Copperhead Pipeline and Construction, Inc. v. Northern Natural Gas Company

Filing 56

AMENDED FINAL PROGRESSION ORDER- This matter is before the court on the Plaintiff's Motion to Extend Deadlines and Continue Pretrial Conference and Trial 47 . ( Non-Jury Trial set for 9/28/2015 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 5, Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse, 111 South 18th Plaza, Omaha, NE before Senior Judge Lyle E. Strom., Pretrial Conference set for 9/15/2015 at 10:00 AM by WebEx before Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart.) Ordered by Senior Judge Lyle E. Strom. (MKR)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
COPPERHEAD PIPELINE AND
CONSTRUCTION, INC. an Oklahoma
Corporation,

8:14CV158

Plaintiff,
AMENDED FINAL PROGRESSION
ORDER

vs.
NORTHERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY,
a Delaware Corporation,
Defendants.

This matter is before the court on the Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend Deadlines and
Continue Pretrial Conference and Trial # 47.

IT IS ORDERED:
1.

Mandatory Disclosures. The mandatory disclosures described in Fed.

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

Discovery Deadline.

On or before June 15, 2015, the parties must

complete fact witness discovery, whether or not intended to be used at trial.

Expert

witness discovery shall be completed by August 14, 2015, whether or not intended to
be used at trial. 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 thirty-five (35)

interrogatories, including subparts, on any other party. Each party is limited to taking
twenty-five (25) fact witness depositions exclusive of expert and Rule 30(b)(6)
depositions. Depositions shall be limited by Rule 30(d)(2) except the depositions of

experts and Rule 30(b)(6) depositions, which by agreement may last up to ten (10)
hours.
4.

Disclosure of Expert Witnesses.1

On or before June 25, 2015, the

parties shall simultaneously identify all expert witnesses and shall serve opposing
counsel with the statement required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) regarding each expert
witnesses it expects to call to testify at trial pursuant to the provisions of Rule 702, 703
or 705, Fed. 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 July 27, 2015, 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 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.

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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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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 August 24, 2015, 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).
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.
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8.

All motions for summary judgment shall be filed on or before August 17,

2015. See NELR 56.1 and 7.1.
9.

The Final Pretrial Conference is set for September 15, 2015 at 10:00

a.m. before Magistrate Cheryl R. Zwart and will be done by WebEx. An email will be
sent to counsel of record with the instructions and codes for participating in the pretrial
conference by WebEx.

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 s not addressed in

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

Non-jury Trial is set to commence at 9:00 a.m. on September 28, 2015,

in Omaha, Nebraska, before the Honorable Lyle E. Strom.
12.

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

amend pleadings to this action shall be filed on or before October 10, 2014.
13.

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

directed to the undersigned judge by appropriate motion.
Dated this 14th day of April, 2015.
BY THE COURT:

/s/ Lyle E. Strom
LYLE E. STROM, Senior Judge
United States District Court

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