Lum v. County of San Joaquin, et al.,

Filing 19

STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) CONFERENCE ORDER signed by Senior Judge Lawrence K. Karlton on 0/28/10: Discovery due by 12/31/2011. Dispositive Motions filed by 2/29/2012. Final Pretrial Conference set for 5/29/2012 at 01:30 PM in Courtroom 4 (LKK) before Senior Judge Lawrence K. Karlton. Jury Trial set for 8/28/2012 at 10:30 AM in Courtroom 4 (LKK) before Senior Judge Lawrence K. Karlton. (Kaminski, H)

Lum v. County of San Joaquin, et al.,

Doc. 19

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 JERRY LUM, et al., NO. CIV. S-10-1807 LKK/DAD 11 Plaintiffs, 12 v. 13 COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN, 14 et al., 15 16 17 18 Defendants. / STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) CONFERENCE READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY. IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT DATES WHICH

19 THE COURT WILL STRICTLY ENFORCE AND WITH WHICH ALL COUNSEL AND 20 PARTIES MUST COMPLY. A FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THIS

21 ORDER MAY RESULT IN THE IMPOSITION OF MONETARY AND ALL OTHER 22 SANCTIONS WITHIN THE POWER OF THE COURT, INCLUDING DISMISSAL OR AN 23 ORDER OF JUDGMENT. 24 Pursuant to court order, a Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Peter J.

25 Conference was held in chambers on September 27, 2010.

26 Koenig appeared as counsel for plaintiffs; Dana A. Suntag and Zoey 1
Dockets.Justia.com

1 P.

Merrill

appeared

as

counsel

for

defendants

County

of

San

2 Joaquin, City of Lathrop, Ray Walters and Steven Pease. 3 hearing, the court makes the following findings and orders: 4 5 SERVICE OF PROCESS Service upon defendants Davis and Mendoza

After

shall

be

6 accomplished within twenty-five (25) days from the effective date 7 of this order, or those defendants will be dismissed, unless the 8 court specifically orders otherwise. 9 10 JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENTS No further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is

11 permitted except with leave of court, good cause having been shown. 12 See Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604 (9th Cir. 13 1992). 14 15 JURISDICTION/VENUE Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, 1367

16 is undisputed and is hereby found to be proper, as is venue. 17 18 FICTITIOUSLY-NAMED DEFENDANTS This action, including any counterclaims, cross-claims, and

19 third-party complaints is hereby DISMISSED as to all DOE or other 20 fictitiously-named defendants. 21 22 MOTION HEARING SCHEDULES All law and motion except as to discovery is left open, save

23 and except that it shall be conducted so as to be completed by 24 February 29, 2012. The word "completed" in this context means that 25 all law and motion matters must be heard by the above date. 26 Because this date is not necessarily a date previously set aside 2

1 for law and motion hearings, it is incumbent upon counsel to 2 contact this court's courtroom deputy, Ana Rivas at [phone], 3 sufficiently in advance so as to ascertain the dates upon which law 4 and motion will be heard and to properly notice its motion for 5 hearing before that date. Counsel are cautioned to refer to Local

6 Rule 230 regarding the requirements for noticing such motions on 7 the court's regularly scheduled law and motion calendar.

8 Opposition or statement of non-opposition to all motions shall be 9 filed not later than 4:30 p.m. fourteen (14) days preceding the 10 hearing date, or by proof of service by mail not less than This paragraph

11 seventeen (17) days preceding the hearing date.

12 does not preclude motions for continuances, temporary restraining 13 orders or other emergency applications, and is subject to any 14 special scheduling set forth in the "MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS" 15 paragraph below. 16 At the time of filing a motion, opposition, or reply, counsel lkk-

17 are directed to email a copy in word processing format to 18 [e-mail]. 19

The parties should keep in mind that the purpose of law and

20 motion is to narrow and refine the legal issues raised by the case, 21 and to dispose of by pretrial motion those issues that are

22 susceptible to resolution without trial.

To accomplish that

23 purpose, the parties need to identify and fully research the issues 24 presented by the case, and then examine those issues in light of 25 the evidence gleaned through discovery. If it appears to counsel

26 after examining the legal issues and facts that an issue can be 3

1 resolved by pretrial motion, counsel are to file the appropriate 2 motion by the law and motion cutoff set forth supra. 3 Unless prior permission has been granted, memoranda of law in

4 support of and in opposition to motions are limited to thirty (30) 5 pages, and reply memoranda are limited to fifteen (15) pages. The

6 parties are also cautioned against filing multiple briefs to 7 circumvent this rule. 8 Where the parties bring motions for summary judgment, the

