Hilt v. Ford Motor Company

Filing 17

PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 1: CASE SCHEDULE. Signed by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on 1/11/2024. Pretrial Conference set for 1/23/2025 at 2:00 p.m. in San Francisco, Courtroom 08, 19th Floor before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. Jury Selecti on set for 2/18/2025 at 8:30 a.m. in San Francisco, Courtroom 08, 19th Floor before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. Jury Trial set for 2/18/2025 to 2/24/2025 (5-days) at 8:30 a.m. in San Francisco, Courtroom 08, 19th Floor before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. (ahm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/11/2024)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CHOTSANI HILT,

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Case No. 23-cv-05203-JSC

Plaintiff,
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v.

PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 1: CASE
SCHEDULE

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FORD MOTOR COMPANY,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendant.
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Following the Initial Case Management Conference held on January 11, 2024, IT IS

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ORDERED:

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I.

CASE MANAGEMENT DEADLINES

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Initial Disclosures:

January 25, 2024

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Move/Stipulate to Amend Pleadings:

January 25, 2024

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Move to Remand:

February 8, 2024

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Complete Private ADR:

May 30, 2024

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Fact Discovery Cut-Off:

August 23, 2024

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Expert Witness Disclosures:

August 30, 2024

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Rebuttal Expert Witness Disclosures:

September 13, 2024

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Expert Discovery Cutoff:

September 27, 2024

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Deadline for Filing Dispositive Motions:

October 4, 2024

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Deadline for Hearing Dispositive Motions:

November 14, 2024

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A further Case Management Conference is scheduled for May 2, 20241 at 1:30 p.m. via

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Zoom video. An updated Joint Case Management Conference Statement is due April 25, 2024.

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II.

All depositions must be noticed at least 30 days before the close of fact discovery. Any

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discovery-related letter briefs or motions are due one week after the close of fact discovery. The

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same rules apply to expert discovery. See N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 37-3.

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III.

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B.
IV.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

8, 19th Floor. Lead trial counsel for each party shall attend.
A.

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The Court is expecting the length of the trial to not exceed 5 court days.

A Final Pretrial Conference shall be held on January 23, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., in Courtroom

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Jury trial will begin on February 17, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., in Courtroom 8, 19th Floor,

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

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TRIAL DATE
A.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

DISCOVERY DEADLINES

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

the following:
1.

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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 such

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

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testimony and, separately, what, if any, non-cumulative testimony the witness will offer. For each

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

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The Court, it turns out, is unavailable April 25, 2024.
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should be submitted as appendices to the proposed order. The proposed order should also state

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which issues, if any, are for the Court to decide, rather than the jury.
2.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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File a joint set of proposed instructions on substantive issues of law

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arranged in a logical sequence. If undisputed, an instruction shall be identified as “Stipulated

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Instruction No. ____ Re ___________,” with the blanks filled in as appropriate. If disputed, each

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version of the instruction shall be inserted together, back to back, in their logical place in the

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overall sequence. Each such disputed instruction shall be identified as, for example, “Disputed

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Instruction No. ____ Re ____________ Offered by _________________,” with the blanks filled

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in as appropriate. All disputed versions of the same basic instruction shall bear the same number.

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Any modifications to a form instruction must be plainly identified. If a party does not have a

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counter version and simply contends that no such instruction in any version should be given, then

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that party should so state (and explain why) on a separate page inserted in lieu of an alternate

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version. With respect to form preliminary instructions, general instructions, or concluding

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instructions, please simply cite to the numbers of the requested instructions in the current edition

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of the Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions. Other than citing the numbers, the parties shall not

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include preliminary, general, or concluding instructions in the packet.
3.

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instructions, if any, organized by instruction number.
4.

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File a separate memorandum of law in support of each party’s disputed

File a joint set of proposed voir dire questions supplemented as necessary

by separate requests.

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5.

File trial briefs on any controlling issues of law.

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6.

File proposed verdict forms, joint or separate.

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7.

File and serve any objections to exhibits.

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8.

File a joint simplified Statement of the Case to be read to the jury during

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voir dire as part of the proposed jury instructions. Unless the case is extremely complex, this

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statement should not exceed one page.

