Patriot Rail Corp. v. Sierra Railroad Company

Filing 224

ORDER signed by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on 04/17/12 ORDERING that the Final Pretrial Conference is CONTINUED to 12/13/12 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 7 (MCE) before Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. with a joint pretrial statement due by 11/15/12; tr ial briefs due by 11/28/12; any evidentiary or procedural motions are to be filed by 11/21/12 with oppositions due by 11/28/12 and any reply due by 12/05/12. The motions will be heard by the Court at the same time as the Final Pretrial Conference; Jury Trial is CONTINUED to 02/25/13 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 7 (MCE) before Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. Plaintiff's 219 Motion to Continue is DENIED as moot; the 04/19/12 hearing is VACATED. (Benson, A.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PATRIOT RAIL CORP.,

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No. 2:09-cv-00009-MCE-EFB

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

SIERRA RAILROAD COMPANY,

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Defendants.
____________________________/
On the Court’s own motion, the Court makes the following

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Orders.

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I.

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The May 17, 2012 Final Pretrial Conference is vacated and

FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

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continued to December 13, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom 7.

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least one of the attorneys who will conduct the trial for each of

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the parties shall attend the Final Pretrial Conference.

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reason of illness or other unavoidable circumstance a trial

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attorney is unable to attend, the attorney who attends in place

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of the trial attorney shall have equal familiarity with the case

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and equal authorization to make commitments on behalf of the

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client.
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At

If by

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Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for trial

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at the time of the Final Pretrial Conference, with no matters

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remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for

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oral testimony.

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The parties shall file, not later than November 15, 2012, a

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Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement.

The provisions of

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Local Rules 281 shall apply with respect to the matters to be

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included in the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement.

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addition to those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the

In

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parties are to provide the Court with a plain, concise statement

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that identifies every non-discovery motion tendered to the Court

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and its resolution.

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modified by this Pretrial Scheduling Order, may be grounds for

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sanctions.

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Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as

At the time of filing the Joint Final Pretrial Conference

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Statement, counsel shall also electronically mail to the Court in

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digital format compatible with Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, the

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Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement in its entirety

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including the witness and exhibit lists.

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be sent to: [e-mail].

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These documents shall

The parties should identify first the core undisputed facts

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relevant to all claims.

The parties should then, in a concise

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manner, identify those undisputed core facts that are relevant to

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each claim.

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manner.

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disputed facts are properly before the Court for trial, they

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should nevertheless list all disputed facts asserted by each

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party.

The disputed facts should be identified in the same

Where the parties are unable to agree as to what

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Each disputed fact or undisputed fact should be separately

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numbered or lettered.

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Each party shall identify and concisely list each disputed

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evidentiary issue which will be the subject of a motion in

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limine.

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Each party shall identify the points of law which concisely

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describe the legal issues of the trial which will be discussed in

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the parties’ respective trial briefs.

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reflect issues derived from the core undisputed and disputed

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facts.

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Points of law should

any point of law.

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Parties shall not include argument or authorities with

The parties shall prepare a joint statement of the case in

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plain concise language which will be read to the jury at the

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beginning of the trial.

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inform the jury what the case is about.

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The purpose of the joint statement is to

The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule 281

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they are required to list in the Joint Final Pretrial Conference

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Statement all witnesses and exhibits they propose to offer at

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trial.

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a brief statement of the nature of the testimony to be proffered.

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The parties may file a joint list or each party may file separate

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lists.

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Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement itself, but shall be

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attached as separate documents to be used as addenda to the Final

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Pretrial Order.

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After the name of each witness, each party shall provide

These list(s) shall not be contained in the body of the

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Plaintiff’s exhibits shall be listed numerically.

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Defendant’s exhibits shall be listed alphabetically.

The parties

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shall use the standard exhibit stickers provided by the Court

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Clerk’s Office: pink for plaintiff and blue for defendant.

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the event that the alphabet is exhausted, the exhibits shall be

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marked “AA-ZZ” and “AAA-ZZZ” etc.

