Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Meridian Rail Acquisition Corp.

Filing 38

AMENDED PROGRESSION ORDER granting 37 Stipulation to Continue Certain Deadlines in Final Progression Order. Final Pretrial Conference set for 1/14/2014 at 10:00 AM in Chambers before Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Thalken. Jury Trial set for 2/3/2014 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 5, Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse, 111 South 18th Plaza, Omaha, NE before Senior Judge Lyle E. Strom. Ordered by Senior Judge Lyle E. Strom. (TCL )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
vs.
MERIDIAN RAIL ACQUISITION
CORP., doing business as, Greenbrier
Rail Services, and JOHN DOE
CORPORATION(S) 1 THROUGH 50,
Real Names Unknown
Defendants.

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8:12CV4

AMENDED
FINAL PROGRESSION ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the Stipulation to Continue Certain Deadlines in
Final Progression Order (Filing No. 37).
IT IS ORDERED:
1.

Mandatory Disclosures. The mandatory disclosures described in Fed. R.

Civ. P. 26(a)(1) have been completed.
2.

Discovery Deadline. All discovery, whether or not intended to be used at

trial, shall be completed by December 20, 2013. All interrogatories, requests for admission
and requests for production or inspection, whether or not they are intended to be used at
trial, shall be served sufficiently early to allow rule time response before that date. Counsel
may stipulate to extensions of time to respond to discovery requests in accordance with
Fed. R. Civ. P. 29, as amended, but such extensions shall not extend any of the dates in
this order; any requests for extensions of any of the deadlines herein shall be made by
appropriate motion and order.
3.

Limits on Discovery.

Each party is limited to serving fifty (50)

interrogatories, including subparts, on any other party. Each party is limited to taking

thirty (30) depositions in this case, excluding expert depositions, without leave of court.
Depositions shall be limited by Rule 30(d)(2) except the depositions of 30(b)(6)
designees, which by agreement shall be limited as follows: all 30(b)(6) designees
shall be limited to 7 hours; however, if a party designates more than one corporate
representative in response to a Rule 30(b)(6) notice, the party noticing the deposition
shall be provided with an additional hour of time to complete the deposition for each
additional designee. The parties also agree that to the extent any 30(b)(6) deposition
extends beyond 7 hours, the depositions will be extended to a second day. In
addition, if a witness who has been deposed is deposed a second time to perpetuate
his or her testimony for trial, that second deposition will be subject to a second
seven-hour limit.
4.

Disclosure of Expert Witnesses.1 On or before May 31, 2013, the plaintiff

shall identify all expert witnesses and shall serve the defendant with the statement required
by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) regarding each expert witness it expects to call to testify at trial
pursuant to the provisions of Rule 702, 703 or 705, Fed. Rules of Evidence. On or before
July 12, 2013, the defendant shall identify all expert witnesses and shall serve the plaintiff
with the statement required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) regarding each expert witness it
expects to call to testify at trial pursuant to the provisions of Rules 702, 703, or 705,
Federal Rules of Evidence. If necessary to refute the disclosed opinions of an expert
witness of an opponent, a party may disclose additional expert witnesses not later than
July 26, 2013, provided that the disclosing party then provides all of the information
described in Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 26(a)(2) and makes the expert witness available for
deposition prior to the date set for completion of deposition. Supplementation of these
disclosures, if originally made prior to these deadlines, shall be made on these deadlines
as to any information for which supplementation is addressed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e). The
testimony of the expert at trial shall be limited to the information disclosed in accordance
with this paragraph.

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Generally, a treating physician shall not be deemed to be “retained or specially employed to provide expert
testimony in a case” within the meaning of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B), but a treating physician must be identified
pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(A).
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5.

Pretrial Disclosures: Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3), each party shall

provide to all other parties the following information regarding the evidence that it may
present at trial other than solely for impeachment purposes as soon as practicable but not
later than the date specified:
A.

Nonexpert Witnesses - 30 days prior to deposition deadline: The name,
address and telephone number of each witness, separately identifying those
whom the party expects to present and those whom the party may call if the
need arises.

B.

Deposition Testimony and Discovery - 5 days before final pretrial
conference: 1) The portions of each deposition, designated by page and
line, that it intends to offer and 2) each discovery response of another party
it intends to offer. Such designations and any objections thereto shall also
be included in the final pretrial conference order. See NELR 16.2.

C.

Trial Exhibits - 5 working days before final pretrial conference: A list of
all exhibits it expects to offer by providing a numbered listing and permitting
examination of such exhibits.

The parties shall also designate on the list

those exhibits it may offer only if the need arises.
D.

Waiver of Objections: Any objections to the use of witnesses, deposition
designations, discovery responses, or exhibits shall be listed in the pretrial
order. Failure to list objections (except those under Fed. R. Evid. 402 and
403) shall be deemed waived, unless excused by the court for good cause
shown.

E.

Filing of Disclosures: The filing of pretrial disclosures required by Fed. R.
Civ. P. 26(a)(3) shall be deemed filed at the time of the filing of the Order on
Final Pretrial Conference in this matter.

6.

Expert Witness Testimony. Any motion challenging the qualifications of an

expert or the admissibility of testimony of an expert witness under Rule 702, Fed. Rules of
Evidence shall be filed not later than September 6, 2013, in the absence of which any
objection based upon said rule shall be deemed waived. See Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v.

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Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999); Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S.
579 (1993).
7.

Rule 104 Hearings. Any pretrial motion which will require an evidentiary

hearing pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 104 shall be filed not later than five (5) working days
following the deadline for the completion of depositions.
In addition, if the requested hearing involves a Daubert - Kumho question regarding
an expert, the expert’s disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(2)(2)(A)&(B) must be submitted
to Judge Strom’s chambers when the motion is filed.
Absence of a request for a hearing may be deemed waiver of the right to a
hearing. A brief in support and all material regarding the requested hearing must be
delivered to Judge Strom’s chambers when the Rule 104 hearing motion is filed. Opposing
parties are given ten (10) days thereafter to deliver briefs in opposition.
8.

All motions for summary judgment shall be filed on or before December 6,

2013. See NELR 56.1 and 7.1.
9.

The Final Pretrial Conference is set for January 14, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.

before Magistrate Thomas D. Thalken, in chambers, Suite 2271, Roman L. Hruska United
States Courthouse, 111 South 18th Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska. The final pretrial conference
shall be attended by lead counsel for represented parties. Counsel shall complete prior to
the pretrial conference, all items as directed in NELR 16.2. By the time of the pretrial
conference, full preparation for trial shall have been made so that trial may begin at any
time during the session indicated below.
10.

All other provisions of parties joint planning conference report not addressed

in this order shall be deemed submitted and adopted by the Court.
11.

Trial is set to commence at 9:00 a.m. on February 3, 2014, in Omaha,

Nebraska, before the Honorable Lyle E. Strom and a jury.
12.

Adding Parties; Amending Pleadings. Any motions to add parties or to

amend pleadings in this action for plaintiff shall be filed on or before March 30, 2012; any
motions to add parties or to amend pleadings in this action for defendant shall be filed on
or before June 1, 2012.

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13.

Motions to Alter Dates. All requests for changes of date settings shall be

directed to the undersigned judge by appropriate motion.

DATED this 24th day of May, 2013.
BY THE COURT:

s/ LYLE E. STROM
United States District Judge

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