Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Meridian Rail Acquisition Corp.

Filing 82

FOURTH AMENDED FINAL PROGRESSION ORDER granting 81 Joint Motion to Reset Progression Order Dates. Final Pretrial Conference set for 4/8/2014 at 10:00 AM in Chambers before Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Thalken. Jury Trial set for 5/12/2014 at 09:00 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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FOURTH AMENDED
FINAL PROGRESSION ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the Joint Motion to Reset Progression Order
Dates (Filing No. 81).
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 March 14, 2014. 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 September 30, 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 October 30, 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 November 30, 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.
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

1

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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present at trial other than solely for impeachment purposes as soon as practicable but not
later than the date specified:
A.

Nonexpert Witnesses - March 21, 2014:

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 - March 21, 2014: 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 February 28, 2014, in the absence of which any
objection based upon said rule shall be deemed waived. See Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v.
Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999); Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S.
579 (1993).

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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 March 28, 2014
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 January 10,

2014. See NELR 56.1 and 7.1.
9.

The Final Pretrial Conference is set for April 8, 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 May 12, 2014, in Omaha,

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

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12.

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

directed to the undersigned judge by appropriate motion.

DATED this 7th day of January, 2014.
BY THE COURT:

s/ LYLE E. STROM
United States District Judge

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