Dameron Hospital Association v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Filing
43
STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 11/20/14 ORDERING that Plaintiff shall file an amended pleading within 14 day to clarify the claims at issue in this action. The parties are directed to clarify the matter of this court's jurisdiction, either by stipulation or by hearing on plaintiff's motion to remand, set for 1/30/15 at 10:00 a.m.. Supplemental disclosures are due no later than 12/15/14. All discovery shall be completed by 10/13/15. Design ation of Expert Witnesses due by 10/13/15 and any rebuttal disclosures due by 11/13/15. All expert discovery shall be completed by 12/14/15. All dispositive motions, except motions for continuances, temporary restraining orders or other emergency applications, shall be heard no later than 11/20/15. The Final Pretrial Conference is SET for 2/18/16 at 03:30 PM in Courtroom 3 (KJM) before Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. The parties shall confer and file a joint pretrial conference statement by 1/28/16. The Jury Trial is SET for 5/9/2016 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 3 (KJM) before Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. Trial briefs are due by 4/25/16. (Kastilahn, A)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
DAMERON HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION,
12
Plaintiff,
13
14
No. 2:12-CV-02246 KJM AC
v.
STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING)
15
STATE FARM MUTUAL
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
COMPANY, et al.,
16
ORDER
Defendants,
17
18
An initial scheduling conference was held in this case on November 13, 2014.
19
20
Greg Hatton appeared for plaintiff; Cherie Sutherland appeared for defendant.
Having reviewed the parties’ Joint Status Report filed on November 6, 2014, and
21
22
discussed a schedule for the case with counsel at the hearing, the court makes the following
23
orders:
24
I.
SERVICE OF PROCESS
All named defendants have been served and no further service is permitted without
25
26
leave of court, good cause having been shown.
27
/////
28
/////
1
1
II.
2
ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS
Plaintiff shall file an amended pleading within fourteen (14) day to clarifying the
3
claims at issue in this action. No further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is
4
permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b);
5
Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604 (9th Cir. 1992).
6
III.
7
JURISDICTION HEARING
Plaintiff initiated this action in state court; thereafter, the action was removed to
8
this court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The parties are directed to clarify the matter of this
9
court’s jurisdiction, either by stipulation or by hearing on plaintiff’s motion to remand, set for
10
January 30, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
11
IV.
DISCOVERY
12
Initial disclosures as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) have been
13
filed and supplemental disclosures are due no later than December 15, 2014. All discovery shall
14
be completed by October 13, 2015. In this context, “completed” means that all discovery shall
15
have been conducted so that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relative to
16
discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if necessary and, where discovery has
17
been ordered, the order has been obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on the
18
magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local rules of this court. While the assigned
19
magistrate judge reviews proposed discovery phase protective orders, requests to seal or redact
20
are decided by Judge Mueller as discussed in more detail below. In addition, while the assigned
21
magistrate judge handles discovery motions, the magistrate judge cannot change the schedule set
22
in this order, even in connection with a discovery matter.
23
V.
24
DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES
All counsel are to designate in writing, file with the court, and serve upon all other
25
parties the name, address, and area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at trial
26
not later than October 13, 2015. The designation shall be accompanied by a written report
27
prepared and signed by the witness. The report shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B).
28
By November 13, 2015, any party who previously disclosed expert witnesses may submit a
2
1
supplemental list of expert witnesses who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an
2
expert designated by an adverse party, if the party supplementing an expert witness designation
3
has not previously retained an expert to testify on that subject. The supplemental designation
4
shall be accompanied by a written report, which shall also comply with the conditions stated
5
above.
6
Failure of a party to comply with the disclosure schedule as set forth above in all
7
likelihood will preclude that party from calling the expert witness at the time of trial. An expert
8
witness not appearing on the designation will not be permitted to testify unless the party offering
9
the witness demonstrates: (a) that the necessity for the witness could not have been reasonably
10
anticipated at the time the list was proffered; (b) that the court and opposing counsel were
11
promptly notified upon discovery of the witness; and (c) that the witness was promptly made
12
available for deposition.
13
For purposes of this scheduling order, an “expert” is any person who may be used
14
at trial to present evidence under Rules 702, 703 and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which
15
include both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their expertise, have rendered expert
16
opinions in the normal course of their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the
17
case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by a party to be a testifying expert
18
for the purposes of litigation). A party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is percipient,
19
retained, or both. It will be assumed that a party designating a retained expert has acquired the
20
express permission of the witness to be so listed. Parties designating percipient experts must state
21
in the designation who is responsible for arranging the deposition of such persons.
22
All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time of designation to render
23
an informed opinion, and give the bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full and
24
complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing party. Experts will not be permitted
25
to testify at trial as to any information gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed, after deposition
26
taken subsequent to designation. All expert discovery shall be completed by December 14, 2015.
27
/////
28
/////
3
1
VI.
MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE
2
All dispositive motions, except motions for continuances, temporary restraining
3
orders or other emergency applications, shall be heard no later than November 20, 2015.1 The
4
parties may obtain available hearing dates by checking Judge Mueller’s page on the court’s
5
website.
