Mazurkiewicz v. Country Mutual Insurance Company et al

Filing 98

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendant Safeco shall file a memorandum by 9:00 a.m. on December 23, 2013, setting out Gerard T.Noce's anticipated testimony and the basis for offering this testimony to the jury. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant Country Mutual shall file a memorandum by 9:00 a.m. on December 23, 2013, setting forth its good faith basis for designating Mr. Klein and Mr. Butsch as potential witnesses, their anticipated potential testimony, and its basis for offering their potential testimony to the jury. Signed by District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on 12/20/13. (ARL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
JULIE MAZURKIEWICZ,
Plaintiff,
vs.
COUNTRY MUTUAL INS. CO,
et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:11CV2089 RWS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before me on a review of the parties’ initial pretrial
compliance. Much to my surprise, defendant Safeco has listed attorney Gerard T.
Noce to testify (presumably as an expert witness, since it also designates his
curriculum vitae as an exhibit). This is not a legal malpractice case, so there
appears to be no reason why I would permit an attorney to testify as an expert in
this case since it is my job to instruct the jury on the law. Moreover, defendant
Safeco never informed the Court of its intention to call Mr. Noce as an expert
witness during the hearing on its motion to limit Dr. Berry’s testimony despite
being asked about its witnesses (and specifically, its expert witnesses) for
purposes of setting a trial date. Even more confusing is defendant Country
Mutual’s designation of plaintiff’s counsel Jerry Klein and its own attorney David

Butsch as potential witnesses. The Court knows of absolutely no reason why the
attorneys litigating this case would be potential witnesses, and if for some reason
they are witnesses and testify, then each has potential conflict and ethical issues
that must be resolved well before trial. In any event, this is not the type of issue to
be raised for the first time on the eve of trial. Given these issues, I am very
concerned that the parties have misrepresented the anticipated length of trial.
Finally, I again encourage the parties to continue good faith settlement discussions
as I continue to believe that the cost of trying this case will exceed any reasonable
settlement of the matter.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendant Safeco shall file a
memorandum by 9:00 a.m. on December 23, 2013, setting out Gerard T.
Noce’s anticipated testimony and the basis for offering this testimony to the
jury.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant Country Mutual shall file a
memorandum by 9:00 a.m. on December 23, 2013, setting forth its good faith
basis for designating Mr. Klein and Mr. Butsch as potential witnesses, their
anticipated potential testimony, and its basis for offering their potential
testimony to the jury.

RODNEY W. SIPPEL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated this 20th day of December, 2013.

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