Gabrielson et al v. United States Postal Service et al

Filing 40

ORDER signed by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr on 10/17/11 ORDERING due to the reassignment of this action the following dates have been made; Motions to be filed by 11/21/2012; Final Pretrial Conference set for 12/13/2012 and Bench Trial set for 2/11/2013 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 7 (MCE) before Judge Morrison C. England Jr. The Settlement Conference set before Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 11/1/11 at 9:00 a.m. is confirmed. (Matson, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TROY GABRIELSON, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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No. 2:09-cv-00538-MCE-GGH

v.

ORDER CONTINUING TRIAL

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE,
et al.,

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Defendants.
___________________________/

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Due to the reassignment of this action, the following
changes have been made to the Pretrial Scheduling Order.

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I.

TRIAL SETTING

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The March 20, 2012 bench trial is vacated and continued to

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February 11, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7.

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estimate a trial length of five (5) days.

The parties

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II.

TRIAL BRIEFS

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The parties shall file trial briefs not later than

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November 29, 2012.

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regarding the content of trial briefs.

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Counsel are directed to Local Rule 285

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III. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

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The January 13, 2012 Final Pretrial Conference is vacated

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

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

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of 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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If by

client.

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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.
The parties shall file, not later than November 21, 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

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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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In

Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as

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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.

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separately numbered or lettered.

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The disputed facts should be identified in the same

Where the parties are unable to agree as to what

Each disputed fact or undisputed fact should be

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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any point of law.

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Points of law should

Parties shall not include argument or authorities with

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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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After the name of each witness, each party shall provide

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

Pretrial Order.
Plaintiffs’ exhibits shall be listed numerically.

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Defendants’ 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

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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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Plaintiffs and Defendants offer the same exhibit during trial,

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that exhibit shall be referred to by the designation the exhibit

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is first identified.

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attention to this detail so that all concerned will not be

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confused by one exhibit being identified with both a number and a

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letter.

In

After three letters, note the

All multi-page exhibits shall be stapled or

All photographs shall be marked individually.

In the event that

The Court cautions the parties to pay

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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

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

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these aims in mind.

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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.

Counsel must cooperatively

A failure to do so may result in the

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IV.

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 29,

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2012 and any reply must be filed by December 6, 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.

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The

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V.

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The Settlement Conference set before Magistrate Judge

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SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Kendall J. Newman on November 1, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. is confirmed.

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VI.

VOLUNTARY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAM

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Pursuant to Local Rule 271 parties will need to lodge a

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stipulation and proposed order requesting referral to the

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Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program.

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VII.

MODIFICATION OF PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER

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The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Pretrial Scheduling Order

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shall not be modified except by leave of court upon a showing of

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good cause.

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alone to modify the Pretrial Scheduling Order does not constitute

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good cause.

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unavailability of witnesses or counsel will not constitute good

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cause.

Agreement by the parties pursuant to stipulation

Except in extraordinary circumstances,

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VIII.

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All other due dates set forth in the Court’s Pretrial

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OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER

Scheduling Order are confirmed.

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This Pretrial Scheduling Order will become final without

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further order of the Court unless objections are filed within

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seven (7) court days of service of this Order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 17, 2011

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

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