6
7
All purely legal issues are to be resolved by timely pretrial motions. Local Rule
230 governs the calendaring and procedures of civil motions; the following provisions also apply:
8
(a)
The opposition and reply must be filed by 4:00 p.m. on the day due; and
9
(b)
When the last day for filing an opposition brief falls on a legal holiday, the
10
opposition brief shall be filed on the last court day immediately preceding the legal holiday.
11
Failure to comply with Local Rule 230(c), as modified by this order, may be deemed consent to
12
the motion and the court may dispose of the motion summarily. Brydges v. Lewis, 18 F.3d 651,
13
652-53 (9th Cir. 1994).
14
The court places a page limit of twenty (20) pages on all moving papers, twenty
15
(20) pages on oppositions, and ten (10) pages for replies. All requests for page limit increases
16
must be made through the courtroom deputy clerk at least fourteen (14) days prior to the filing of
17
the motion.
18
Prior to filing a motion in a case in which the parties are represented by counsel,
19
counsel shall engage in a pre-filing meet and confer to discuss thoroughly the substance of the
20
contemplated motion and any potential resolution. Plaintiff’s counsel should carefully evaluate
21
the defendant’s contentions as to deficiencies in the complaint and in many instances the party
22
considering a motion should agree to any amendment that would cure a curable defect. Counsel
23
should discuss the issues sufficiently so that if a motion of any kind is filed, including for
24
summary judgment, the briefing is directed only to those substantive issues requiring resolution
25
by the court. Counsel should resolve minor procedural or other non-substantive matters during
26
the meet and confer. A notice of motion shall contain a certification by counsel filing the
27
28
1
Note that this date may not correspond to a law and motion calendar date.
4
1
motion that meet and confer efforts have been exhausted, with a brief summary of meet and
2
confer efforts.
3
The parties are reminded that a motion in limine is a pretrial procedural device
4
designed to address the admissibility of evidence. The court looks with disfavor upon
5
dispositional motions presented at the Final Pretrial Conference or at trial in the guise of motions
6
in limine. Although all motions in limine must be filed in conjunction with the joint pretrial
7
statement, the court will hear only those motions it has identified to counsel before the hearing
8
date.
9
The parties are cautioned that failure to raise a dispositive legal issue that could
10
have been tendered to the court by proper pretrial motion prior to the dispositive motion cut-off
11
date may constitute waiver of such issue.
12
VII.
13
SEALING
No document will be sealed, nor shall a redacted document be filed, without the
14
prior approval of the court. If a document for which sealing or redaction is sought relates to the
15
record on a motion to be decided by Judge Mueller, the request to seal or redact should be
16
directed to her and not the assigned Magistrate Judge. All requests to seal or redact shall be
17
governed by Local Rules 141 (sealing) and 140 (redaction); protective orders covering the
18
discovery phase of litigation shall not govern the filing of sealed or redacted documents on the
19
public docket. The court will only consider requests to seal or redact filed by the proponent of
20
sealing or redaction. If a party plans to make a filing that includes material an opposing party has
21
identified as confidential and potentially subject to sealing, the filing party shall provide the
22
opposing party with sufficient notice in advance of filing to allow for the seeking of an order of
23
sealing or redaction from the court.
24
VIII.
25
FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
The Final Pretrial Conference is set for February 18, 2016, at 3:30 p.m. At least
26
one of the attorneys who will conduct the trial for each of the parties shall attend the Final Pretrial
27
Conference. If by reason of illness or other unavoidable circumstance a trial attorney is unable to
28
/////
5
1
attend, the attorney who attends in place of the trial attorney shall have equal familiarity with the
2
case and equal authorization to make commitments on behalf of the client.
3
Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for trial at the time of the Final
4
Pretrial Conference, with no matters remaining to be accomplished except production of
5
witnesses for oral testimony. The parties shall confer and file a joint pretrial conference
6
statement by January 28, 2016. The provisions of Local Rule 281 shall apply with respect to the
7
matters to be included in the joint pretrial statement. In addition to those subjects listed in Local
8
Rule 281(b), the parties are to provide the court with the following:
9
10
11
- A plain, concise statement that identifies every non-discovery motion previously
tendered to the court and its resolution.
- A concise, joint list of undisputed core facts that are relevant to each claim.
12
Disputed core facts should then be identified in the same manner. The parties are reminded not to
13
identify every fact in dispute but only those disputed facts that are essential to the formulation of
14
each claim. Each disputed fact and undisputed fact should be separately numbered or lettered.
15
Where the parties are unable to agree on the core disputed facts, they should nevertheless list core
16
disputed facts in the above manner.
17
18
19
- Concise lists of disputed evidentiary issues that will be the subject of a party’s
motion in limine.
- Each party’s points of law, which concisely describe the legal basis or theory
20
underlying their claims and defenses. Points of law should reflect issues derived from the core
21
undisputed and disputed facts. Parties shall not include argument with any point of law; the
22
parties may include concise arguments in their trial briefs.
