A.M. v. Valve Corporation

Filing 111

MINUTE ORDER granting in part, denying in part and deferring in part Plaintiff's 92 Motion in Limine ; granting in part, denying in part and deferring in part Defendant's 91 Motion in Limine. Authorized by Judge Thomas S. Zilly. (SWT)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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A. M.,

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Plaintiff,
C16-1166-TSZ
v.
MINUTE ORDER
VALVE CORPORATION,

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Defendant.

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The following Minute Order is made by direction of the Court, the Honorable
13 Thomas S. Zilly, United States District Judge:
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(1)
Plaintiff’s motion in limine, docket no. 92, is GRANTED in part, DENIED
in part, and DEFERRED in part as follows:

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A.
Motion in Limine No. 1 to instruct all counsel and witnesses to use
female pronouns when referring to Plaintiff by pronoun and not to use Plaintiff’s former
16 male name is GRANTED.
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B.
Motion in Limine No. 2 to preclude all evidence of or references to
Plaintiff’s current and former addresses and redact her address from any exhibits
18 admitted at trial is GRANTED.
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C.
Motion in Limine No. 3 to exclude all witnesses from the courtroom
until called to testify is GRANTED.

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D.
Motion in Limine No. 4 to preclude all evidence of or references to
21 any offers of compromise under Federal Rule of Evidence 408 is GRANTED.
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MINUTE ORDER - 1

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E.
Motion in Limine No. 5 to preclude all evidence of or references to
other lawsuits, claims, or incidents involving Plaintiff is DEFERRED to the pretrial
2 conference.
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F.
Motion in Limine No. 6 to preclude all evidence of or references to
Plaintiff’s alienage or immigration history and status is DENIED.

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G.
Motion in Limine No. 7 to preclude all evidence of or references to
5 testimony regarding marital history and status is DENIED.
H.
Motion in Limine No. 8 to preclude all evidence of or references to
6 the specific details of Plaintiff’s gender transition, including the number, type and
description of surgeries and procedures she underwent is DEFERRED to the pretrial
7 conference.
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I.
Motion in Limine No. 9 to preclude all evidence of or references to
any alleged personality disorder diagnosis, unconfirmed MCMI hypotheses, and
9 speculation relating to secondary gain is DENIED.
J.
Motion in Limine No. 10 to preclude Defendant’s Proposed Trial
Exhibit A-55 (Dr. Greenspan’s Expert Report) Medical Records of Ivan Greenspan PsyD,
11 QME [IG000001-106] is DEFERRED to the pretrial conference.
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K.
Motion in Limine No. 11 to preclude all evidence of or references to
after-acquired information and after-the-fact justification for Plaintiff’s termination that
13 was not considered by Ms. Nelson at the time she decided to terminate is DEFERRED to
the pretrial conference.
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L.
Motion in Limine No. 12 to preclude Defendant’s Proposed Trial
15 Exhibit A-54 Spreadsheet Regarding AM Work Hours [not numbered] is DEFERRED to
the pretrial conference.
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M.
Motion in Limine No. 13 to preclude all evidence of or references to
Defendant’s proposed trial exhibits containing hearsay and hearsay within hearsay is
17 DEFERRED to trial.
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N.
Motion in Limine No. 14 to preclude all evidence of or references to
Plaintiff’s full name is DENIED.

(2)
Defendant’s motion in limine, docket no. 91, is GRANTED in part,
20 DENIED in part, and DEFERRED in part as follows:
A.
Motion to preclude all evidence of or testimony concerning
Plaintiff’s claims to recover pursuant to Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17203, lost or unpaid
22 benefits is DEFERRED to the pretrial conference. The parties should be prepared to
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MINUTE ORDER - 2

1 discuss the nature and extent of any alleged claims and whether expenses recoverable
under §17203 are equitable and must be decided by the Court. See Espejo v. Copley
2 Press, Inc., 13 Cal. App. 5th at 329, 367 (2017).
B.
Motion to preclude all evidence of or testimony concerning
Plaintiff’s request for a statutory penalty for wages withheld is DENIED (sixth claim for
4 alleged failure to timely tender her overtime pay pursuant to Cal. Labor Code §203 with
penalty up to 30 days payment); GRANTED to the extent Plaintiff seeks to introduce
5 evidence or recover for misclassification under the sixth claim. Plaintiff’s eighth claim
for misclassification under Cal. Labor Code §226.8 was dismissed by the Court.
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C.
Motion to preclude all evidence of or testimony that does not relate
7 to or rebut purported discriminatory animus by Torsten Zabka or the four other Valve
employees whose discussions led to Valve’s decision to terminate its work with Plaintiff
8 in January 2016 is DEFERRED to the pretrial conference.
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(3)
9 record.
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The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Minute Order to all counsel of

Dated this 10th day of October, 2017.

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William M. McCool
Clerk

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s/Karen Dews
Deputy Clerk

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MINUTE ORDER - 3