Naff et al v. State Farm General Insurance Company

Filing 43

ORDER RE: JURY QUESTIONNAIRE, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 7/19/2016. (Hall, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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HALONDA NAFF, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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v.
STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE
COMPANY,

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Defendant.

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AND RELATED CROSS-CLAIMS

) Case No.: 1:15-cv-00515 - JLT
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) ORDER RE: JURY QUESTIONNAIRE
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The platiniffs contend State Farm wrongfully cancelled their insurance policy and denied their

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insurance claim following a house fire that caused the loss of their personal property. State Farm

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argues the Naffs made material misrepresentations related to their claim which justified the cancellation

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of their policy. State Farm asserts its actions were proper and seeks a declaration of rights in its

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counterclaim.

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The matter is set for jury trial on August 9, 2016 and State Farm wishes to use a jury

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questionnaire because it is concerned that there may be jurors who have strong feelings about insurance

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companies that, if expressed during normal voir dire, may contaminate the entire jury panel. The Naffs

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contend that this case is not unique and that a questionnaire is best suited for situations where jurors

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may be embarrassed or made uncomfortable by the responses they must give to voir dire. (Doc. 40 at
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3) Ordinarily, the Court would agree. However, counsel estimate that this trial will last seven to

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fifteen days. (Doc. 35 at 29, 30) Also, due to the unavailability of the Court, there will be a gap during

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the middle of trial. These factors will likely result in many hardship requests and a slimming of the

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panel of prospective jurors.

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In addition, the panel of potential jurors will not be large enough to tolerate “contamination” by

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an overly vocal prospective juror and the Court will not have immediate access to additional jurors.

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Because of the potential to delay the trial, the Court concludes that a jury questionnaire will identify

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those who may require questioning outside of the presence fellow jurors. The Court anticipates only

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minimal delay caused by the use of the questionnaire and, despite the Court’s earlier inclination to mail

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the questionnaires to the jurors, the Court has decided that the jurors will not be exposed to the content

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of the questionnaire until they arrive for jury service. This will minimize the risk of jurors forming any

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opinions about the nature of the case.

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On the other hand, the Court does not find that either proposed questionnaire achieves the

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limited goals discussed at the pretrial conference. The defendant’s proposed questionnaire asks some

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questions the answers to which pose little potential to “weed out” jurors who lack the ability to be fair

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and impartial. In contrast, the plaintiffs’ proposed questionnaire, while identifying those who may have

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significant potential for bias, fails to be broad enough to capture the bulk of this population. Thus, the

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Court has constructed its own questionnaire, attached hereto. The questionnaire is not a substitute for

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full voir dire but is intended only to alert the Court to those prospective jurors who should be examined,

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at least in part, outside of the presence of fellow jurors.

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Thus, the defendant’s request to use a jury questionnaire is GRANTED in PART and the

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plaintiffs’ objections are OVERRRULED. Any objections or proposed changes to the jury

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questionnaire may be filed by July 29, 2016.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

July 19, 2016

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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Juror Questionnaire

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This case involves allegations that an insurance company refused to pay an insurance claim and

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that the people making the insurance claim made false statements about the value of the items that were

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insured.
To assist the parties and the Court in making jury selection as efficient as possible, please

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answer the following questions:

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1.

Have you or any member of your immediate family ever been in a dispute with any

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insurance company for any reason including, for example, a dispute over payment of an

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insurance claim?
Yes_____

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No_____ If yes, please explain:

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2.

Has any insurance company ever claimed that you or a member of your immediate family

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made false statements related to an insurance claim?

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Yes_____

No_____ If yes, please explain:

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3.

Is there anything about your experience with insurance companies or about the allegations

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made in this lawsuit that would impact your ability to be fair in this case?

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Yes_____

No_____ If yes, please explain:

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I declare under penalty of perjury according to the laws of the State of California, that the
foregoing is true and correct.

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Print your full name: _________________________________________

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Signature: __________________________________________________

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