9 court will deem facts which are apparently undisputed as undisputed 10 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(d), unless specifically reserved and that 11 party tenders evidence to support the reservation. 12 ALL PURELY LEGAL ISSUES ARE TO BE RESOLVED BY TIMELY PRETRIAL

13 MOTION AND A FAILURE TO MAKE SUCH A MOTION WILL ORDINARILY BE 14 VIEWED AS A WAIVER AT THE TIME OF PRETRIAL. COUNSEL ARE CAUTIONED

15 THAT IF ANY LEGAL ISSUE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TENDERED TO THE COURT 16 BY PRETRIAL MOTION MUST BE RESOLVED BY THE COURT AFTER LAW AND 17 MOTION CUTOFF, FOR INSTANCE WHERE THE ISSUE IS JURISDICTION, 18 SUBSTANTIAL SANCTIONS WILL BE LEVIED AGAINST COUNSEL WHO FAIL TO 19 TIMELY FILE AN APPROPRIATE MOTION. 20 Counsel are further reminded that motions in limine are devices designed to address the admissibility of

21 procedural 22 evidence.

COUNSEL ARE CAUTIONED THAT THE COURT WILL LOOK WITH

23 DISFAVOR UPON SUBSTANTIVE MOTIONS PRESENTED IN THE GUISE OF MOTIONS 24 IN LIMINE 25 26 AT THE TIME OF TRIAL.

DISCOVERY No modifications of the discovery requirements found in the 4

1 Federal Rules is ordered. 2 All discovery is left open, save and except that it shall be The word

3 so conducted as to be completed by December 31, 2011.

4 "completed" means that all discovery shall have been conducted so 5 that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relative to 6 discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if

7 necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been 8 complied with. Motions to compel discovery must be noticed on the

9 magistrate judge's calendar in accordance with the local rules of 10 this court and so that such motions will be heard not later than 11 November 30, 2011. In this regard, all counsel are to designate in

12 writing and file with the court and serve upon all other parties a 13 final list of the names of all experts that they propose to tender 14 at trial not later than sixty (60) days before the close of 15 discovery herein established. At the time of designation, all The contents of the report

16 experts shall submit a written report.

17 must comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 (A)(2)(b). All 18 experts so designated are to be fully prepared to render an 19 informed opinion at the time of designation so that they may fully 20 participate in any deposition taken by the opposing party. Experts 21 will not be permitted to testify at the trial as to any information 22 gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed, after deposition taken 23 subsequent to designation. 24 An expert witness not appearing on said lists will not be to testify unless the party offering the witness

25 permitted

26 demonstrates: (a) that the necessity of the witness could not have 5

1 been reasonably anticipated at the time the lists were exchanged; 2 (b) the court and opposing counsel were promptly notified upon 3 discovery of the witness; and (c) that the witness was promptly 4 proffered for deposition. 5 6 MID-LITIGATION STATEMENTS Not later than fourteen (14) days prior to the close of

7 discovery, all parties shall file with the court and serve on all 8 other parties a brief statement summarizing all law and motion 9 practice heard by the court as of the date of the filing of the 10 statement, whether the court has disposed of the motion at the time 11 the statement is filed and served, and the likelihood that any 12 further motions will be noticed prior to the close of law and 13 motion. The filing of this statement shall not relieve the parties 14 or counsel of their obligation to timely notice all appropriate 15 motions as set forth above. 16 17 18 p.m. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE The Final Pretrial Conference is SET for May 29, 2012, at 1:30 Counsel are cautioned that counsel appearing for Pretrial

19 will in fact try the matter. 20 Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for trial at

21 the time of the Pretrial Conference, with no matters remaining to 22 be accomplished except production of witnesses for oral testimony. 23 Counsel are referred to Local Rules 280 and 281 relating to the 24 contents of and time for filing Pretrial Statements. In addition

25 to those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the parties are to 26 provide the court with a plain, concise statement which identifies 6

1 every

non-discovery

motion

tendered

to

the

court,

and

its

2 resolution.

A FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH LOCAL RULES 280 AND 281 WILL

3 BE GROUNDS FOR SANCTIONS. 4 The parties shall file Separate Pretrial Statements, the

5 contents and timing of which are set forth in Local Rule 281, 6 except that the parties are to prepare a JOINT STATEMENT with 7 respect to the undisputed facts and disputed factual issues of the 8 case. See Local Rule 281(b)(3), (4), and (6). The parties are

9 reminded to include in their joint statement all disputed and 10 undisputed special factual information as required by Local Rule 11 281(b)(6). 12 The undisputed facts and disputed factual issues are to be set In each section, the parties

13 forth in two separate sections.

14 should identify first the general facts relevant to all causes of 15 action. After identifying the general facts, the parties should

16 then identify those facts which are relevant to each separate cause 17 of action. In this regard, the parties are to number each Where the parties are unable to

18 individual fact or factual issue.

