Hunt v. Fields

Filing 78

ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 10/28/13: Jury Trial set for 1/27/2014 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 3 (KJM) before Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. (Attachments: # 1 Plaintiff's proposed witness list, # 2 Defendant's exhibit list)(Kaminski, H)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MICHAEL A. HUNT,

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Plaintiff,

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Civ. No. S-09-3525 KJM AC P

v.

ORDER

D. FIELDS,

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Defendant.

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On October 17, 2013, the court conducted a final pretrial conference. David M. Poore

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appeared for plaintiff Michael Hunt; Kelli M. Hammond appeared for defendant D. Fields.
After hearing, and good cause appearing, the court makes the following findings and

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orders:

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JURISDICTION/VENUE
Jurisdiction is predicated on 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Jurisdiction and venue are not contested.

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JURY/NON-JURY
The parties have requested a jury trial.

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UNDISPUTED FACTS
1. Plaintiff Michael Hunt (“Hunt”) is a state prisoner in the custody of the California

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Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), who was housed at California State

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Prison-Sacramento (“CSP-Sac”) during the events alleged in the complaint; defendant Fields

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(“Fields”) is a Correctional Officer, employed by the CDCR.

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2. In January 2008, Fields became Hunt’s direct work supervisor on the recycling crew.

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3. On January 25, 2008, Hunt filed a civil rights complaint, Hunt v. Reyes, Civ. No.

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S-08-0181 MCE CKD. This suit alleged that correctional personnel engaged in unlawful

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retaliation in violation of the First Amendment by designating Hunt as affiliated with the

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“Bloods” prison gang; Fields was named as a defendant in that suit.

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4. On July 2, 2008, Cindy Scholl of the litigation office at CSP-Sac notified Fields that
Hunt had named him as a defendant in Hunt v. Reyes.

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5. On August 29, 2008, Hunt was removed from his work assignment on the recycling
crew.

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6. On August 29, 2008, Hunt filed a prison grievance, alleging he was fired from his job

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on the recycling crew in retaliation for his exercise of his First Amendment rights.

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DISPUTED FACTUAL ISSUES

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1. Whether Fields was responsible for removing Hunt from his job on the recycling crew.

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2. If Fields was responsible, whether the action was retaliatory.

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3. Whether Hunt was harmed as a result of the action.

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4. Whether Hunt adequately exhausted his administrative remedies.

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SPECIAL FACTUAL INFORMATION

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None applicable.

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DISPUTED EVIDENTIARY ISSUES

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The court will decide any motions in limine on the morning of trial. Motions in limine are

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due by January 6, oppositions by January 13, and replies by January 21, 2014.

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STIPULATIONS/AGREED STATEMENTS

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None.
RELIEF SOUGHT

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Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages and declaratory and injunctive relief.
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POINTS OF LAW

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The parties shall alert the court to disputes about the applicable law and legal standards.

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Trial briefs addressing these points more completely shall be filed with this court no later than

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seven days prior to the date of trial in accordance with Local Rule 285.

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ABANDONED ISSUES

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None.

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WITNESSES

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Plaintiff designates the following witnesses:

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1. Michael Hunt;

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2. D. Fields;

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3. C. Scholl;

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4. T. Virga;

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5. N. Grannis;

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6. Custodian of Records.

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Defendant has designated the following witnesses:

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1. Debra Fields;

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2. Cindy Scholl;

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3. T. Virga;

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4. C.N. Drake;

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5. K. McIntosh;

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6. D. Rios;

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7. Lt. J. Mayhew;

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8. Cory McKay;

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9. Michelle Borges or other custodian of records.

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Each party may call any witnesses designated by the other.

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A.

The court will not permit any other witness to testify unless:

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(1) The party offering the witness demonstrates that the witness is for the purpose

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of rebutting evidence that could not be reasonably anticipated at the pretrial

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conference, or

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(2) The witness was discovered after the pretrial conference and the proffering

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party makes the showing required in “B,” below.

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B.

Upon the post pretrial discovery of any witness a party wishes to present at trial,

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the party shall promptly inform the court and opposing parties of the existence of the unlisted

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witnesses so the court may consider whether the witnesses shall be permitted to testify at trial.

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The witnesses will not be permitted unless:

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1. The witness could not reasonably have been discovered prior to the

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discovery cutoff;

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2. The court and opposing parties were promptly notified upon discovery

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of the witness;

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3. If time permitted, the party proffered the witness for deposition; and

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4. If time did not permit, a reasonable summary of the witness’s testimony

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was provided to opposing parties.

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EXHIBITS, SCHEDULES AND SUMMARIES

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Plaintiff’s exhibits are identified on attachment A. At trial, plaintiff’s exhibits shall be

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listed numerically. Plaintiff seeks to admit his central file, which is voluminous. The parties are

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directed to meet and confer about the necessary documents from the central file to be offered at

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trial.

