Gettman et al v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Filing 23

ORDER Directing Parties to File a Joint Pretrial Order. Joint Pretrial Order due by 12/22/2015. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 12/15/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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Bill Gettman,

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2:15-cv-690-JAD-PAL

Plaintiff
Order Directing Parties to File Joint
Pretrial Order

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vs.

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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., dba Wal-Mart Supercenter
2050,

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Defendant
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Local Rule 16-3 requires all parties to “personally discuss settlement and prepare and lodge

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with the Court a proposed joint pretrial order.”1 The joint pretrial order in this case was due

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December 14, 2015.2 Plaintiff timely filed his own pretrial order and represents that counsel for

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defendant notified him that she could not get a joint pretrial order approved in time for the December

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14, 2015, deadline because “she was preparing for mediation, and was busy.”3

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This is unacceptable.

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the parties must submit a JOINT pretrial order that

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complies with Local Rule 16-3 by December 22, 2015. Counsel for defendant must take the

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initiative to complete this process, and the parties are reminded that they must “personally discuss

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settlement” before filing the joint pretrial order.

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The parties are also notified that the process for preparing and filing motions in limine will
be governed by the following additional rules and considerations:
C

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Before any motion in limine is filed, the parties must meet and confer (by

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telephone or in person—not merely by email or some other form of writing) about the

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substance of each contemplated in-limine issue and attempt to reach an agreement on

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L.R. 16-3(c).

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ECF 11.

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ECF 22.
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the issue. Evidentiary agreements reached during this process should be

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memorialized by a written stipulation. If the parties do not reach an agreement on an

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issue and a motion in limine remains necessary, the motion must be accompanied

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by a declaration or affidavit certifying that counsel actually conferred in good

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faith to resolve the issue before the motion was filed (or re-filed). The failure to

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include the certificate of counsel will result in the automatic denial of the motion

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without the opportunity to cure this deficiency.

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C

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Motions in limine must address only true evidentiary issues and not be belated
motions for dispositive rulings disguised as a motion in limine.

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Parties must include all in-limine issues in a SINGLE, omnibus motion that

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numbers each issue consecutively; no party may file multiple, separate motions. This

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format eliminates the need for redundant recitations of facts and introductory

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statements of the law. If the size of the omnibus motion exceeds the page limit in the

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local rule, see L.R. 7-4, a separate motion to exceed the page limits should be filed

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contemporaneously with the omnibus motion; the motion to exceed page limits must

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not be styled as an “emergency.”

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If it becomes necessary to seek leave to file a reply in support of the motions, see L.R.

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16-3(b), each side may file only a single request for leave. The parties should not

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presume that the court will grant these requests for leave, so proposed orders granting

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them should not be submitted.

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C

The parties are cautioned that vague requests based on speculative issues, like

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requests to generally preclude improper attorney arguments, violations of the golden

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rule, or irrelevant evidence will be flatly denied. The court intends to follow the rules

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of evidence and procedure at trial and expects the parties to do the same. Motions

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seeking little more than an order enforcing a rule waste the court’s time and the

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parties’ resources. Counsel is strongly cautioned that abuse of the motion-in-limine

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vehicle in this manner may result in sanctions against the attorneys.

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Dated this 15th day of December, 2015

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_________________________________
___________________
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Jennifer A. Dorsey
nifer A. Dorsey
r D
United States District Judge
dS
Di i J d

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