Munoz v. Nissan North America Inc.

Filing 22

PRETRIAL PREPARATION ORDER. Signed by Judge Nathanael M. Cousins on 4/25/2022. (lmh, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/25/2022)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOSE DE JESUS IZAZAGA MUNOZ,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Plaintiff,

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PRETRIAL PREPARATION
ORDER

v.

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Case No. 21-cv-09406-NC

NISSAN NORTH AMERICA INC,
and others,

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Defendants.
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A pretrial conference is scheduled for November 30, 2022. A jury trial is scheduled

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to begin on December 12, 2022. This order prepares for the trial.

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I.

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MOTIONS IN LIMINE
The parties must file their motions in limine by November 16, 2022, with responses

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due by November 23, 2022. No party may file a reply without leave of Court. The total

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number of pages each party submits for all motions and all responses must not exceed 15

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pages. While it is up to each party to decide how much space to allocate for their motions

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and how much for their responses, the parties must each stay within the 15 -page limit (e.g.,

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a party can allocate 9 pages for their motions and 6 pages for their responses). The Court

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will hold a hearing on the motions in limine at the pretrial conference.

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II.

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JOINT TRIAL READINESS BINDER
The parties are ordered to provide the Court with two copies of a Joint Trial

Readiness Binder. The documents and binder are due by November 16, 2022, at 12:00

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p.m. at the San Jose Courthouse. The parties must also file a copy of the Joint Trial

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Readiness Binders in ECF. The Joint Trial Readiness Binders must each contain an index

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and copies of filed documents with an ECF header reflecting the item’s docket number and

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filing date, including:

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A. Joint Statement of the Case

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The parties must submit a jointly agreed-upon summary of the case, not to exceed

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one page. This statement of the case will be read to the jury at jury selection. If the parties

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cannot agree on a statement, each party must submit its own one-page statement.

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B. Proposed Order Re: Trial Stipulations
The Court expects that the parties will agree to a variety of stipulations regarding

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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the conduct of the trial. A proposed order outlining all such stipulations must be presented

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to the Court.

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C. Witness Lists

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The parties must submit an updated list of all witnesses likely to be called at trial

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(other than solely for impeachment or rebuttal), with a brief statement following each

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name describing the substance of the testimony to be given and a time estimate of the

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direct and cross examinations. This information must be presented in chart format and

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organized by party. Witnesses who will be testifying as experts should be identified as

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such and included in a separate expert witness list (see below).

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D. Expert Witness Lists

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The parties must submit an updated list of all expert witnesses with a summary that

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clearly describes the expert’s theories and conclusions, a curriculum vitae, and expert

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reports. Witnesses not included on the list may be excluded from testifying.

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E. Updated Exhibit Lists Annotated with Stipulations and Objections

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The parties must submit an updated list of all documents and other items to be

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offered as exhibits at trial (other than solely for impeachment or rebuttal), with a brief

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description of each exhibit’s contents and the identity of each sponsoring witness. As

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applicable, the exhibit list must specify whether the parties stipulate to admit the exhibit or
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the grounds for any objections to the exhibit. The exhibit list must also include an

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additional column so that the Court can track the date on which each exhibit is admitted.

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Prior to submitting the list, the parties must meet and confer and attempt to stipulate as to

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the admissibility of each exhibit. This information must be presented in chart format and

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organized numerically.

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F. Updated List of Discovery Excerpts

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The parties must list those excerpts from depositions, interrogatory answers, o r
responses to requests for admission (other than those solely for impeachment or rebuttal)

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likely to be used at trial. Prior to submitting the list, the parties must meet and confer and

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attempt to resolve any disagreements regarding designations or counter -designations. The

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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parties must: (1) identify any remaining legal objections to the excerpts on the list itself,

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and (2) attach copies of the disputed excerpts in a separate appendix so that the Court can

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review the disputed materials. The parties must provide a single proposed order with each

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disputed designation to enable the Court to rule on whether permission to use each excerpt

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is granted, granted with modification, or denied.

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G. Proposed Voir Dire and Jury Questions

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The parties must include any proposed questions for the court-directed voir dire and

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a joint proposed jury questionnaire. If any questions are contested, each party must state

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the basis for proposing or opposing the question. In addition to including the proposed

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jury instructions in the binder, the parties must submit the proposed jury instructions in

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Word format to [e-mail] by November 16, 2022.

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H. Proposed Verdict Form

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The parties must include a joint proposed verdict form with the questions arranged

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in a logical sequence. If the parties cannot agree on a verdict form, each party must submit

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its own proposed form.

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III.

ELECTRONIC COPIES OF TRIAL DOCUMENTS

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The parties must send [e-mail] an electronic copy, in Word format,

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of the following documents listed above: (1) Proposed Order Re: Trial Stipulations, and (2)
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Proposed Order Re: Discovery Excerpts.

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IV.

STIPULATIONS RE: ADMISSIBILITY
The parties must make a good faith effort to stipulate to exhibits’ admissibility. If

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stipulation is not possible, the parties must make every effort to stipulate to authenticity

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and foundation absent a legitimate objection.

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V.

EXHIBITS

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Exhibits must be provided to the Court by November 16, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. at the
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San Jose Courthouse. The parties must provide two sets of exhibits in binders with
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exhibits marked, tabbed, and indexed. Exhibit binders may be delivered or mailed directly
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to Chambers in San Jose. The parties must coordinate with the Courtroom Deputy for
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United States District Court
Northern District of California

other delivery.
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Each exhibit in the binder must be pre-marked with an exhibit tag placed in the top
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right corner of the first page of a document. The exhibit tags must be a color other than
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white. A page of blank trial exhibit tags can be found on the Court’s website. If an exhibit

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is a physical object (rather than a document), the parties should take a picture of the object
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and include the picture in the binder.
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Upon the conclusion of the trial, each party must retain its exhibit through the
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appellate process. It is each party’s responsibility to make arrangements with the Clerk of

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Court to file the record on appeal.
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VI.

SCHEDULING OF JURY SELECTION

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The parties must notify the Court whether they wish to proceed with a jury or bench
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trial by November 16, 2022. If the parties decide to proceed with a jury trial, the jury will
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be selected on December 12, 2022. Opening statements will be on that day after jury
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selection. The first witness will be called on December 13, 2022.
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VII.

TRIAL LIMITS
The Court anticipates giving each side a total of 7 hours to present its case. This

includes all aspects of trial (e.g., objections, examinations) except jury selection.
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VIII. MISCELLANEOUS
A. Trial Transcripts
If a party wishes to order a trial transcript, the order must be placed by November

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16, 2022. Instructions on how to file a transcript order using Form CAND-435 are
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available at: www.cand.uscourts.gov/transcripts.
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B. Electronic Equipment
If a party wishes to use electronic equipment or other large items, the party must file

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a request and proposed order with the Court by November 16, 2022. Equipment not
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provided by the Court must be tested in the courtroom prior to trial. Arrangements may be
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made with the Courtroom Deputy, Lili Harrell, at [phone].
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C. Jury Orientation Video

United States District Court
Northern District of California

The Northern District of California requires potential jurors to watch an orientation
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video before they are sent to the courtroom for voir dire. The Court encourages the parties
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to watch the orientation video at: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/unconscious14
bias-video-for-potential-jurors/.
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D. Questions from Jury
If the parties select a jury trial, the Court will give an instruction to allow questions

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from the jury in accordance with Ninth Circuit Model Instruction 1.15 (“Questions to
Witnesses by Jurors”).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: April 25, 2022
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_____________________________________
NATHANAEL M. COUSINS
United States Magistrate Judge

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