Bighorn Capital, Inc. v. Security National Guaranty, Inc.

Filing 76

ORDER FOR PRETRIAL PREPERATION. Jury Selection set for 12/5/2016 at 08:30 AM before Hon. Saundra Brown Armstrong. Jury Trial set for 12/5/2016 at 08:30 AM before Hon. Saundra Brown Armstrong. Pretrial Conference set for 11/16/2016 at 01:00 PM before Hon. Saundra Brown Armstrong. Signed by Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong on 2/5/16. (jebS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/5/2016)

1
2
3

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

4

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

5

OAKLAND DIVISION

6
7

BIGHORN CAPITAL, INC.,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 15-cv-03083-SBA

8
v.
9
10

SECURITY NATIONAL GUARANTY,
INC.,
Defendant.

11
United States District Court
Northern District of California

ORDER FOR PRETRIAL
PREPARATION

12
13

Pursuant to Rule 16(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("FRCP"), IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

14
15

A.
PLEADINGS

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

DEADLINE FOR JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDING THE

The deadline for the joinder of other parties and to amend the pleadings is:
closed.
B.

DISCOVERY CUT-OFF
All discovery, except for expert discovery, shall be completed and all
depositions taken on or before June 29, 2016. The parties are responsible for scheduling
discovery so that motions to resolve discovery disputes can be heard before the above
discovery cut-off.
C.

EXPERT DESIGNATION AND DISCOVERY

Plaintiff shall designate any experts by June 29, 2016; rebuttal
disclosure by July 6, 2016. Any expert not so named may be disallowed as a witness. No
expert will be permitted to testify to any opinion, or basis or support for an opinion, that has
not been disclosed in response to an appropriate question or interrogatory from the opposing
party. Expert discovery shall be completed by July 27, 2016.

27
28

D.

MOTION CUT-OFF

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

All dispositive motions shall be heard on or before September 14,
2016, at 1:00 p.m. The parties must meet and confer prior to filing any motion. The
movant shall certify to the Court in its moving papers that it has complied with this
requirement. Should the parties fail to meet and confer, the Court may decline to entertain
the motion.
THE COURT DOES NOT RESERVE MOTION HEARING
DATES. The parties are advised to check Judge Armstrong's calendar at
www.cand.uscourts.gov/sba, under Scheduling Information to determine the next available
hearing date, particularly in the case of a dispositive motion. The parties are advised not to
wait until 35 days prior to the law and motion cut-off date to file and serve their motion. As
the Court's law and motion calendar tends to fill quickly, there is no guarantee that a hearing
date within the law and motion cut-off date will be available. You MUST submit a hard
copy of all motion papers filed in E-FILED cases in order to be placed on calendar.

10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Page Limits: All noticed motions (other than motions for summary
judgment) and any opposition thereto, shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages in length,
exclusive of the table of contents, table of authorities, exhibits and declarations, if required.
Reply briefs may not exceed ten (10) pages in length. Motions for summary judgment are
subject to the page limits set forth in Civil Local Rule 7.
Meet and Confer Requirement: All parties are required to meet and
confer in good faith before filing any motion or any non-stipulated request with this court,
and to certify that they have complied with this requirement.
Failure to Oppose: The failure of the opposing party to file a
memorandum of points and authorities in opposition to any motion shall constitute a consent
to the granting of the motion.
Summary Judgment: Parties are limited to filing one motion for summary
judgment. Any party wishing to exceed this limit must request leave of Court. Separate
statements of undisputed facts will not be considered. Joint statements of undisputed facts
are not required, but are helpful if agreed upon.

22
23
24

Hearing on Motions: Note that pursuant to Civil L.R. 7-1(b), the
Court may, in its discretion, adjudicate motions without oral argument.
E.

MANDATORY SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES

25
26
27

All parties are ordered to participate in a mandatory settlement
conference during the following time period: 9/19/16-10-7/16
F.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

28
2

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

All Counsel who will try the case shall appear for a pretrial conference
on November 16, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. All Counsel shall be fully prepared to discuss all
aspects of the trial. Failure to file the requisite pretrial documents in advance of the pretrial
conference may result in vacation of the pretrial conference and/or the imposition of
sanctions. ALL PARTIES WITH SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY ARE REQUIRED TO
ATTEND THE PRETRIAL CONFERENCE.
G.

