in limine are due no later than 11 days after an opposition is filed.

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(4) The court encourages the parties to file motions in limine on a rolling basis

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rather than waiting until the last possible day. (5) There will be no oral argu-

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ment on motions in limine unless the court orders otherwise.

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IV.

Trial briefs

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The due dates for trial briefs addressing the points of law identified in

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Part VIII of the original final pretrial order (ECF 456, at 8–9) are modified as

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follows. (1) Trial briefs are due no later than Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

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(2) A party wishing to file a response to a trial brief pursuant to Local

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Rule 285(b) may do so no later than Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

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V.

Submitting jury instructions

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Counsel shall e-mail a copy of all proposed jury instructions and verdicts,

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whether agreed or disputed, as a Word document to the Case Manager, Ms.

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Cheevers, at [e-mail] no later than Tuesday, Febru-

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ary 1, 2022; all blanks in form instructions should be completed and all brack-

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ets removed.

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VI.

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Document formatting
1.

All documents created by counsel and filed in this action after the

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entry of this order shall be set in a 14-point proportionally-spaced serif type-

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face, 1 except that 13-point type may be used for footnotes. Cf. Fed. R. App. P.

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32(a)(5)(A). This requirement does not apply to any standard forms, original

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evidentiary materials, or other material not prepared on counsel’s computer.

Typefaces such as Arial, Helvetica, or similar are sans-serif typefaces and thus do
not comply with this instruction. For an explanation of the distinction between serif
and sans serif typefaces (and why the latter are more difficult to read and thus prohibited in the federal courts of appeals), see Fed. R. App. P. 32 advisory committee
notes for the 1998 amendments to paragraph (a)(5). Similarly, Courier is a monospaced typeface and thus does not comply with this instruction. As suggested by the
Seventh Circuit, the court encourages the parties to use either a Century-family typeface or another serif typeface designed for books, rather than Times New Roman:
http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/rules-procedures/Handbook.pdf at 173–77.
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2.

The page limits previously in effect in this matter under Judge

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Drozd’s civil standing order are replaced with word-count limits. Documents

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previously subject to a 25-page limit are subject to a 7500-word limit and doc-

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uments previously subject to a 15-page limit are subject to a 4500-word limit.

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The foregoing word-count limits are inclusive of footnotes but do not include

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the case caption, signature block, any tables of contents or authorities, or any

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certifications of counsel. (To the extent counsel may need to file anything sub-

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ject to a page limit of other than 15 or 25 pages, counsel may calculate the

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applicable word-count limit by multiplying the number of allowed pages by 300

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words per page.)
3.

Documents subject to the foregoing word-count limit shall include

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a certificate of compliance stating the word count. Counsel may rely upon the

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word count stated by word processing software as long as the certificate of com-

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pliance contains a statement to that effect that refers to the software used (e.g.,

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“This brief contains 4321 words as reported by Microsoft Word”).

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VII. Summary of dates

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The following table summarizes the dates established above, as well as

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the dates prescribed in the original final pretrial order that remain unchanged.
Date
November 19, 2021
21 days after motion is filed
11 days after response is filed

Event
Last day to file motions in limine
Responses to motions in limine due
Replies in support of motions in limine
due
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Date
January 5, 2022
January 7, 2022
January 12, 2022
January 18, 2022
February 1, 2022

February 8, 2022
February 10, 2022
February 15, 2022
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Event
Counsel to contact Case Manager regarding logistics for trial status conference
Counsel to submit proposed agenda topics
for trial status conference
Trial status conference via Webex videoconference, 10:30 a.m. PST
1. Trial briefs due
2. Parties to exchange exhibits
1. Optional responses to trial briefs due
2. Objections to exhibits due
3. Parties to file “Joint Jury Instructions
and verdicts” and any separate proposed
instructions on which they cannot agree
4. Sealed original copy of any deposition
transcript to be used at trial must be
lodged with Clerk of Court
1. Any proposed jury voir dire due
2. Objections to proposed jury instructions
due
Final exhibits due
Trial begins, 9:00 a.m., Courtroom 10 of
the Sacramento federal courthouse

Dated: October 12, 2021

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/s/ M. Miller Baker
M. Miller Baker, Judge 2

Judge of the United States Court of International Trade, sitting by designation.

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