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Defendant’s exhibits are identified on attachment B. At trial, defendant’s exhibits shall be

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listed alphabetically. The court encourages the parties to generate a joint exhibit list to the extent

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possible. Joint Exhibits shall be identified as JX and listed numerically, e.g., JX-1, JX-2.

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All exhibits must be premarked.

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The parties must prepare exhibit binders for use by the court at trial, with a side tab

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identifying each exhibit in accordance with the specifications above. Each binder shall have an

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identification label on the front and spine.

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The parties must exchange exhibits no later than twenty-eight days before trial. Any
objections to exhibits are due no later than fourteen days before trial.

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A. The court will not admit exhibits other than those identified on the exhibit lists
referenced above unless:

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1. The party proffering the exhibit demonstrates that the exhibit is for the purpose

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of rebutting evidence that could not have been reasonably anticipated, or

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2. The exhibit was discovered after the issuance of this order and the proffering

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party makes the showing required in Paragraph “B,” below.

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B. Upon the discovery of exhibits after the discovery cutoff, a party shall promptly

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inform the court and opposing parties of the existence of such exhibits so that the court may

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consider their admissibility at trial. The exhibits will not be received unless the proffering party

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demonstrates:

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1. The exhibits could not reasonably have been discovered earlier;

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2. The court and the opposing parties were promptly informed of their existence;

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and

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3. The proffering party forwarded a copy of the exhibits (if physically possible) to

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the opposing party. If the exhibits may not be copied the proffering party must

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show that it has made the exhibits reasonably available for inspection by the

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opposing parties.

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DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPTS

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Counsel must lodge the sealed original copy of any deposition transcript to be used at trial

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with the Clerk of the Court no later than fourteen days before trial.

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FURTHER DISCOVERY OR MOTIONS

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None anticipated.
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AMENDMENTS/DISMISSALS

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None anticipated.

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SETTLEMENT

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The parties have exhausted settlement negotiations.
MOTIONS IN LIMINE

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As noted above, the court will hear motions in limine on the first day of trial.
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE CASE

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The parties have agreed on the following joint statement to be read to the jury:

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This case is a civil rights action brought under the First Amendment to the United States

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Constitution. Plaintiff Michael Hunt, who is an inmate in the California Prison system, alleges

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that Defendant Fields, a Correctional Officer, unlawfully retaliated against him by removing him

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from his work assignment on the recycle crew, after he filed a civil action against her in federal

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court, in which he claimed that he was improperly classified as a member of the Bloods prison

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gang. Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

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Defendant Fields denies the allegations. She claims that she was not the person who

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transferred plaintiff out of his recycling job, but instead it was the Deputy Warden. She also

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claims that she engaged in no unlawful retaliation against plaintiff, and there is no evidence that

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plaintiff ever suffered any harm. Defendant further claims that plaintiff failed to adequately

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exhaust his administrative remedies prior to filing this action.

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SEPARATE TRIAL OF ISSUES

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None requested.
IMPARTIAL EXPERTS/LIMITATION OF EXPERTS

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Not applicable.

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ATTORNEYS' FEES

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.

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ESTIMATED TIME OF TRIAL/TRIAL DATE

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Both parties seek fees, which will be addressed in post-trial motions.

Jury trial is set for January 27, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom Three before the
Honorable Kimberly J. Mueller, with an eight member jury. Trial is anticipated to last two to
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three days. The parties are directed to Judge Mueller’s trial schedule outlined at the “important

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information” link located on her web page on the court’s website.

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PROPOSED JURY VOIR DIRE AND PROPOSED JURY INSTRUCTIONS

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The parties shall file any proposed jury voir dire seven days before trial. Each party will
be limited to ten minutes of jury voir dire.
The court directs counsel to meet and confer in an attempt to generate a joint set of jury

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instructions and verdicts. The parties shall file any such joint set of instructions fourteen days

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before trial, identified as “Jury Instructions and Verdicts Without Objection.” To the extent the

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parties are unable to agree on all or some instructions and verdicts, their respective proposed

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instructions are due fourteen days before trial.
Counsel shall e-mail a copy of all proposed jury instructions and verdicts, whether agreed

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or disputed, as a word document to [e-mail] no later than fourteen days

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before trial; all blanks in form instructions should be completed and all brackets removed.

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Objections to proposed jury instructions must be filed seven days before trial; each

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objection shall identify the challenged instruction and shall provide a concise explanation of the

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basis for the objection along with citation of authority. When applicable, the objecting party

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shall submit an alternative proposed instruction on the issue or identify which of his or her own

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proposed instructions covers the subject.

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MISCELLANEOUS

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Trial briefs are due seven days before trial.
OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL ORDER
Each party is granted fourteen days from the date of this order to file objections to the

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same. If no objections are filed, the order will become final without further order of this court.

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DATED: October 28, 2013.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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