L. et al v. Vacaville Unified School District et al
Filing
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PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER signed by District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 10/26/17. All discovery shall be completed by 12/14/2018. Designation of Expert Witnesses due by 2/14/2019. All dispositive motions, except motions for continuances, temporary restraining orders or other emergency applications, shall be heard no later than 6/13/2019. Plaintiffs and Defendants shall file their cross-briefs no later than 2/1/2018. Cross oppositions shall be filed no later than 3/1/2018. Cross replies sh all be filed no later than 3/15/2018. The hearing date for the cross motions shall be held on 4/5/2018, in Courtroom 2 at 2:00 P.M. The Final Pretrial Conference is SET for 9/5/2019 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 2 (TLN) before District Judge Troy L. Nu nley. The parties shall file, not later than 8/29/2019, a Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement. The Jury Trial is SET for 11/4/2019 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 2 (TLN) before District Judge Troy L. Nunley. The parties estimate a trial length of three to seven (3-7) days. (Kastilahn, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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J.L., a minor, by and through
his guardian ad litem, J.M.,
and J.M., an individual,
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Plaintiff,
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No.
2:17-cv-00892-TLN-DB
PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
v.
VACAVILLE UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT, et al.,
Defendants.
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After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the Court
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makes the following Pretrial Scheduling Order.
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I.
SERVICE OF PROCESS
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All named Defendants have been served and no further service
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is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been
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shown.
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II.
ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS
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No joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is
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permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown.
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III.
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Jurisdiction is predicated upon 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2) & (3)
JURISDICTION/VENUE
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and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 & 1343(a)(3).
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Jurisdiction and venue are
not contested.
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IV.
DISCOVERY
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All discovery shall be completed by December 14, 2018.
In
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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
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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 obeyed.
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discovery must be noticed on the magistrate judge’s calendar in
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accordance with the local rules of this Court.
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All motions to compel
Any request to deviate from the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure should be made to the assigned Magistrate Judge.
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V.
DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES
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All counsel are to designate in writing, file with the
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Court, and serve upon all other parties the name, address, and
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area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at
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trial not later than February 14, 2019.1
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be accompanied by a written report prepared and signed by the
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witness.
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26(a)(2)(B).
The designation shall
The report shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P.
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Within twenty (20) days after the designation of expert
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witnesses, any party may designate a supplemental list of expert
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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.
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witnesses who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an
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expert designated by an adverse party.
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The right to designate a supplemental expert for rebuttal
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purposes only shall apply to a party who has not previously
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disclosed an expert witness on the date set for expert witness
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disclosure by this Pretrial Scheduling Order.
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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.
An expert
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witness not appearing on the designation will not be permitted to
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testify unless the party offering the witness demonstrates: (a)
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that the necessity for the witness could not have been reasonably
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anticipated at the time the list was proffered; (b) that the
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Court and opposing counsel were promptly notified upon discovery
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of the witness; and (c) that the witness was promptly made
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available for deposition.
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For purposes of this Pretrial Scheduling Order, an “expert”
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is any person who may be used at trial to present evidence under
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Rules 702, 703, and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which
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include both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their
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expertise, have rendered expert opinions in the normal course of
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their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the
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case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by
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a party to be a testifying expert for the purposes of
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litigation).
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Each party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is
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percipient, retained, or both.
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It will be assumed that a party
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designating a retained expert has acquired the express permission
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of the witness to be so listed.
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Parties designating percipient experts must state in the
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designation who is responsible for arranging the deposition of
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such persons.
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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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bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full
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and complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing
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party.
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to any information gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed,
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after deposition taken subsequent to designation.
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Experts will not be permitted to testify at the trial as
Counsel are instructed to complete all discovery of expert
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witnesses in a timely manner in order to comply with the Court’s
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deadline for filing dispositive motions.
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VI.
MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE
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All dispositive motions, except motions for continuances,
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temporary restraining orders or other emergency applications,
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shall be heard no later than June 13, 2019.
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All purely legal issues are to be resolved by timely
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pretrial motions.
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procedures of civil motions with the following additions:
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Local Rule 230 governs the calendaring and
(a) The opposition and reply must be filed by 4:00 p.m. on
the day due; and
(b) When the last day for filing an opposition brief falls
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on a legal holiday, the opposition brief shall be filed
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on the last court day immediately preceding the legal
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holiday.
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Failure to comply with Local Rule 230(c), as modified by
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this order, may be deemed consent to the motion and the court may
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dispose of the motion summarily. Further, failure to timely
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oppose a summary judgment motion2 may result in the granting of
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that motion if the movant shifts the burden to the nonmovant to
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demonstrate that a genuine issue of material fact remains for
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trial.