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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.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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

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the day after filing. The Joint Proposed Final Pretrial Order, jury instructions, and verdict form

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shall also be submitted via e-mail as Word attachments to [e-mail]. The

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Court requests that all hard-copy submissions be three-hole-punched.

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V.

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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 Kristen Melen, Supervisor of the Court Reporting Services, at

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[phone], 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.

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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

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of witnesses, Monday through Friday. Counsel must arrive by 8:15 a.m., or earlier as needed, for

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any matters to be heard out of the presence of the jury. The jury will be called at 8:30 a.m.

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THE JURY
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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The Jury Office asks prospective jurors to complete an online jury questionnaire in

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advance of their summons date. The standard questionnaire available on the Northern District’s

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website at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/attorneys/Internet-version_Standard-

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CAND-Trial_SurveyMonkey_3-2022.pdf. The parties are allowed to add 10 case specific

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questions to the questionnaire. The parties shall meet and confer, and to the extent possible, file a

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joint list of proposed questions to add to the questionnaire. To the extent that the parties cannot

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agree, they may submit separate proposed questions from which the Court will choose 10. The

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parties joint or separate submissions are due 21 days before trial. The Court will provide the

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parties with the survey responses the Friday before trial.

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In civil cases, there are no alternate jurors and the jury is selected as follows: Eighteen to

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twenty jurors are called to fill the jury box and the row in front of the bar, and are given numbers

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(1 through 20). The remaining potential jurors will be seated in the public benches. Hardship

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excuses will usually be considered at this point. Counsel may conduct a limited voir dire.

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Challenges for cause will then be addressed out of the presence of the potential jurors. The Court

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will consider whether to fill in the seats of the stricken jurors. If so, questions will be asked of the

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additional jurors and cause motions as to them will be considered. After a short recess, each side

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may exercise its allotment of peremptory challenges out of the presence of the potential jurors.

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The eight (or such other size as will constitute the jury) surviving the challenge process with the

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lowest numbers become the final jury. If more (or fewer) than eight jurors are to be seated, then

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the starting number will be adjusted. So too if more than a total of six peremptories are allowed.

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Once the jury selection is completed, the jurors’ names will be read again and they will be seated

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in the jury box and sworn. The Court may alter this procedure in its discretion and after

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consultation with the parties.

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WITNESSES

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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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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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United States District Court
Northern District of California

A.

B.

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

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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.

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Exhibits tags: Exhibits must be labeled in the lower right-hand corner with the

exhibit number in a prominent, bold typeface.
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.

The parties shall provide the Court with one official set of the record exhibits seven

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(7) days before the Pretrial Conference. Each exhibit must be separated with a label divider

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identifying the exhibit number. Spine labels should indicate the numbers of the exhibits that are in

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the binders. At trial, the parties shall provide individual witness exhibit binders which contain all

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the exhibits the parties expect to use with the witness. The parties shall provide two copies of each

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witness binder: one for the witness and one for the Court.

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F.

Before the closing arguments, counsel must confer with the deputy clerk to make

sure the exhibits in evidence are in good order.
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G.

Exhibit notebooks for the jury will not be permitted without prior permission from

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the Court. Publication must be by poster blow-up, overhead projection, or such other method as is

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allowed in the circumstances. It is permissible to highlight, circle or underscore in the

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enlargements as long as it is clear that it was not on the original.
CHARGING CONFERENCE

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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As the trial progresses and the evidence is heard, the Court will fashion a comprehensive

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set of jury instructions to cover all issues actually being tried. Prior to the close of the evidence,

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the Court will provide a draft final charge to the parties. After a reasonable period for review, one

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or more charging conferences will be held at which each party may object to any passage, ask for

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modifications, or ask for additions. Any instruction request must be renewed specifically at the

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conference or it will be deemed waived, whether or not it was requested prior to trial. If, however,

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a party still wishes to request an omitted instruction after reviewing the Court’s draft, then it must

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affirmatively re-request it at the charging conference in order to give the Court a fair opportunity

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to correct any error. Otherwise, as stated, the request will be deemed abandoned or waived.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: January 11, 2024
______________________________________
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States District Judge

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