Marjamaa v. Lincare, Inc.

Filing 17

SCHEDULING ORDER: Final Pretrial Conference set for 11/26/2019 at 11:00 AM in Butte, MT before Judge Brian Morris. Status Conference set for 10/3/2019 at 1:30 PM in Butte, MT before Judge Brian Morris. Amended Pleadings due by 6/29/2018. Discovery due by 5/31/2018. Joinder of Parties due by 6/29/2018. Motions due by 8/2/2019. Proposed Pretrial Order due by 11/1/2019. Signed by Judge Brian Morris on 6/7/2018. (NOS)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
BUTTE DIVISION

KASEY MARJAMAA,

CV 18-13-BU-BMM

Plaintiff,
vs.

ORDER

LINCARE INC.,
Defendant.

The Court conducted a Preliminary pretrial conference in this case on
June 7, 2018. Plaintiff was represented by Adam C. Cook, Esq. Defendant was
represented by Katie R. Ranta, Esq.
IT IS ORDERED:
1.

Scheduling Order: The following schedule, established with the

concurrence of the parties, will be observed:
All amendments of pleadings and joinder
of parties on or before:

June 29, 2018

All parties shall disclose liability experts
and Plaintiff shall disclose damages
experts (with expert reports) on or before:

February 15, 2019

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Defendant shall disclose damages
experts on or before:

March 15, 2019

All parties shall disclose
rebuttal experts on or before:

April 26, 2019

Discovery shall close on:

May 31, 2019

All pretrial motions, other than discovery
motions, shall be filed and fully briefed
on or before:

August 2, 2019

Status conference and hearing
on all pending motions:

October 3, 2019, at 1:30 p.m.
Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse
Butte, Montana

Attorney conference to discuss preparation
of final pretrial order on or before:
October 18, 2019
Proposed final pretrial order:

November 1, 2019

Final pretrial conference:

November 26, 2019, at 11:00 a.m.
Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse
Butte, Montana

Trial briefs, jury instructions due:

December 2, 2019

Trial (6 member jury):

December 9, 2019, at 9:00 a.m
Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse
Butte, Montana

The parties may stipulate to the extension of any of the above deadlines that
precede the motions deadline, without a court order. Any party seeking a

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continuance of the motions deadline or any subsequent deadline must file a motion
with the Court.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED:
2.

Local Rules and Electronic Filing. Parties are advised that revised

Local Rules for the District of Montana became effective December 1, 2017, and
apply in all cases pending when the changes become effective. In addition, all
counsel shall take steps to register in the Court’s electronic filing system (“CMECF”). All counsel must show cause if they are not filing electronically. Further
information is available on the Court’s website, www.mtd.uscourts.gov, or from
the Clerk’s Office. See also L.R. 1.4.
3.

Service by E-Mail for Parties Not Filing Electronically. Parties not

filing electronically may consent to be served by e-mail, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
5(b)(2)(E), by agreeing to such service in writing. See L.R. 1.4(c)(3).
4.

Amending Pleadings or Joining Parties. Parties are not required to

seek leave of the Court to amend pleadings or join parties prior to the deadline
established in paragraph 1.
5.

Discovery Issues. Unresolved discovery issues shall be presented for

resolution promptly. Discovery motions (with briefs) shall be filed no later than 10
days after counsel has met and conferred as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 37.

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Prior to filing a motion to compel discovery, counsel must advise the client
that the loser will pay the opposing party’s associated fees and costs. See Fed. R.
Civ. P. 37(a)(5). Counsel must certify its compliance with this requirement in the
motion. In addition, when the motion to compel is fully-briefed, both parties shall
file affidavits with the Court detailing their known fees and costs associated with
the motion.
6.

Motions. All motions, except discovery motions, shall be filed to

ensure they are fully briefed by the date specified in paragraph 1. “Fully briefed”
means that the brief in support of the motion and the opposing party’s response
brief are filed with the Court.
Unopposed motions shall be accompanied by a proposed order, separate
from the motion. The proposed order shall be e-filed under the heading “Proposed
Order” and e-mailed to [e-mail].
7.

Protective Orders.

If the parties can reach an agreement concerning the use of confidential and
financial information there is no need to seek a protective order from this Court.
The Court will issue a protective order only if the parties can show that a
negotiated and signed stipulation is insufficient to protect their interests.

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8.