23
- A joint statement of the case in plain concise language, which will be read to the
24
jury during voir dire and at the beginning of the trial. The purpose of the joint statement is to
25
inform the jury what the case is about.
26
- The parties’ position on the number of jurors to be impaneled to try the case.
27
Discovery documents to be listed in the pretrial statement shall not include
28
documents to be used only for impeachment and in rebuttal.
6
1
The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule 281 they are required to
2
attach to the Final Pretrial Conference Statement an exhibit listing witnesses and exhibits they
3
propose to offer at trial. After the name of each witness, each party shall provide a brief
4
statement of the nature of the testimony to be proffered. The parties may file a joint list or each
5
party may file separate lists. These list(s) shall not be contained in the body of the Final Pretrial
6
Conference Statement itself, but shall be attached as separate documents to be used as addenda to
7
the Final Pretrial Order.
8
Plaintiff’s exhibits shall be listed numerically. Defendant’s exhibits shall be listed
9
alphabetically. The parties shall use the standard exhibit stickers provided by the court: pink for
10
plaintiff and blue for defendant. In the event that the alphabet is exhausted, the exhibits shall be
11
marked “AA-ZZ”. However, if the amount of defendant exhibits exceeds “ZZ” exhibits shall be
12
then listed as A-3, A-4, A-5 etc. All multi-page exhibits shall be stapled or otherwise fastened
13
together and each page within the exhibit shall be numbered. The list of exhibits shall not include
14
excerpts of depositions to be used only for impeachment. In the event that plaintiff(s) and
15
defendant(s) offer the same exhibit during trial, that exhibit shall be referred to by the designation
16
the exhibit is first identified. The court cautions the parties to pay attention to this detail so that
17
all concerned, including the jury, will not be confused by one exhibit being identified with both a
18
number and a letter. The parties are encouraged to consult concerning exhibits and, to the extent
19
possible, provide joint exhibits, which shall be designated as JX and listed numerically, e.g., JX-
20
1, JX-2.
21
The Final Pretrial Order will contain a stringent standard for the offering at trial of
22
witnesses and exhibits not listed in the Final Pretrial Order, and the parties are cautioned that the
23
standard will be strictly applied. On the other hand, the listing of exhibits or witnesses that a
24
party does not intend to offer will be viewed as an abuse of the court’s processes.
25
26
Counsel shall produce all trial exhibits to Casey Schultz, the Courtroom Deputy,
no later than 3:00 p.m. on the Friday before trial.
27
28
Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as modified by this order, may be grounds
for sanctions.
7
1
The parties also are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of
2
Civil Procedure it will be their duty at the Final Pretrial Conference to aid the court in: (a) the
3
formulation and simplification of issues and the elimination of frivolous claims or defenses; (b)
4
the settling of facts that should properly be admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary proof
5
and cumulative evidence. Counsel must cooperatively prepare the joint Final Pretrial Conference
6
Statement and participate in good faith at the Final Pretrial Conference with these aims in mind.2
7
A failure to do so may result in the imposition of sanctions which may include monetary
8
sanctions, orders precluding proof, elimination of claims or defenses, or such other sanctions as
9
the court deems appropriate.
10
Concurrently with the filing of the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement,
11
counsel shall submit to chambers the word processable version of the Statement, in its entirety
12
(including the witness and exhibit lists) to: kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.
13
IX.
14
TRIAL SETTING
The jury trial is set for May 9, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. The parties estimate a trial length
15
of approximately four (4) to five (5) days. Trial briefs are due by April 25, 2016.
16
X.
17
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
No settlement conference is currently scheduled. A settlement conference may be
18
set at the time of the Final Pretrial Conference or at an earlier time at the parties’ request. In the
19
event that an earlier settlement conference date or referral to the Voluntary Dispute Resolution
20
Program (VDRP) is requested, the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing. Because the
21
case will be tried to a jury, all parties should be prepared to advise the court whether they will
22
stipulate to the trial judge acting as settlement judge and waive disqualification by virtue thereof.
23
/////
24
/////
25
/////
26
2
27
28
“If the pretrial conference discloses that no material facts are in dispute and that the undisputed
facts entitle one of the parties to judgment as a matter of law,” the court may summarily dispose
of the case or claims. Portsmouth Square v. Shareholders Protective Comm., 770 F.2d 866, 86869 (9th Cir. 1985).
8
1
Counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority present at
2
any Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to settle the matter on any terms. Each judge
3
has different requirements for the submission of settlement conference statements; the appropriate
4
instructions will be sent to you after the settlement judge is assigned.
5
XI.
6
MODIFICATION OF STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER
The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil
7
Procedure, the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Order shall not be modified except by leave of court
8
upon a showing of good cause. Agreement by the parties pursuant to stipulation alone does not
9
constitute good cause. Except in extraordinary circumstances, unavailability of witnesses or
10
counsel does not constitute good cause.
11
XII.
12
13
14
15
OBJECTIONS TO STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER
This Status Order will become final without further order of the court unless
objections are filed within fourteen (14) calendar days of service of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: November 20, 2014.
16
17
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
9
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?