Allison v. E Center
Filing
9
PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER signed by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr on 5/21/12: Designation of Expert Witnesses due by 10/9/2013. Discovery due by 8/9/2013. Dispositive Motions filed by 2/6/2014. Final Pretrial Conference England Jr.. Jury Trial set for 6/9/2014 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 7 (MCE) before Judge Morrison C. England Jr.. (Kaminski, H)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
MARY ALLISON,
12
13
No. 2:12-cv-00455-MCE-CMK
Plaintiff,
v.
PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
14
E. CENTER,
15
Defendant.
___________________________/
16
17
18
After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the Court
makes the following Pretrial Scheduling Order.
19
I.
SERVICE OF PROCESS
20
All named Defendants have been served and no further service
21
is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been
22
shown.
23
II.
24
No joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is
25
ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS
permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown.
26
III. JURISDICTION/VENUE
27
Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and
28
28 U.S.C. § 1343.
Jurisdiction and venue are not contested.
1
1
IV.
DISCOVERY
2
All discovery, with the exception of expert discovery, shall
3
be completed by August 9, 2013.
4
means that all discovery shall have been conducted so that all
5
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
8
been obeyed.
9
the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local
10
In this context, “completed”
All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on
rules of this Court.
11
V.
DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES
12
All counsel are to designate in writing, file with the
13
Court, and serve upon all other parties the name, address, and
14
area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at
15
trial not later than October 9, 2013.1
16
accompanied by a written report prepared and signed by the
17
witness.
18
26(a)(2)(B).
The designation shall be
The report shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P.
19
Within twenty (20) days after the designation of expert
20
witnesses, any party may designate a supplemental list of expert
21
witnesses who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an
22
expert designated by an adverse party.
23
///
24
///
25
///
26
1
27
28
The discovery of experts will include whether any motions
based on Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S.
579 (1993) and/or Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 119 S. Ct. 1167
(1999) are anticipated.
2
1
The right to designate a supplemental expert for rebuttal
2
purposes only shall apply to a party who has not previously
3
disclosed an expert witness on the date set for expert witness
4
disclosure by this Pretrial Scheduling Order.
5
Failure of a party to comply with the disclosure schedule as
6
set forth above in all likelihood will preclude that party from
7
calling the expert witness at the time of trial.
8
witness not appearing on the designation will not be permitted to
9
testify unless the party offering the witness demonstrates:
10
(a) that the necessity for the witness could not have been
11
reasonably anticipated at the time the list was proffered;
12
(b) that the Court and opposing counsel were promptly notified
13
upon discovery of the witness; and (c) that the witness was
14
promptly made available for deposition.
15
An expert
For purposes of this Pretrial Scheduling Order, an “expert”
16
is any person who my be used at trial to present evidence under
17
Rules 702, 703, and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which
18
include both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their
19
expertise, have rendered expert opinions in the normal course of
20
their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the
21
case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by
22
a party to be a testifying expert for the purposes of
23
litigation).
24
Each party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is
25
percipient, retained, or both.
It will be assumed that a party
26
designating a retained expert has acquired the express permission
27
of the witness to be so listed.
28
///
3
1
Parties designating percipient experts must state in the
2
designation who is responsible for arranging the deposition of
3
such persons.
4
All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time
5
of designation to render an informed opinion, and give their
6
bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full
7
and complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing
8
party.
9
to any information gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed,
10
11
Experts will not be permitted to testify at the trial as
after deposition taken subsequent to designation.
Counsel are instructed to complete all discovery of expert
12
witnesses in a timely manner in order to comply with the Court’s
13
deadline for filing dispositive motions.
14
VI.
MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE
15
The last day to hear dispositive motions shall be
16
February 6, 2014.
17
filing deadlines:
18
The parties shall comply with the following
Dispositive motion
filed at least 8 weeks
prior to hearing
20
Opposition and any
cross-motion
filed at least 5 weeks
prior to hearing
21
Reply and opposition to
cross-motion
filed at least 3 weeks
prior to hearing
Reply to cross-motion
filed at least 1 week
prior to hearing
19
22
23
24
25
The parties are directed to the Court’s website for
(www.caed.uscourts.gov ÷ choose Court
26
available hearing dates.
27
Calendar ÷ choose Judge England ÷ choose More Calendaring
28
Information)
4
1
All purely legal issues are to be resolved by timely
2
pretrial motions.
Failure to comply with Local Rules 230 and
3
260, as modified by this Order, may be deemed consent to the
4
motion and the Court may dispose of the motion summarily.