Identification and Authenticity of Written Documents. The parties

stipulate as to identification and authenticity for all written documents produced in
pretrial disclosure and during the course of discovery, except as provided in this
paragraph. If a party objects to either the identification or the authenticity of a
particular document produced by another party, the objecting party must make and
serve a specific objection upon all other parties, in writing, prior to the deadline for
the close of discovery. If a document is produced and the producing party objects
either to identification or authenticity, the producing party shall so state, in writing,
to all other parties at the time of production. All other objections are reserved for
trial.
9.

Expert Reports.
a.

Witnesses Retained or Specially Employed

Expert reports for any witness retained or specially employed to provide
expert testimony in the case, or whose duties as an employee of a party involve
giving expert testimony shall be served on or before the disclosure deadline
specified in paragraph 1. Such reports must comply with Fed. R. Civ. P.
26(a)(2)(B). The reports must be complete, comprehensive, accurate, and tailored
to the issues on which the expert is expected to testify. Objections to the timeliness
or sufficiency of an expert report must be filed in the form of a motion within 14
days of the disclosure date set forth in paragraph 1, or the objection will be deemed
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waived. Objections related to expert witnesses or testimony on any grounds other
than the timeliness or sufficiency of an expert report are appropriately raised
through motions in limine submitted by the date set forth in paragraph 1, and need
not be raised within this 14 day window. An inadequate report or disclosure may
result in exclusion of the expert’s opinions at trial even if the expert has been
deposed.
b.

Other Witnesses who will Present Expert Testimony

With respect to those expert witnesses not required to provide a written
report under Rule 26(a)(2)(C), a party must still serve a written disclosure,
identifying the evidence and stating:
(i)

the subject matter on which the witness is expected to
present evidence under Fed. R. Evid. 702, 703, or 705;
and

(ii)

a summary of the facts and opinions to which the witness
is expected to testify.

10.

Supplemental Disclosure. Initial reports or depositions of experts

determined to be inaccurate or incomplete shall be corrected or completed by
supplemental disclosure no later than 90 days before trial.

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11.

Interim Status Conference. The Court will convene an interim status

conference upon application by any party if deemed necessary or appropriate by
the requesting party.
12.

Number of Jurors and Length of Trial. Trial of this case shall be

conducted in Butte, Montana, before a jury of six persons.
13.

Attorney Conference for Trial Preparation. If the case does not

settle, counsel for the plaintiffs shall convene an attorneys’ conference during the
week indicated in paragraph 1, or before, to complete the Final Pretrial Order, to
exchange exhibits and witness lists, and to complete or plan for the completion of
all items listed in L.R. 16.4(b). The Final Pretrial Order shall comply with the
form prescribed by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3)(A)(i)-(iii) and Local Rule 16.4. Except
for relevancy, objections to the use or designation of deposition testimony are
waived if they are not disclosed on the opposing party’s witness list, and objections
to exhibits are waived if they are not disclosed on the opposing party’s exhibit list.
See generally Forms D, E, and F, Local Rules Appendix C.
14.

Final Pretrial Order. The parties should e-file the proposed Final

Pretrial Order and e-mail a copy in Word format to
[e-mail]. Once filed and signed by the Court, the Final
Pretrial Order supersedes all prior pleadings and may not be amended except by
leave of court for good cause shown.
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15.

Final Pretrial Conference. Counsel for the parties shall appear

before the Court in chambers at Great Falls, Montana, for the final pretrial
conference on the date and time set forth in paragraph 1. Each party should bring a
copy of its trial exhibits if a copy has not already been delivered to chambers.
16.

Trial Briefs. Trial briefs are optional but if filed must be received by

the Court on the date indicated in paragraph 1.
17.

Jury Instructions.
(a)

The parties shall jointly prepare jury instructions upon which

they agree (proposed joint instructions). If necessary, each party may also
prepare a set of proposed supplemental instructions if different from the
agreed joint instructions. No two instructions shall be submitted with the
same number. The parties shall also prepare an agreed upon verdict form
with the instructions. If a verdict form cannot be agreed to, each party shall
prepare a separate verdict form together with a written statement explaining
why they do not agree on a joint verdict form.
(b)

