Granite State Insurance Company v. Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Inc. et al

Filing 32

CIVIL PRETRIAL ORDER, Case referred to mediation. Case Management Statement due by 10/9/2014. Non-expert Discovery due by 2/20/2015. Bench Trial (3 days) set for 5/26/2015 08:30 AM before Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. Case Managemen t Conference set for 10/16/2014 01:30 PM. Final Pretrial Conference set for 5/14/2015 02:00 PM. Dispositive Motion Hearing set for 4/16/2015 09:00 AM before Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley.. Signed by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on 6/30/2014. (tlS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/30/2014) Modified on 6/30/2014 (tlS, COURT STAFF).

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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GRANITE STATE INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Plaintiff.

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CIVIL PRETRIAL ORDER

v.

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Case No. 14-cv-00881-JSC

HELLMANN WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS,
INC., et al.,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendants.
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Upon review of the parties’ Joint Case Management Conference Statement (Dkt. No. 30),

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the Court VACATES the initial case management conference scheduled for July 3, 2014 at 1:30

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p.m. and orders as follows.

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I.

SETTLEMENT
The parties are directed to participate in Court-sponsored mediation by September 11,

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2014. According to the CMC Statement, the parties produced initial disclosures on June 26,

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2014. The parties are ordered to informally exchange any additional discovery that is needed to

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have a meaningful mediation, keeping in mind the amount of money at stake in this litigation. In

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other words, rather than propound formal written discovery, if there are particular documents a

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party believes are necessary for mediation, the party shall telephone the relevant counsel and ask

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for the informal production of such documents. In all other respects discovery is stayed.

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Discovery shall not formally open until the mediator certifies that the case did not settle.

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II.

CASE MANAGEMENT SCHEDULE

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Further Case Management Conference:

October 16, 2014 1:30 p.m.

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Close of Non-expert discovery:

February 20, 2015

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Disclosure of expert witnesses:

March 20, 2015

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Close of expert discovery:

April 17, 2015

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Last day to hear dispositive motions:

April 16, 2015

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(Motions must be filed 35 days before hearing)

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I.

A.

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A bench trial will begin on May 26, 2015, at 8:30 a.m., in Courtroom F, 15th

Floor, U.S. District Court, 450 Golden Gate, San Francisco, California.
B.

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TRIAL DATE

III.

The Court is expecting the length of the trial to not exceed 3 court days.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
A Final Pretrial Conference shall be held on May 14, 2015, at 2:00 p.m., in Courtroom F,

15th Floor. Lead trial counsel for each party shall attend.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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A.

At least seven days prior to date of the Final Pretrial Conference the parties shall

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do the following:

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1.

In lieu of preparing a Joint Pretrial Conference Statement, the parties shall

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meet and confer in person, and then prepare and file a jointly signed Proposed Final Pretrial Order

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that contains: (a) a brief description of the substance of claims and defenses which remain to be

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decided; (b) a statement of all relief sought; (c) all stipulated facts; (d) a joint exhibit list in

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numerical order, including a brief description of the exhibit and Bates numbers, a blank column

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for when it will be offered into evidence, a blank column for when it may be received into

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evidence, and a blank column for any limitations on its use; and (e) each party’s separate witness

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list for its case-in-chief witnesses (including those appearing by deposition), including, for all

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such witnesses (other than party plaintiffs or defendants), a short statement of the substance of

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his/her testimony and, separately, what, if any, non-cumulative testimony the witness will offer.

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For each witness, state an hour/minute time estimate for the direct examination (only). Items (d)

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and (e) should be submitted as appendices to the proposed order.

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2.

File trial briefs on any controlling issues of law.

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3.

File and serve any objections to exhibits.

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B.

Any motions in limine shall be submitted as follows: at least twenty (20) calendar

days before the conference, the moving party shall serve, but not file, the opening brief. At least
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ten (10) calendar days before the conference, the responding party shall serve the opposition.

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There will be no reply. When the oppositions are received, the moving party should collate the

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motion and the opposition together, back-to-back, and then file the paired sets at least seven (7)

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calendar days before the conference. Each motion should be presented in a separate memorandum

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and properly identified, for example, “Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine No. 1 to Exclude . . . .” Each

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party is limited to bringing five motions in limine. The parties are encouraged to stipulate where

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possible, for example, as to the exclusion of witnesses from the courtroom. Each motion should

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address a single, separate topic, and contain no more than seven pages of briefing per side.
C.

