Morgan et al v. Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance Company

Filing 18

INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER: Motion to Amend Pleadings due by 12/1/2014. Discovery due by 12/6/2014. Dispositive Motions due by 5/15/2015. Jury Trial set for 9/22/2015 before Senior Judge John T. Nixon. Pretrial Conference set for 9/11/2015 10:00 AM before Senior Judge John T. Nixon. Signed by Magistrate Judge E. Clifton Knowles on 5/5/14. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT OF COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
JOHN MORGAN and
MONA MORGAN
Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITRIN AUTO AND HOME
INSURANCE COMPANY d/b/a
KEMPER PREFERRED
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.

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Case No. 3:14-cv-00519
JUDGE NIXON
MAGISTRATE JUDGE KNOWLES

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INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER

Pursuant to Local Rule 16.01(d)(2), the following Initial Case Management Plan is
adopted:
A.

Jurisdiction: The Court has jurisdiction of this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§

1332, 1441, and 1446. Jurisdiction is not disputed. Venue in the Middle District of Tennessee is
not in dispute.
B.

Plaintiff’s theory of the case: The Plaintiffs are homeowners who purchased a

homeowner’s insurance policy (“Policy”) from Defendant. The Plaintiffs made a claim under
their Policy for sinkhole damage to their home. Defendant denied that damage to the home was
the result of sinkhole activity. As a consequence, Defendant denied the claim. Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 56-7-130 provides that coverage must be made available for sinkhole activity and provides the
minimum standards of investigating a sinkhole claim. Coverage was denied to this Plaintiff, and
the Defendant did not meet these minimum standards before denying the claim. The Defendant

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has breached the Policy by failing to pay all benefits due under the Policy. Additionally,
Defendant did not handle the claim in good faith.
C.

Defendant’s theory of the case:

The Defendant, Unitrin Auto and Home

Insurance Company, admits that it issued a policy of insurance to Plaintiff that was in effect at
the time that Plaintiff alleges that their property was damaged as a result of sinkhole activity.
Defendant denies that Kemper Preferred Insurance Company is a correct party to this litigation
or that said entity has any responsibility herein. Defendant also admits that it sent a professional
engineer to Plaintiff’s property; however, Defendant asserts that the damage alleged is not
sinkhole-related damages covered under the Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance Company policy.
Defendant further avers that the damage to Plaintiff’s home is not covered because the damage
was not “sudden”.
D.

ISSUES RESOLVED: Jurisdiction and venue.

E.

ISSUES STILL IN DISPUTE: Liability and damages.

F.

MANDATORY INITIAL DISCLOSURES: Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1),

all parties must make their initial disclosures
on or before June 7, 2014.
G.

DISCOVERY: The parties shall complete all written discovery and depose all

fact witnesses on or before December 6, 2014. Discovery is not stayed during dispositive
motions, unless ordered by the Court.

Local Rule 33.01(b) is expanded to allow 40

interrogatories, including sub-parts. No motions concerning discovery are to be filed until after
the parties have conferred in good faith and are unable to resolve their differences.
The deadline for filing discovery-related motions is December 16, 2014.

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H.

MOTIONS TO AMEND: The parties shall file all Motions to Amend the

Pleadings is on or before December 1, 2014.
I.

DISCLOSURE OF EXPERTS: Plaintiff shall identify and disclose all expert

witnesses and expert reports on or before January 15, 2015. Defendant shall identify and disclose
all expert witnesses and reports on or before February 15, 2015.
J.

DEPOSITIONS OF EXPERT WITNESSES: The parties shall depose all expert

witnesses on or before April 15, 2015.
K.

JOINT MEDIATION REPORT: The parties shall file a joint mediation report on

or before May 15, 2015.
L.

DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS: The parties shall file all dispositive motions on or

before _May 15, 2015. Responses to dispositive motions shall be filed within twenty (20)
days after the filing of the motion. Optional replies may be filed within ten (10) days after the
filing of the response.

Briefs shall not exceed 20 pages.

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M.

ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY: The parties will attempt to reach an agreement on

how to conduct electronic discovery on a consensual basis. Until such time, the parties will
conduct electronic discovery pursuant to the default standard contained in Administrative Order
No. 174.
N. TRIAL: The trial is set for September 22, 2015, before Judge Nixon, to last 4 days.
The pretrial conference is set for September 11, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.

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It is so ORDERED.
ENTERED May ____, 2014
Magistrate Judge E. Clifton Knowles
United States Magistrate Judge

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