Filing of Joint Proposed Jury Instructions and Joint Proposed

Verdict Form: By the date set forth in paragraph 1, any party filing
electronically or, if no party is filing electronically, Plaintiff’s counsel shall
(1) file one working copy of the Joint Proposed Jury Instructions and Joint
Proposed Verdict Form, and (2) e-mail the same documents, plus a clean
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copy of each, in Word format to [e-mail]. If the
documents are filed conventionally, the filing party must deliver them to the
Clerk of Court in the Division of venue.
(c)

Electronic Filers’ Supplemental Proposed Jury Instructions and

Separate Verdict Forms: By the date set forth in paragraph 1, each party
shall (1) file one working copy of its supplemental proposed Jury
Instructions, together with its proposed verdict form if the parties do not
jointly propose one; and (2) e-mail the same documents, plus a clean copy of
each, in WordPerfect format to [e-mail].
(d)

Conventional Filers’ Supplemental Proposed Jury Instructions

and Separate Verdict Forms: By the date set forth in paragraph 1, each party
shall (1) deliver to the Clerk of Court in the Division of venue one working
copy of its supplemental proposed Jury Instructions, together with its
proposed verdict form if the parties do not jointly propose one; and (2) email the same documents, plus a clean copy of each, to
[e-mail].
18.

Format of Jury Instructions.
(a)

The clean copy shall contain:
(1)

a heading reading “Instruction No. ___”, and

(2)

the text of the instruction.
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(b)

The working copy shall contain:
(1)

a heading reading “Instruction No. ”,

(2)

the text of the instruction,

(3)

the number of the proposed instruction,

(4)

the legal authority for the instruction, and

(5)

the title of the instruction; i.e., the issue of law addressed

by the proposed instruction.
(c)

Jury instructions shall be prepared in 14-point Times New

Roman font.
19.

Settling of Instructions. The parties are advised that final

instructions for submission to the jury will be settled in chambers, on the
record, prior to closing argument, at which time counsel may present
argument and make objections.
20.

Trial Exhibits.
(a)

Counsel shall electronically exchange exhibits (by CD, DVD,

e-mail, or other agreed upon method) with opposing counsel prior to the
final pretrial conference. Counsel must provide a binder of paper copies of
the exhibits upon request of opposing counsel.
(b)

Each exhibit must show the number of the exhibit. If paper

copies of the exhibits are exchanged, the binders must bear an extended tab
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showing the number of the exhibit. The exhibit list must identify those
exhibits the party expects to offer and those the party may offer if the need
arises. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3)(A)(iii); Form F, Local Rules Appendix C.
(c)

Exhibits marked for use at trial that have not been numbered in

discovery shall be marked by plaintiffs using an agreed upon range of arabic
numbers and by defendants using a different agreed upon range of arabic
numbers.
(d)

Each exhibit must be paginated, including any attachments

thereto. Exhibits shall not be duplicated. An exhibit may be used by either
of the parties.
(e)

Counsel shall file with the Court a CD or DVD of the exhibits,

as well as one paper copy of the exhibits. The paper copy shall be formatted
as described in (b), above. The electronic files and paper copy shall be
delivered to the chambers of Judge Brian Morris on or before the date of the
final pretrial conference.
(f)

Failure to comply with (a) through (e) above may result in the

exclusion of the exhibit at trial.
21.

Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS). The parties shall be

prepared to use the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS). JERS is available
through the Court. It allows jurors to use a touch-screen to see the evidence
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admitted at trial in the jury room during their deliberations. Detailed information
about how to use JERS, including contact information for District personnel who
can explain further, is found on the Court's website, http://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/
under the heading “Attorneys.” Parties must contact the Clerk's office for technical
assistance for the use of JERS by the time of the Final Pretrial Conference in the
case and in no event less than two weeks before trial.
22.

Calling Witnesses at Trial. When a witness is called to testify at

trial, counsel shall provide to the Clerk of Court four (4) copies of a single page
document, see Form I, Local Rules Appendix C, providing the following
information about the witness:
(a)

the full name and current address of the witness;

(b)

a brief description of the nature and substance of the witness’s

testimony;
(c)

date witness was deposed or statement taken

(d)

a listing of each exhibit to which the witness may refer during

direct examination.
23.

Supplemental Schedule. This Order will be supplemented following

the October 3, 2019, status conference. The parties should be prepared to discuss
the following at the status conference:
(a)

intended use of Real-Time reporting at trial;
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(b)

intended use of the courtroom electronic evidence system at

trial; and
(c)

intended use of video conferencing for presentation of

witnesses at trial.
DATED this 7th day of June, 2018.

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