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The Court places a page limit for points and authorities
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(exclusive of exhibits and other supporting documentation) of
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twenty (20) pages on all initial moving papers, twenty (20) pages
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on oppositions, and ten (10) pages for replies.
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page limit increases must be made in writing to the Court setting
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forth any and all reasons for any increase in page limit at least
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fourteen (14) days prior to the filing of the motion.
All requests for
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For the Court’s convenience, citations to Supreme Court
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cases should include parallel citations to the Supreme Court
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Reporter.
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The parties are reminded that a motion in limine is a
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pretrial procedural device designed to address the admissibility
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of evidence.
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dispositional motions presented in the guise of motions in
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limine.
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The Court will look with disfavor upon
The parties are cautioned that failure to raise a
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dispositive legal issue that could have been tendered to the
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court by proper pretrial motion prior to the dispositive motion
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cut-off date may constitute waiver of such issue.
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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.
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VII.
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The parties have agreed that cross-motions for summary
MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS
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judgment are appropriate for purposes of resolving the
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administrative appeals portion of this litigation.
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by the parties, these motions will be governed by the following
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parameters:
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1.
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As proposed
Plaintiffs and Defendants shall file their
simultaneous cross-briefs no later than February 1, 2018.
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Cross oppositions shall be filed no later than March
1, 2018.
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Cross replies shall be filed no later than March 15,
2018.
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A brief statement of facts will be included in the
parties' briefs.
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5.
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of 70 pages.
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6.
No separate statement of facts is required.
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Each party’s combined briefs shall not exceed a total
The hearing date for the cross motions shall be held
on April 5, 2018, in Courtroom 2 at 2:00 P.M.
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Failure to comply with Local Rules 230 and 260, as modified
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by this Order, may be deemed consent to the motion and the Court
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may dispose of the motion summarily.
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oppose a summary judgment motion may result in the granting of
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that motion if the movant shifts the burden to the nonmovant to
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demonstrate that a genuine issue of material fact remains for
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trial.
Further, failure to timely
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For the Court’s convenience, citations to Supreme Court
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cases should include parallel citations to the Supreme Court
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Reporter.
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VIII. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
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The Final Pretrial Conference is set for September 5, 2019,
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at 2:00 p.m.
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trial for each of the parties shall attend the Final Pretrial
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Conference.
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circumstance a trial attorney is unable to attend, the attorney
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who attends in place of the trial attorney shall have equal
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familiarity with the case and equal authorization to make
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commitments on behalf of the client.
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At least one of the attorneys who will conduct the
If by reason of illness or other unavoidable
Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for trial
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at the time of the Final Pretrial Conference, with no matters
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remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for
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oral testimony.
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The parties shall file, not later than August 29, 2019, a
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Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement.
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Local Rules 281 shall apply with respect to the matters to be
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included in the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement.
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addition to those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the
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parties are to provide the Court with a plain, concise statement
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that identifies every non-discovery motion tendered to the Court
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and its resolution.
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modified by this Pretrial Scheduling Order, may be grounds for
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sanctions.
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The provisions of
In
Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as
At the time of filing the Joint Final Pretrial Conference
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Statement, counsel shall also electronically mail to the Court in
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digital format compatible with Microsoft Word, the Joint Final
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Pretrial Conference Statement in its entirety including the
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witness and exhibit lists.
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tlnorders@caed.uscourts.gov.
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These Documents shall be sent to:
The parties should identify first the core undisputed facts
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relevant to all claims.
The parties should then, in a concise
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manner, identify those undisputed core facts that are relevant to
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each claim.
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manner.
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disputed facts are properly before the Court for trial, they
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should nevertheless list all disputed facts asserted by each
The disputed facts should be identified in the same
Where the parties are unable to agree as to what
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party.
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separately numbered or lettered.
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Each disputed fact or undisputed fact should be
Each party shall identify and concisely list each disputed
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evidentiary issue which will be the subject of a motion in
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limine.
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Each party shall identify the points of law which concisely
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describe the legal issues of the trial which will be discussed in
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the parties’ respective trial briefs.
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reflect issues derived from the core undisputed and disputed
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facts.
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any point of law.
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Points of law should
Parties shall not include argument or authorities with
The parties shall prepare a joint statement of the case in
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plain concise language which will be read to the jury at the
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beginning of the trial.
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inform the jury what the case is about.
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The purpose of the joint statement is to
The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule 281
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they are required to list in the Joint Final Pretrial Conference
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Statement all witnesses and exhibits they propose to offer at
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trial.
After the name of each witness, each party shall provide
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a brief statement of the nature of the testimony to be proffered.
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The parties may file a joint list or each party may file separate
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lists.