19 agree as to what factual issues are properly before the court for 20 trial, they should nevertheless list in the section on "DISPUTED 21 FACTUAL ISSUES" all issues asserted by any of the parties and 22 explain by parenthetical the controversy concerning each issue. 23 Each individual disputed fact or factual issue shall include the 24 following introductory language: "Whether or not . . . ." The

25 parties should keep in mind that, in general, each fact should 26 relate or correspond to an element of the relevant cause of action. 7

1 Notwithstanding

the

provisions

of

Local

Rule

281,

the

Joint

2 Statement of Undisputed Facts and Disputed Factual Issues is to be 3 filed with the court concurrently with the filing of plaintiff's 4 Pretrial Statement. If the case is tried to a jury, the undisputed

5 facts will be read to the jury. 6 Pursuant to Local Rule 281(b)(10) and (11), the parties are to provide in their Pretrial Statements a list of

7 required

8 witnesses and exhibits that they propose to proffer at trial, no 9 matter for what purpose. These lists shall not be contained in the

10 Pretrial Statement itself, but shall be attached as separate 11 documents to be used as addenda to the Final Pretrial Order. 12 Plaintiff's exhibits shall be listed numerically; defendant's

13 exhibits shall be listed alphabetically.

In the event that the

14 alphabet is exhausted, defendant's exhibits shall be marked "2A-2Z, 15 3A-3Z, etc." The Pretrial Order will contain a stringent standard

16 for the proffering of witnesses and exhibits at trial not listed in 17 the Pretrial Order. 18 be strictly applied. Counsel are cautioned that the standard will On the other hand, the listing of exhibits or

19 witnesses which counsel do not intend to call or use will be viewed 20 as an abuse of the court's processes. 21 Pursuant to Local Rule 281(b)(12), a party is required to

22 provide a list of all answers to interrogatories and responses to 23 requests for admission that the party expects to offer at trial. 24 This list should include only those documents or portions thereof 25 which the party expects to offer in its case-in-chief. Unless

26 otherwise barred by a rule of evidence or order of this court, the 8

1 parties remain free to tender appropriate discovery documents 2 during trial for such purposes as, but not limited to, impeachment 3 or memory refreshment. 4 Pursuant to Local Rule 281(b)(8), the parties' Pretrial Each

5 Statements shall contain a "statement of legal theory, etc."

6 party shall commence this section by specifying as to each claim 7 whether federal or state law governs, and if state law, the state 8 whose law is applicable. 9 Counsel are also reminded that, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.

10 16, it will be their duty at the Pretrial Conference to aid the 11 court in (a) formulation and simplification of issues and the 12 elimination of frivolous claims or defenses; (b) settling of facts 13 which should be properly admitted; and (c) the avoidance of

14 unnecessary proof and cumulative evidence.

Counsel must prepare

15 their Pretrial Statements, and participate in good faith at the 16 Pretrial Conference, with these aims in mind. 17 MAY RESULT IN THE IMPOSITION of SANCTIONS A FAILURE TO DO SO which may include

18 monetary sanctions, orders precluding proof, eliminations of claims 19 or defenses, or such other sanctions as the court deems

20 appropriate. 21 22 TRIAL SETTING Trial is SET for August 28, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. Trial will be

23 by jury.

The parties represent in good faith that the trial will

24 take approximately ten (10) days. 25 26 SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE A Settlement Conference will be set before a judge other than 9

1 the trial judge at the time of the Pretrial Conference. 2 Counsel are cautioned to have a principal capable of

3 disposition present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully 4 authorized to settle the matter on any terms and at the Settlement 5 Conference. 6 7 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS The parties are reminded that pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.

8 16(b), the Status (pretrial scheduling) Order shall not be modified 9 except by leave of court upon a showing of good cause. 10 cautioned that changes to any of the scheduled Counsel are dates will

11 necessarily result in changes to all other dates. Thus, even where 12 good cause has been shown, the court will not grant a request to 13 change the discovery cutoff date without modifying the pretrial and 14 trial dates. 15 Agreement by the parties pursuant to stipulation does not

16 constitute good cause. Nor does the unavailability of witnesses or 17 counsel, except in extraordinary circumstances, constitute good 18 cause. 19 The parties are reminded of their continuing obligation to

20 supplement their statements relative to the identification of 21 parent corporations and any publicly held company that owns 10% or 22 more of the party's stock within a reasonable time of any change in 23 the information. 24 The parties are admonished that they are not to cite or refer

25 to any of the quotations inscribed in the pavers on the front plaza 26 of the United States Courthouse in any written or oral presentation 10

1 to the court or a jury. 2 There appear to be no other matters presently pending before

3 the court that will aid the just and expeditious disposition of 4 this matter. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: September 28, 2010.