PRETRIAL PREPARATION DUE: October 12, 2016

Prior to the date pretrial preparation is due, Counsel shall meet and
confer in good faith in advance of complying with the following pretrial requirements in
order to clarify and narrow the issues for trial, arrive at stipulations of facts, simplify and
shorten the presentation of proof at trial, and explore possible settlement. In addition,
Counsel shall meet and confer regarding anticipated motions in limine, objections to
evidence, jury instructions, and any other matter which may require resolution by the Court.
The following items 1 through 8 below shall be filed and served by the above-referenced
date.
1.

Joint Pretrial Statement

Counsel are required to file a pretrial conference statement
containing the following information:
(a)

The Action

(i) Substance of the Action. A brief description of the
substance of claims and defenses which remain to be decided
(ii) Relief Prayed. A detailed statement of all the relief
claimed, particularly itemizing all elements of damages claimed as well as witnesses,
documents or other evidentiary material to be presented concerning the amount of those
damages.
(b)

The Factual Basis of the Action

22
23
24
25
26
27

(i) Undisputed Facts. A plain and concise statement of
all relevant facts not reasonably disputable, as well as which facts parties will stipulate for
incorporation into the trial record without the necessity of supporting testimony or exhibits.
(ii) Disputed Factual Issues. A plain and concise
statement of all disputed factual issues which remain to be decided.
(iii) Agreed Statement. A statement assessing whether
all or part of the action may be presented upon an agreed statement of facts.

28
3

1

(iv) Stipulations. A statement of stipulations requested or
proposed for pretrial or trial purposes.

2
(c)

3
4
5
6

Disputed Legal Issues

(i) Points of Law. Without extended legal argument, a
concise statement of each disputed point of law concerning liability or relief, citing
supporting statutes and decisions. Unless otherwise ordered, parties should cite to briefs
served and lodged setting forth briefly the nature of each party's contentions concerning each
disputed point of law, including procedural and evidentiary issues.

7
8
9
10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12
13
14
15
16

(ii) Proposed Conclusions of law. If the case is to be
tried without jury, unless otherwise ordered, parties should briefly indicate objections to
proposed conclusions of law lodged with this Court.
2.

Trial Briefs

Each party shall serve and file a trial brief which shall briefly
state their contentions, the relevant facts to be proven at trial, and the law on the issues
material to the decision.
3.

Findings of Fact

In non-jury cases, each party shall serve and lodge with the
Court proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law on all material issues. Findings shall
be brief, clear, written in plain English and free of pejorative language, and argument.

17
18
19
20
21

4.

Witnesses

Each party shall serve and file with the Court a list of all persons
who may be called as witnesses. The list shall include a summary of the substance of each
witness' proposed testimony.
5.

Designation of Discovery Excerpts

22
23
24
25
26
27
28

Each party expecting to use discovery excerpts as part of its case
in chief shall serve and lodge with the Court a statement identifying (1) by witness and page
and line, all deposition testimony and (2) by lodged excerpt, all interrogatory answers and
request for admissions to be used as part of its direct case. Each interrogatory answer
intended to be offered as an exhibit shall be copied separately and marked as an exhibit. The
original of any deposition to be used at trial must be produced at the time of trial, as well as
a copy for the Court. Counsel shall indicate any objections to the use of these materials and
advise the Court that counsel has conferred respecting such objections.
6.

Jury Instructions
4

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

The parties shall file a joint set of proposed jury instructions as
to those instructions on which the parties have reached agreement. As to any disputed
instructions, each party shall separately submit its "proposed" instruction(s) supported by a
memorandum setting forth the authority for its use. Responses or objections to any
"proposed" jury instruction shall be filed no later than the date of the pretrial conference.
All instructions shall be written in plain English which is comprehensible to jurors, concise
and free of argument, and shall be organized in a logical fashion so as to aid jury
comprehension, and are also to be provided on a CD in a word format. The Court's practice
is to utilize, whenever possible, instructions found in the Ninth Circuit Manual of Model
Jury Instructions.
7.