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Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement itself, but shall be
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attached as separate documents to be used as addenda to the Final
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Pretrial Order.
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These list(s) shall not be contained in the body of the
Plaintiff's exhibits shall be listed numerically.
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Defendants' exhibits shall be listed alphabetically.
The parties
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shall use the standard exhibit stickers provided by the Court
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Clerk’s Office: pink for plaintiff and blue for defendants.
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the event that the alphabet is exhausted, the exhibits shall be
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marked “AA-ZZ” and “AAA-ZZZ” etc.
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number of letters in parenthesis (i.e., “AAAA(4)”) to reduce
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confusion at trial.
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otherwise fastened together and each page within the exhibit
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shall be numbered.
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The list of exhibits shall not include excerpts of depositions,
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which may be used to impeach witnesses.
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Plaintiff and Defendants offer the same exhibit during trial,
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that exhibit shall be referred to by the designation the exhibit
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is first identified.
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attention to this detail so that all concerned, including the
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jury, will not be confused by one exhibit being identified with
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both a number and a letter.
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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
The Final Pretrial Order will contain a stringent standard
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for the offering at trial of witnesses and exhibits not listed in
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the Final Pretrial Order, and the parties are cautioned that the
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standard will be strictly applied.
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On the other hand, the
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listing of exhibits or witnesses that a party does not intend to
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offer will be viewed as an abuse of the court’s processes.
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The parties also are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16 of
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the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure it will be their duty at the
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Final Pretrial Conference to aid the Court in: (a) the
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formulation and simplification of issues and the elimination of
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frivolous claims or defenses; (b) the settling of facts that
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should properly be admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary
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proof and cumulative evidence.
Counsel must cooperatively
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prepare the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement and
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participate in good faith at the Final Pretrial Conference with
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these aims in mind.
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imposition of sanctions which may include monetary sanctions,
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orders precluding proof, elimination of claims or defenses, or
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such other sanctions as the Court deems appropriate.
A failure to do so may result in the
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IX.
TRIAL BRIEFS
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The parties shall file trial briefs not later than fourteen
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(14) days before trial.
Counsel are directed to Local Rule 285
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regarding the content of trial briefs.
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X.
EVIDENTIARY AND/OR PROCEDURAL MOTIONS
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It is the Court’s practice to hear motions in limine on the
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first day of trial.
However, depending on the number and nature
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of the parties’ motions, the need to special set a hearing date
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to hear such motions shall be addressed at the Final Pretrial
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Conference.
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XI.
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The trial is set for November 4, 2019, at 9:00 a.m.
TRIAL SETTING
Trial
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will be by jury.
The panel will consist of eight (8) jurors.
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The parties estimate a trial length of three to seven (3-7) days.
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XII.
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
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At the Final Pretrial Conference, the Court may set a
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settlement conference if the parties so request.
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settlement conference is requested, the parties are free to
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continue to mediate or attempt to settle the case with the
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In the event no
understanding that the trial date is a firm date.
In the event a settlement conference is set by the Court,
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counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement
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authority present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully
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authorized to settle the matter on any terms.
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calendar days before the settlement conference, counsel for each
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party shall submit to the chambers of the settlement judge a
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confidential Settlement Conference Statement.
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are neither to be filed with the Clerk nor served on opposing
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counsel.
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parties that the statement has been submitted.
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judge is not the trial judge, the Settlement Conference Statement
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shall not be disclosed to the trial judge.
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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
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settlement conference prior to the Final Pretrial Conference if
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they feel it would lead to the possible resolution of the case.
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In the event an early settlement conference date is requested,
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the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing.
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request must state whether the parties waive disqualification,
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The
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pursuant to Local Rule 270(b), before a settlement judge can be
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assigned to the case.
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requesting that the assigned Judge or Magistrate Judge
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participate in the settlement conference AND waiver, pursuant to
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Local Rule 270(b), a settlement judge will be randomly assigned
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to the case.
Absent the parties’ affirmatively
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XIII. VOLUNTARY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAM
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Pursuant to Local Rule 271, parties may stipulate at any
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stage in the proceedings to refer the action, in whole or in
part, to the Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program.
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XIV.
MODIFICATION OF PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
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The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the
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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Pretrial Scheduling Order
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shall not be modified except by leave of court upon a showing of
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good cause.
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alone to modify the Pretrial Scheduling Order does not constitute
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good cause.
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unavailability of witnesses or counsel will not constitute good
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cause.
Agreement by the parties pursuant to stipulation
Except in extraordinary circumstances,
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XV.
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This Pretrial Scheduling Order will become final without
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further order of the Court unless objections are filed within
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fourteen (14) days of service of this Order.
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OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED:
October 26, 2017
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Troy L. Nunley
United States District Judge
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