Watchous Enterprises, L.L.C. v. Pacific National Capital et al

Filing 417

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER granting 389 Motion for Leave to File. Signed by District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree on 6/16/2021. Counsel for plaintiff must make all appropriate arrangements for Mr. Dumas to join the proceedings via videoconferencing tech nology in accordance with the court's preferences for audio and visual conferencing. Mailed to pro se party Waterfall Mountain USA LLC, Waterfall Mountain LLC, Waterfall International Holdings Limited, William J. Mournes and Kendra Duval by regular mail. (sz) Modified on 6/16/2021 to add Kendra Duval (sz).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
WATCHOUS ENTERPRISES, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 16-1432-DDC

PACIFIC NATIONAL CAPITAL, et al.,
Defendants.
____________________________________
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Presently pending before the court is plaintiff’s Motion for Leave for Dennis Dumas to
Appear Remotely (Doc. 389). The motion is unopposed. For reasons explained below, the court
grants plaintiff’s motion.
I.

Background
Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit in December 2016. See Doc. 1 (Compl.). And the matter is

set for trial in Wichita beginning June 28, 2021. See Doc. 385 (Second Am. Trial Order).
Plaintiff’s motion “respectfully moves the Court for an order allowing its expert witness, Dennis
Dumas, to appear [at the upcoming trial] remotely.” Doc. 389 at 1. Mr. Dumas “is Watchous’[s]
designated expert witness.” Id. Plaintiff “anticipates that [Mr. Dumas] will testify at trial . . .
that Waterfall and its lender did not own the bonds Defendants represented they owned, and that
any loan against the bonds had to be approved by the Central Bank of Venezuela, and that the
Waterfall Defendants engaged in misrepresentation by offering to secure promissory notes with
the bonds.” Id. “Mr. Dumas’[s] testimony will be limited to providing context for the jury.” Id.
at 1–2. “Mr. Dumas lives and works in the New York City . . . area and would have to fly to
Wichita to attend trial.” Id. at 2.

The motion explains that “Mr. Dumas is in a high-risk category should he contract
COVID-19[,]” regardless of whether he has been vaccinated against the virus. Id. (citation
omitted). Plaintiff thus asks the court to permit Mr. Dumas to testify “remotely to limit the risk
to him, the parties, the jurors, and others.” Id. And, plaintiff notes, the court “indicated in an
April 1, 2021, email to counsel and the parties that it did not anticipate remote testimony by Mr.
Dumas would be a problem.” Id.
II.

Analysis
Four reasons persuade the court to grant plaintiff’s motion. First, plaintiff’s motion is

unopposed, which itself supplies a basis for the court to grant the request. See D. Kan. Rule
7.4(b) (“Ordinarily, the court will grant the [uncontested] motion without further notice.”).
Second, the request aligns with Rule 1’s instruction that courts should aim to ensure “just,
speedy, and inexpensive determination[s] of every action and proceeding.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 1.
Third, our court’s pandemic precautions expressly empower judges in our district to exercise
discretion when responding to requests such as the present one. See, e.g., United States District
Court for the District of Kansas, Reopening Proceedings During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Mar.
26, 2021), http://ksd.uscourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Administrative-Order-202105.pdf (Administrative Order 2021-05). And fourth, plaintiff’s request makes good sense
because plaintiff expects Mr. Dumas to testify only in a limited capacity. Doc. 389 at 1–2 (“Mr.
Dumas’[s] testimony will be limited to providing context for the jury.”).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT plaintiff’s unopposed
Motion for Leave for Dennis Dumas to Appear Remotely (Doc. 389) is granted.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT counsel for plaintiff must
make all appropriate arrangements for Mr. Dumas to join the proceedings via videoconferencing
technology in accordance with the court’s preferences for audio and visual conferencing.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 16th day of June, 2021, at Kansas City, Kansas.
s/ Daniel D. Crabtree
Daniel D. Crabtree
United States District Judge

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