Melgar-Maese v. Monsanto Company

Filing 27

TRIAL MANAGEMENT ORDER: by Magistrate Judge Kevin R. Sweazea. Jury Selection and Trial set for October 18, 2021 at 09:00 AM in Las Cruces - 480 Picacho Courtroom (South Tower). Final Pretrial Conference set for September 14, 2021 at 09:00 AM in Las Cruces - 480 Picacho Courtroom (South Tower). (atc)

Case 2:20-cv-00180-KRS-SMV Document 27 Filed 10/13/20 Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
FRANCESCA MELGAR-MAESE,
Plaintiff,
v.

No. 2:20-cv-180 KRS/SMV

MONSANTO COMPANY,
Defendant.
TRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
THIS MATTER comes before the Court following a telephonic trial scheduling
conference held on October 13, 2020. As reflected in the record, the Court hereby sets the
following dates and deadlines:
A Pretrial Conference shall be held on September 14, 2021 at 9:00 am., in the Picacho
Courtroom of the United States Courthouse in Las Cruces. All attorneys participating in the trial
must be present for the pretrial conference. The parties may, but need not, be present.
Jury Selection and Jury Trial will begin on October 18, 2021 at 9:00 a.m., in the
Picacho Courtroom of the United States Courthouse in Las Cruces. Counsel are directed to
submit a proposed consolidated final pretrial order as follows:
Plaintiffs to Defendants: April 27, 2021;
Defendants to the Court: May 11, 2021.
Counsel are further directed that the pretrial order shall provide that no witness, except rebuttal
witnesses whose testimony cannot be anticipated, will be permitted to testify unless the name of
the witness is furnished to the Court and opposing counsel no later than thirty (30) days prior to
the time set for trial. Any exceptions thereto must be upon order of the Court for good cause
shown.
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Motions in Limine: All motions in limine1 are due by August 13, 2021. Any responses
or objections are due by August 27, 2021.
Witness Lists: The parties shall file their witness lists by August 20, 2021. The lists
must disclose witnesses that the parties “will call” as well as witnesses that they “may call” at
trial. Any objections to a witness named by the opposing party must be filed by September 1,
2021.
Designations and Counter-Designations of Deposition Testimony: The parties shall
file designations and counter-designations of deposition testimony that they intend to use at trial.
The designations and counter-designations must state the pages and lines of the deposition to be
used. To this end, Plaintiff will use a yellow marker and Defendants will use a blue marker.
These requirements do not apply to cross-examination or rebuttal of a witness presented in
person at trial. Designations must be filed by August 27, 2021. Counsel must jointly submit
one physical copy of each deposition to my chambers by this due date and must highlight the
parts of the depositions that are to be used. Any objections to testimony designated by the
opposing party and/or any counter-designations must be filed by September 1, 2021. If the
parties wish to make further designations in light of the designations and counter-designations,
leave for additional designations must be requested from the Court at the pretrial conference.
Exhibits: The parties shall jointly file one list of stipulated exhibits and shall separately
file lists of contested exhibits no later than September 1, 2021. They shall also jointly submit
physical copies of marked exhibits to my chambers by the next business day. The exhibits shall
be divided into two notebooks. The first notebook shall include any and all exhibits that the

1

Motions challenging the admissibility of expert testimony under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
509 U.S. 579 (1993) are not motions in limine. Daubert motions shall be filed no later than the dispositive motions
deadline.
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parties stipulate to be admissible. These exhibits shall be labeled consecutively. The second
notebook shall include any and all contested exhibits. These exhibits shall be labeled
consecutively beginning with the next sequential number after the final stipulated exhibit
designation. For instance, if there are fifty (50) stipulated exhibits, twenty (20) contested
plaintiff’s exhibits, and twenty (20) contested defendants’ exhibits, the first notebook shall
contain stipulated exhibits numbered 1 to 50. The second notebook shall contain plaintiffs’
contested exhibits numbered 51 through 70 and defendants’ contested exhibits numbered 71
through 90.
In order to allow sufficient time for a party to decide whether to contest the admission of
an exhibit, each party must send a list of their proposed exhibits to the opposing party no later
than August 27, 2021.
Statement of the Case: No later than September 1, 2021, the parties shall file a
consolidated clear, concise statement of the case to be read by the Court to the jury at the
beginning of trial. If Counsel are unable to agree to a consolidated statement of the case, they
shall file separate statements of the case. The parties shall meet and confer about the statement
of the case no later than August 27, 2021.
Jury Instructions: The parties shall meet and confer about proposed jury instructions no
later than August 27, 2021. Plaintiff is responsible for filing a set of requested jury instructions
to which all of the parties agree. Requested instructions upon which the parties cannot agree
must be filed separately by the requesting party. There shall be only one instruction per page and
each instruction shall include a citation to supporting authority at the bottom of the page. All
such filings are due September 1, 2021. On that same day, the parties shall also email a copy of
the instructions in Word format, without citations, to [e-mail].

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A party must file written objections to an opposing party’s requested instructions no later than
September 8, 2021.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

______________________________
KEVIN R. SWEAZEA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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