Woodcock v. Office Depot, Inc.

Filing 7

STATUS (Pre-trial Scheduling) ORDER signed by Judge John A. Mendez on 9/25/12: Plaintiff's Designation of Expert Witnesses due by 6/14/2013. Defendant's Designation of Expert Witnesses due by 7/15/2013. Discovery due by 10/1/201 3. Dispositive Motions filed by 11/13/2013. Final Pretrial Conference set for 2/14/2014 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 6 (JAM) before Judge John A. Mendez. Jury Trial set for 4/7/2014 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 6 (JAM) before Judge John A. Mendez. (Kaminski, H)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DANIEL WOODCOCK,
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CIV. S-12-1958 JAM CMK

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Plaintiff,
v.

STATUS (Pre-trial
Scheduling) ORDER

OFFICE DEPOT, INC.

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Defendant.
/

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After review of the Joint Status Report, the court
makes the following order:

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SERVICE OF PROCESS
All parties defendant to this lawsuit have been served and

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no further service will be permitted except with leave of court,

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good cause having been shown.

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JOINDER OF ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS
No further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is

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permitted except with leave of court, good cause having been

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shown.
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JURISDICTION AND VENUE
Jurisdiction and venue are not contested.

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FICTITIOUSLY-NAMED DEFENDANTS
This action, including any counterclaims, cross-claims, and

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third party complaints is hereby DISMISSED as to all DOE or other

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fictitiously-named defendants.

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MOTION HEARINGS SCHEDULES
All dispositive motions shall be filed by November 13, 2013.
Hearing on such motions shall be on December 11, 2013 at

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9:30 a.m.

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outlined in Local Rule 230(b).

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The parties are reminded of the notice requirements as

The time deadline for dispositive motions does not apply to

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motions for continuances, temporary restraining orders or other

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emergency applications.

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All purely legal issues are to be resolved by timely pre-

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trial motions.

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are procedural devices designed to address the admissibility of

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evidence and are cautioned that the court will look with disfavor

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upon substantive motions presented at the final pre-trial

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conference or at trial in the guise of motions in limine.

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parties are further cautioned that if any legal issue which

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should have been tendered to the court by proper pre-trial motion

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requires resolution by the court after the established law and

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motion cut-off date, substantial sanctions may be assessed for

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the failure to file the appropriate pre-trial motion.

The parties are reminded that motions in limine

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The

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Unless prior permission has been granted, memoranda of law

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in support of and in opposition to motions are limited to twenty-

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five (25) pages, and reply memoranda are limited to ten (10)

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pages.

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briefs to circumvent this rule.

The parties are also cautioned against filing multiple

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DISCOVERY

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All discovery shall be completed by October 1, 2013.

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this context, "completed" means that all discovery shall have

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been conducted so that all depositions have been taken and any

In

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disputes relative to discovery shall have been resolved by

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appropriate order if necessary and, where discovery has been

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ordered, the order has been complied with.

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DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES
The plaintiff shall make expert witness disclosures under

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) by June 14, 2013.

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expert witness disclosures under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) by July

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15, 2013.

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P. 26(a)(2)(c) shall be made by August 15, 2013.

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Defendant shall make

Disclosure of any rebuttal experts under Fed. R. Civ.

Failure of a party to comply with the disclosure schedule as

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set forth above in all likelihood will preclude that party from

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calling the expert witness at the time of trial absent a showing

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that the necessity for the witness could not have been reasonably

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anticipated at the time the disclosures were ordered and that the

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failure to make timely disclosure did not prejudice any other

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party.

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See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(c).

All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time
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of designation to render an informed opinion, and give their

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reasons therefore, so that they will be able to give full and

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complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing

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parties.

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as to any information gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed,

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after deposition taken subsequent to designation.

Experts will not be permitted to testify at the trial

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JOINT MID-LITIGATION STATEMENTS

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Not later than fourteen (14) days prior to the close of

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discovery, the parties shall file with the court a brief joint

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statement summarizing all law and motion practice heard by the

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court as of the date of the filing of the statement, whether the

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court has disposed of the motion at the time the statement is

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filed and served, and the likelihood that any further motions

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will be noticed prior to the close of law and motion.

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of this statement shall not relieve the parties or counsel of

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their obligation to timely notice all appropriate motions as set

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forth above.

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The filing

FINAL PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE
The final pre-trial conference is set for February 14, 2014

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at 11:00 a.m.

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for a given party shall attend the final pretrial conference on

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behalf of that party; provided, however, that if by reason of

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illness or other unavoidable circumstance the trial attorney is

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unable to attend, the attorney who attends in place of the trial

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attorney shall have equal familiarity with the case and equal

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authorization to make commitments on behalf of the client.

In each instance an attorney who will try the case

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All

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pro se parties must attend the pre-trial conference.

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Counsel for all parties and all pro se parties are to be

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fully prepared for trial at the time of the pre-trial conference,

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with no matters remaining to be accomplished except production of

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witnesses for oral testimony.

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court, no later than seven days prior to the final pre-trial

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conference, a joint pre-trial statement.

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Also at the time of filing the Joint Pretrial Statement, counsel

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are requested to e-mail the Joint Pretrial Statement in WPD or

The parties shall file with the

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Word format to Judge Mendez's assistant, Jane Klingelhoets

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at: [e-mail].

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Where the parties are unable to agree as to what legal or

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factual issues are properly before the court for trial, they

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should nevertheless list all issues asserted by any of the

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parties and indicate by appropriate footnotes the disputes

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concerning such issues.

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shall, however, apply with respect to the matters to be included

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in the joint pre-trial statement.

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Rule 16-281, as modified herein, may be grounds for sanctions.

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The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule

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16-281(b)(10) and (11) they are required to list in the final

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pre-trial statement all witnesses and exhibits they propose to

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offer at trial, no matter for what purpose.

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not be contained in the body of the final pre-trial statement

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itself, but shall be attached as separate documents so that the

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court may attach them as an addendum to the final pre-trial

The provisions of Local Rule 16-281

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Failure to comply with Local

These lists shall

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order.

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standard for the offering at trial of witnesses and exhibits not

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listed in the final pre-trial order, and the parties are

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cautioned that the standard will be strictly applied.

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other hand, the listing of exhibits or witnesses that a party

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does not intend to offer will be viewed as an abuse of the

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court's processes.

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The final pre-trial order will contain a stringent

On the

The parties are also reminded that pursuant to Rule 16,
Fed. R. Civ. P., it will be their duty at the final pre-trial

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conference to aid the court in: (a) formulation and

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simplification of issues and the elimination of frivolous claims

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or defenses; (b) settling of facts which should properly be

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admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary proof and

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cumulative evidence.

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joint pre-trial statement and participate in good faith at the

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final pre-trial conference with these aims in mind.

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do so may result in the imposition of sanctions which may include

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monetary sanctions, orders precluding proof, elimination of

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claims or defenses, or such other sanctions as the court deems

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appropriate.

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Counsel must cooperatively prepare the

A failure to

TRIAL SETTING

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Jury trial in this matter is set for April 7, 2014 at

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9:00 a.m.

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days.

The parties estimate a trial length of approximately 4

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SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

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No Settlement Conference is currently scheduled.

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parties wish to have a settlement conference, one will be

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scheduled at the final pretrial conference or at an earlier time

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upon request of the parties.

If the

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OBJECTIONS TO STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER
This Status Order will become final without further Order of
Court unless objection is e-filed within seven (7) days of the
date of the filing of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: September 25, 2012

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/s/ John A. Mendez
JOHN A. MENDEZ
United States District Court Judge

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