Nelson v. McDonald

Filing 40

FIFTH AMENDED ORDER SETTING FINAL PROGRESSION OF CASE, granting 39 Joint Motion to Extend. Pretrial Conference set for 11/14/2016 at 10:00 AM in Chambers before Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett. Jury Trial set for 12/13/2016 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 6, Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse, 111 South 18th Plaza, Omaha, NE before Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett. Ordered by Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett. (ARL, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
JACK. J. NELSON,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ROBERT A. McDONALD, SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS,
Defendant.

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Case No. 8:14CV369

FIFTH AMENDED ORDER SETTING
FINAL PROGRESSION OF CASE

Pursuant to the parties' Fourth Joint Motion for Extension of Final Progression Order filed
on May 12, 2016 (Filing 39), seeking to extend certain deadlines in the Order Amending Final
Progression Deadlines (Filing 36):
IT IS ORDERED that the provisions of the court's earlier, initial progression order remain
in effect, and in addition to those provisions, the following amended deadlines shall apply:
1. Motions for Summary Judgment. Motions for summary judgment shall be filed not
later than August 19, 2016. See NECivR 56.1 and 7.0.1.
2.

Discovery Deadlines:

a. Deposition Deadline. All depositions, whether or not they are intended to be
used at trial, shall be completed by June 30, 2016.
3. Pretrial Disclosures. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3), each party shall serve
opposing counsel and file a redacted version as applicable with the following information regarding
the evidence 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 - On or before October 6, 2016: The name, address and
telephone number1 of each witness, separately identifying those whom the party expects
to present and those whom the party may call if the need arises.

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In accordance with the E-Government Act, counsel shall, on witness lists, exhibits, and other
disclosures and/or documents filed with the court, redact Social Security numbers, home
addresses, telephone numbers, and other personally identifying information of witnesses, but shall
serve an unredacted version on opposing parties. See NECivR 5.0.3.

b. Trial Exhibits - On or before October 6, 2016: A list of all exhibits it expects to
offer by providing a numbered listing and permitting examination of such exhibits,
designating on the list those exhibits it may offer only if the need arises.
4. Motions in Limine. Motions in limine, other than motions in limine challenging the
admissibility of expert testimony at trial under Fed. R. Evid. 702, shall be filed on or before
October 21, 2016.
5. The Final Pretrial Conference with the undersigned magistrate judge is set for
November 14, 2016, at 10:00 A.M., in chambers, 111 South 18th Plaza, Suite 2210, Roman L.
Hruska United States Courthouse, 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 NECivR 16.2.2 By the time of the pretrial conference, full
preparation for trial shall have been made so that trial may begin immediately thereafter. The
pretrial conference will include a discussion of settlement, and counsel shall be prepared through
investigation, discovery and communication with clients and insurers, if any, to discuss fully the
subject of settlement, including realistic expectations about liability, obstacles to agreement, offers
made, and offers which can be made at the conference. Counsel shall be prepared to make
additional offers or proposals for settlement in behalf of their clients at the pretrial conference, and
counsel shall be prepared to make or opine on recommendations for further negotiations and
conferences.
6.

Mediation and Settlement:

a. If the parties intend to mediate their dispute, notice of the mediation shall be
given to the staff of the magistrate judge's office. The filing of a mediation reference order
will terminate pending motions, without prejudice to refiling. If the mediation is not
successful, the moving party may reinstate such a motion by filing a written notice to that
effect, and the other parties may respond in accordance with the local rules, regarding the
date of the notice as reinstating the response/reply time that remained as of the date the
mediation reference order was filed.
b. Not later than two weeks prior to trial, plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel shall serve
on defendant or defendant's counsel a written, updated settlement proposal. Defendant or

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All personal information should be redacted from the public version of the order and/or
attachments filed with the Clerk. See NECivR 5.0.3.
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defendant's counsel shall respond in writing to such proposal not later than one week before
trial.
c. Notice of settlement shall be given to the trial judge's office as soon as
practicable but in any event in time to avoid summoning a jury. If a case settles and notice
of settlement is not given in sufficient time to avoid summoning a jury, assessment of jury
costs may – and normally will – be made against a party and/or counsel for one or more
of the parties. For purposes of this paragraph, a jury is considered summoned for a trial at
noon the business day prior to the designated date of trial.
7. A jury trial is set to commence on December 13, 2016, at 9:00 A.M., in Omaha,
Nebraska, before the Honorable F.A. Gossett, III, United States Magistrate Judge. Unless
otherwise ordered, jury selection shall be at the commencement of trial.
8. Motions to Alter Dates. All requests for changes of deadlines or settings established
herein shall be directed to the magistrate judge by appropriate motion, including all requests for
changes of trial dates. Such motions shall not be considered in the absence of a showing by
counsel of due diligence in the timely development of this case for trial and the recent development
of circumstances, unanticipated prior to the filing of the motion, which require that additional time
be allowed.
9. The remaining provisions and deadlines contained in the Order Setting Final Schedule
for Progression of Case (Filing 23) are not amended by this Order.
DATED: May 12, 2016.
BY THE COURT:

s/ F.A. Gossett, III
United States Magistrate Judge

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