9
10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11

Jury Voir Dire and Verdict Forms
Each party shall submit proposed questions for jury voir dire and

a proposed form of verdict.
8.

Exhibits

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

Each party shall provide every other party one set of all exhibits,
charts, schedules, summaries and diagrams and other similar documentary materials to be
used at the trial together with a complete list of all such exhibits. The Court requires one
original version of exhibits (as described above) for the Clerk and two copies (one for the
Bench and one for the witness stand). All such versions of the exhibits, including the
originals, should be indexed into a binder for easy and quick reference by all parties. The
first page of each binder should have a copy of the exhibit list (see attached) appropriately
completed with each exhibit description and its designated number. Plaintiffs shall refer to
their exhibits numerically and Defendants shall label theirs alphabetically. Exhibit labels are
also attached for your convenience. Exhibits should be brought to Court on the first day of
trial.
9.

Motions in Limine and Objections to Evidence

Each party anticipating making motion(s) in limine and/or
objection(s) to any testimony or exhibits expected to be offered shall file and serve a
statement briefly identifying each item objected to and the grounds for the objection. The
parties must meet and confer prior to filing any motion in limine and objection to evidence.
The movant shall certify to the Court in its moving papers that it has complied with this
requirement.

25
26
27
28

NOTE: All motions in limine submitted by each party shall be
set forth in a single memorandum, not to exceed ten (10) pages in length. Responses to the
motions in limine shall be set forth in a single memorandum, not to exceed ten (10) pages in
length. Reply briefs shall not exceed six (6) pages. No motions in limine will be considered
unless the parties certify that they met and conferred prior to the filing of such motion. Any
5

1
2

req
quest to exc
ceed the pag limit must be submi
ge
itted prior to the deadline for thes briefs and
se
d
mu be suppo
ust
orted by a showing of good cause along with a certifica
s
e,
h
ation that th applicant
he
t
has met and conferred with the oppo
s
osing party.
.

3

(a) Mot
tions/Objections due: October 1 2016
:
19,

4

(b) Opp
position du October 26, 2016
ue:
r

5
(c) Rep due:
ply

6
7
8
9
10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12
13
14
15
16

H.

Novembe 2, 2016
er

TRI
IAL DATE
E

Tria before the jury will b
al
e
begin on De
ecember 5, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., for
r
an estimated 4 trial days, or as soon thereafter a the Cour may desig
,
n
as
rt
gnate. The parties are
vised that th must be prepared to go to tria on a traili basis. T trial wi take place
hey
e
t
al
ing
The
ill
adv
at 1300 Clay Street, 2nd Floor, Cou
S
urtroom 210 Oakland, California, 94612 (loc
0,
cated inside
e
e
kruptcy Cou
urthouse). The Court's trial hours are from 8
T
s
s
8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.,
the U.S. Bank
wit two fifteen-minute breaks, on Monday, W
th
b
M
Wednesday, Thursday a Friday. On the firs
and
st
day of trial al parties ar required to have som
y
ll
re
meone in C
Court with f Settlem
full
ment
Au
uthority.
I.

TRA
ANSCRIPT
TS

If transcripts will be reque
w
ested during or immed
g
diately after the trial,
arr
rangements must be ma with the Court Rep
ade
porter Coor
rdinator (Te
elephone N 510-637No.
3534) at least one week prior to the commence
p
ement of tria commenc
al
ces.

17
18
19
20
21

J.

STA
ATUS AND DISCOV
D
VERY CON
NFERENCES

Any party desir
y
ring to conf with the Court may upon noti to all
fer
e
y,
ice
oth parties, arrange a conference through the courtroom deputy (Te
her
t
m
elephone No. 510-637354
42). Confe
erences may be conduc telepho
y
cted
onically, upon request (preferably in writing)
y
).
K.

SAN
NCTIONS

22
23
24

Failure to comp with thi order may result in t impositi of
ply
is
y
the
ion
san
nctions purs
suant to FR 16(f).
RCP
IT IS SO ORDER
S
RED.

25
26
27

Da
ated: Februa 5, 2016
ary

_____
_________
__________
__________
______
SA
AUNDRA BROWN A
ARMSTRO
ONG
U
United States District Ju
s
udge

28
6