5
Further, failure to timely oppose a summary judgment motion2 may
6
result in the granting of that motion if the movant shifts the
7
burden to the nonmovant to demonstrate that a genuine issue of
8
material fact remains for trial.
9
The Court places a page limit for points and authorities
10
(exclusive of exhibits and other supporting documentation) of
11
twenty (20) pages on all initial moving papers, twenty (20) pages
12
on oppositions, and ten (10) pages for replies.
13
page limit increases must be made in writing to the Court setting
14
forth any and all reasons for any increase in page limit at least
15
fourteen (14) days prior to the filing of the motion.
All requests for
16
For the Court’s convenience, citations to Supreme Court
17
cases should include parallel citations to the Supreme Court
18
Reporter.
19
The parties are reminded that a motion in limine is a
20
pretrial procedural device designed to address the admissibility
21
of evidence.
22
dispositional motions presented at the Final Pretrial Conference
23
or at trial in the guise of motions in limine.
24
///
25
///
The Court will look with disfavor upon
26
27
28
2
The Court urges any party that contemplates bringing a
motion for summary judgment or who must oppose a motion for
summary judgment to review Local Rule 260.
5
1
The parties are cautioned that failure to raise a
2
dispositive legal issue that could have been tendered to the
3
court by proper pretrial motion prior to the dispositive motion
4
cut-off date may constitute waiver of such issue.
5
VII. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
6
The Final Pretrial Conference is set for April 17, 2014, at
7
2:00 p.m.
8
trial for each of the parties shall attend the Final Pretrial
9
Conference.
At least one of the attorneys who will conduct the
If by reason of illness or other unavoidable
10
circumstance a trial attorney is unable to attend, the attorney
11
who attends in place of the trial attorney shall have equal
12
familiarity with the case and equal authorization to make
13
commitments on behalf of the client.
14
Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for trial
15
at the time of the Final Pretrial Conference, with no matters
16
remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for
17
oral testimony.
The parties shall file, not later than March 27, 2014, a
18
19
Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement.
The provisions of
20
Local Rules 281 shall apply with respect to the matters to be
21
included in the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement.
22
addition to those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the
23
parties are to provide the Court with a plain, concise statement
24
that identifies every non-discovery motion tendered to the Court
25
and its resolution.
26
modified by this Pretrial Scheduling Order, may be grounds for
27
sanctions.
28
///
In
Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as
6
1
At the time of filing the Joint Final Pretrial Conference
2
Statement, counsel shall also electronically mail to the Court in
3
digital format compatible with Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, the
4
Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement in its entirety
5
including the witness and exhibit lists.
6
be sent to: mceorders@caed.uscourts.gov.
7
These documents shall
The parties should identify first the core undisputed facts
8
relevant to all claims.
The parties should then, in a concise
9
manner, identify those undisputed core facts that are relevant to
10
each claim.
11
manner.
12
disputed facts are properly before the Court for trial, they
13
should nevertheless list all disputed facts asserted by each
14
party.
15
separately numbered or lettered.
16
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
17
evidentiary issue which will be the subject of a motion in
18
limine.
19
Each party shall identify the points of law which concisely
20
describe the legal issues of the trial which will be discussed in
21
the parties’ respective trial briefs.
22
reflect issues derived from the core undisputed and disputed
23
facts.
24
any point of law.
25
Points of law should
Parties shall not include argument or authorities with
The parties shall prepare a joint statement of the case in
26
plain concise language which will be read to the jury at the
27
beginning of the trial.
28
inform the jury what the case is about.
The purpose of the joint statement is to
7
1
The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule 281
2
they are required to list in the Joint Final Pretrial Conference
3
Statement all witnesses and exhibits they propose to offer at
4
trial.
5
a brief statement of the nature of the testimony to be proffered.
6
The parties may file a joint list or each party may file separate
7
lists.
8
Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement itself, but shall be
9
attached as separate documents to be used as addenda to the Final
10
11
After the name of each witness, each party shall provide
These list(s) shall not be contained in the body of the
Pretrial Order.
Plaintiff’s exhibits shall be listed numerically.
12
Defendant’s exhibits shall be listed alphabetically.
The parties
13
shall use the standard exhibit stickers provided by the Court
14
Clerk’s Office: pink for plaintiff and blue for defendant.
15
the event that the alphabet is exhausted, the exhibits shall be
16
marked “AA-ZZ” and “AAA-ZZZ” etc.
17
number of letters in parenthesis (i.e., “AAAA(4)”) to reduce
18
confusion at trial.