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Hard-copy courtesy copies of the above documents shall be delivered by NOON

two days after filing. The Joint Proposed Final Pretrial Order shall be submitted via e-mail as

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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attachments to [e-mail]. The Court requests that all hard-copy submissions be

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three-hole-punched.

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IV.

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PRETRIAL ARRANGEMENTS
A.

Should a daily transcript and/or real-time reporting be desired, the parties shall

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make arrangements with Debra Campbell, Supervisor of the Court Reporting Services, at (415)

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522-2079, at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the trial date.

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B.

During trial, counsel may wish to use overhead projectors, laser-disk/computer

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graphics, poster blow-ups, models, or specimens of devices. Equipment should be shared by all

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counsel to the maximum extent possible. The Court provides no equipment other than an easel.

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The United States Marshal requires a court order to allow equipment into the courthouse. For

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electronic equipment, parties should be prepared to maintain the equipment or have a technician

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handy at all times. The parties shall tape extension cords to the carpet for safety. The parties may

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work with the deputy clerk, Ada Means (415-522-2015), on all courtroom-layout issues.
SCHEDULING

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Trial will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 or 3:00 p.m., depending on the availability
of witnesses, Monday through Friday.
WITNESSES
At the close of each trial day, all counsel shall exchange a list of witnesses for the
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next two full court days and the exhibits that will be used during direct examination (other than

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for impeachment of an adverse witness). Within 24 hours of such notice, all other counsel shall

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provide any objections to such exhibits and shall provide a list of all exhibits to be used with the

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same witness on cross-examination (other than for impeachment). The first notice shall be

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exchanged prior to the first day of trial. All such notices shall be provided in writing.
EXHIBITS

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A.

Prior to the Final Pretrial Conference, counsel must meet and confer in person to

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consider all exhibit numbers and objections and to eliminate duplicate exhibits and confusion over

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the precise exhibit.

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B.

Use numbers only, not letters, for exhibits, preferably the same numbers as were

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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used in depositions. Blocks of numbers should be assigned to fit the need of the case (e.g.,

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Plaintiff has 1 to 100, Defendant A has 101 to 200, Defendant B has 201 to 300, etc.). A single

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exhibit should be marked only once. If the plaintiff has marked an exhibit, then the defendant

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should not re-mark the exact document with another number. Different versions of the same

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document, e.g., a copy with additional handwriting, must be treated as different exhibits with

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different numbers. To avoid any party claiming “ownership” of an exhibit, all exhibits shall be

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marked and referred to as “Trial Exhibit No. _____,” not as “Plaintiff’s Exhibit” or “Defendant’s

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Exhibit.”

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C.

The exhibit tag shall be in the following form:

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Counsel preferably will make the tag up in a color that will stand out (yet still allow for

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photocopying), but that is not essential. Place the tag on or near the lower right-hand corner or, if

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a photograph, on the back. Counsel should fill in the tag but leave the last two spaces blank. The

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parties must jointly prepare a single set of all trial exhibits that will be the official record set to be

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used with the witnesses and on appeal. Each exhibit must be tagged, three-hole-punched,

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separated with a label divider identifying the exhibit number, and placed in 3-ring binders. Spine

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labels should indicate the numbers of the exhibits that are in the binders. Each set of exhibit

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binders should be marked as “Original.” Deposit the exhibits with the deputy clerk seven (7) days

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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before the Pretrial Conference.
D.

Counsel must consult with each other and with the deputy clerk at the end of each

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trial day and compare notes as to which exhibits are in evidence and any limitations thereon. If

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there are any differences, counsel should bring them promptly to the Court’s attention.

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E.

In addition to the official record exhibits, three sets of bench binders containing

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copies of the exhibits must be provided to the Court seven (7) days before the Pretrial Conference,

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one should be marked as “Chambers Copies”, and the other two as “Clerk’s Copies.” Each

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exhibit must be separated with a label divider identifying the exhibit number. (An exhibit tag is

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unnecessary for the bench set.) Spine labels should indicate the numbers of the exhibits that are

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in the binders.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 30, 2014
______________________________________
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge

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