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number of letters in parenthesis (i.e., “AAAA(4)”) to reduce

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confusion at trial.

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otherwise fastened together and each page within the exhibit

In

After three letters, note the

All multi-page exhibits shall be stapled or

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shall be numbered.

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The list of exhibits shall not include excerpts of depositions,

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which may be used to impeach witnesses.

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Plaintiff and Defendant offer the same exhibit during trial, that

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exhibit shall be referred to by the designation the exhibit is

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first identified.

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attention to this detail so that all concerned, including the

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jury, will not be confused by one exhibit being identified with

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both a number and a letter.

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All photographs shall be marked individually.

In the event that

The Court cautions the parties to pay

The Final Pretrial Order will contain a stringent standard

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for the offering at trial of witnesses and exhibits not listed in

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the Final Pretrial Order, and the parties are cautioned that the

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standard will be strictly applied.

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listing of exhibits or witnesses that a party does not intend to

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offer will be viewed as an abuse of the court’s processes.

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On the other hand, the

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The parties also are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16 of

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the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure it will be their duty at the

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Final Pretrial Conference to aid the Court in: (a) the

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formulation and simplification of issues and the elimination of

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frivolous claims or defenses; (b) the settling of facts that

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should properly be admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary

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proof and cumulative evidence.

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prepare the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement and

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participate in good faith at the Final Pretrial Conference with

Counsel must cooperatively

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these aims in mind.

A failure to do so may result in the

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imposition of sanctions which may include monetary sanctions,

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orders precluding proof, elimination of claims or defenses, or

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such other sanctions as the Court deems appropriate.

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VIII.

TRIAL BRIEFS

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The parties shall file trial briefs not later than

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November 28, 2012.

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regarding the content of trial briefs.

Counsel are directed to Local Rule 285

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IX.

EVIDENTIARY AND/OR PROCEDURAL MOTIONS

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Any evidentiary or procedural motions are to be filed by

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November 21, 2012.

Oppositions must be filed by November 28,

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2012 and any reply must be filed by December 5, 2012.

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motions will be heard by the Court at the same time as the Final

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Pretrial Conference.

The

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X.

TRIAL SETTING

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The July 16, 2012 jury trial is vacated and continued to

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February 25, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7.

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jury.

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estimate a trial length of fifteen (15) days.

Trial will be by

The panel will consist of eight (8) jurors.

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The parties

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XI.

SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

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At the Final Pretrial Conference, the Court may set a

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settlement conference if the parties so request.

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settlement conference is requested, the parties are free to

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continue to mediate or attempt to settle the case with the

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understanding that the trial date is a firm date.

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In the event no

In the event a settlement conference is set by the Court,

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counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement

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authority present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully

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authorized to settle the matter on any terms.

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calendar days before the settlement conference, counsel for each

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party shall submit to the chambers of the settlement judge a

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confidential Settlement Conference Statement.

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are neither to be filed with the Clerk nor served on opposing

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counsel.

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parties that the statement has been submitted.

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judge is not the trial judge, the Settlement Conference Statement

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shall not be disclosed to the trial judge.

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At least seven (7)

Such statements

Each party, however, shall serve notice on all other
If the settlement

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties may request a

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settlement conference prior to the Final Pretrial Conference if

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they feel it would lead to the possible resolution of the case.

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In the event an early settlement conference date is requested,

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the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing.

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The request must state whether the parties waive

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disqualification, pursuant to Local Rule 270(b), before a

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settlement judge can be assigned to the case.

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Absent the parties’ affirmatively requesting that the assigned

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Judge or Magistrate Judge participate in the settlement

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conference AND waiver, pursuant to Local Rule 270(b), a

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settlement judge will be randomly assigned to the case.

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XII.

OTHER

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Pursuant to this Order, the Plaintiff’s Motion to Continue

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Trial (ECF No. 219) is denied as moot.

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April 19, 2012 motion hearing is vacated.

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Accordingly, the

IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 17, 2012

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_____________________________
MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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