19
otherwise fastened together and each page within the exhibit
20
shall be numbered.
21
The list of exhibits shall not include excerpts of depositions,
22
which may be used to impeach witnesses.
23
Plaintiff and Defendant offer the same exhibit during trial, that
24
exhibit shall be referred to by the designation the exhibit is
25
first identified.
26
attention to this detail so that all concerned, including the
27
jury, will not be confused by one exhibit being identified with
28
both a number and a 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
8
1
The Final Pretrial Order will contain a stringent standard
2
for the offering at trial of witnesses and exhibits not listed in
3
the Final Pretrial Order, and the parties are cautioned that the
4
standard will be strictly applied.
5
listing of exhibits or witnesses that a party does not intend to
6
offer will be viewed as an abuse of the court’s processes.
7
On the other hand, the
The parties also are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16 of
8
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure it will be their duty at the
9
Final Pretrial Conference to aid the Court in: (a) the
10
formulation and simplification of issues and the elimination of
11
frivolous claims or defenses; (b) the settling of facts that
12
should properly be admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary
13
proof and cumulative evidence.
14
prepare the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement and
15
participate in good faith at the Final Pretrial Conference with
16
these aims in mind.
17
imposition of sanctions which may include monetary sanctions,
18
orders precluding proof, elimination of claims or defenses, or
19
such other sanctions as the Court deems appropriate.
Counsel must cooperatively
A failure to do so may result in the
20
VIII.
TRIAL BRIEFS
21
The parties shall file trial briefs not later than April 3,
22
2014.
23
content of trial briefs.
Counsel are directed to Local Rule 285 regarding the
24
IX.
EVIDENTIARY AND/OR PROCEDURAL MOTIONS
25
Any evidentiary or procedural motions are to be filed by
26
March 27, 2014.
Oppositions must be filed by April 3, 2014, and
27
any reply must be filed by April 10, 2014.
28
///
9
1
The motions will be heard by the Court at the same time as the
2
Final Pretrial Conference.
3
X.
TRIAL SETTING
4
The trial is set for June 9, 2014, at 9:00 a.m.
Trial will
The panel will consist of eight (8) jurors.
5
be by jury.
6
parties estimate a trial length of seven (7) days.
7
XI.
8
The
At the Final Pretrial Conference, the Court may set a
9
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
settlement conference if the parties so request.
In the event no
10
settlement conference is requested, the parties are free to
11
continue to mediate or attempt to settle the case with the
12
understanding that the trial date is a firm date.
13
In the event a settlement conference is set by the Court,
14
counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement
15
authority present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully
16
authorized to settle the matter on any terms.
17
calendar days before the settlement conference, counsel for each
18
party shall submit to the chambers of the settlement judge a
19
confidential Settlement Conference Statement.
20
are neither to be filed with the Clerk nor served on opposing
21
counsel.
22
parties that the statement has been submitted.
23
judge is not the trial judge, the Settlement Conference Statement
24
shall not be disclosed to the trial judge.
25
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
26
settlement conference prior to the Final Pretrial Conference if
27
they feel it would lead to the possible resolution of the case.
28
///
10
1
In the event an early settlement conference date is requested,
2
the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing.
3
request must state whether the parties waive disqualification,
4
pursuant to Local Rule 270(b), before a settlement judge can be
5
assigned to the case.
6
requesting that the assigned Judge or Magistrate Judge
7
participate in the settlement conference AND waiver, pursuant to
8
Local Rule 270(b), a settlement judge will be randomly assigned
9
to the case.
The
Absent the parties’ affirmatively
10
XII. VOLUNTARY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAM
11
Pursuant to Local Rule 271 parties will need to lodge a
12
stipulation and proposed order requesting referral to the
13
Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program.
14
XIII.
MODIFICATION OF PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
15
The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the
16
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Pretrial Scheduling Order
17
shall not be modified except by leave of court upon a showing of
18
good cause.
19
alone to modify the Pretrial Scheduling Order does not constitute
20
good cause.
21
unavailability of witnesses or counsel will not constitute good
22
cause.
23
///
24
///
25
///
26
///
27
///
28
///
Agreement by the parties pursuant to stipulation
Except in extraordinary circumstances,
11
1
XIV. OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
2
This Pretrial Scheduling Order will become final without
3
further order of the Court unless objections are filed within
4
seven (7) court days of service of this Order.
5
6
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 21, 2012
7
8
9
_____________________________
MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
12
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?