Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_13-cv-05206/USCOURTS-cand-4_13-cv-05206-13/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Petition for Removal

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

 

SANDRA HATFIELD ET AL

Plaintiff,

 v.

 

RENAL TREATMENT CENTERS -

CALIFORNIA, INC. 

Defendant. /

No. C 13-05206 SBA

ORDER FOR PRETRIAL

PREPARATION

Pursuant to Rule 16(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("FRCP"), IT IS

HEREBY ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

A. DEADLINE FOR JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDING THE

PLEADINGS

The deadline for the joinder of other parties and to amend the pleadings is 6/15/2015.

B. DISCOVERY CUT-OFF

All discovery, except for expert discovery, shall be completed and all

depositions taken on or before 9/18/2015. The parties are responsible for scheduling

discovery so that motions to resolve discovery disputes can be heard before the above

discovery cut-off.

C. EXPERT DESIGNATION AND DISCOVERY

Plaintiff shall designate any experts by 9/18/2015; defendant by 9/18/2015;

rebuttal disclosure by 10/2/2015. Any expert not so named may be disallowed as a witness. 

No expert will be permitted to testify to any opinion, or basis or support for an opinion, that

has not been disclosed in response to an appropriate question or interrogatory from the

opposing party. Expert discovery shall be completed by 10/30/2015. D. MOTION CUT-OFF

Case 4:13-cv-05206-SBA Document 65 Filed 02/04/15 Page 1 of 6
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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All dispositive motions shall be heard on or before 11/25/2015, at 1:00 p.m. The parties must meet and confer prior to filing any motion. The movant shall certify to

the Court in its moving papers that it has complied with this requirement. Should the parties

fail to meet and confer, the Court may decline to entertain the motion.

THE COURT DOES NOT RESERVE MOTION HEARING DATES. The

parties are advised to check Judge Armstrong's calendar at www.cand.uscourts.gov/sba, under Scheduling Information to determine the next available hearing date, particularly in the

case of a dispositive motion. The parties are advised not to wait until 35 days prior to the

law and motion cut-off date to file and serve their motion. As the Court's law and motion

calendar tends to fill quickly, there is no guarantee that a hearing date within the law and

motion cut-off date will be available. You MUST submit a hard copy of all motion papers

filed in E-FILED cases in order to be placed on calendar.

Page Limits: All noticed motions (other than motions for summary judgment)

and any opposition thereto, shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages in length, exclusive of the

table of contents, table of authorities, exhibits and declarations, if required. Reply briefs may

not exceed ten (10) pages in length. Motions for summary judgment are subject to the page

limits set forth in Civil Local Rule 7.

Meet and Confer Requirement: All parties are required to meet and confer

in good faith before filing any motion or any non-stipulated request with this court, and to

certify that they have complied with this requirement.

Failure to Oppose: The failure of the opposing party to file a memorandum of

points and authorities in opposition to any motion shall constitute a consent to the granting of

the motion.

Summary Judgment: Parties are limited to filing one motion for summary

judgment. Any party wishing to exceed this limit must request leave of Court. The parties

are not required to file statements of undisputed facts in connection with a motion for

summary judgment. However, if the parties desire to file a statement of undisputed facts,

only one joint statement of undisputed facts signed by all parties shall be filed. All separate

statements will be stricken. If the parties are unable to agree that a fact is undisputed, they

should assume that fact is in dispute.

Hearing on Motions: Note that pursuant to Civil L.R. 7-1(b), the Court may,

in its discretion, adjudicate motions without oral argument. 

E. MANDATORY SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES

All parties are ordered to participate in a mandatory settlement conference

during the following time period: 11/30/2015 - 12/24/2015.

F. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

All Counsel who will try the case shall appear for a pretrial conference on

2/3/2016 at 1:00 p.m.. All Counsel shall be fully prepared to discuss all aspects of the trial. 

Failure to file the requisite pretrial documents in advance of the pretrial conference may

result in vacation of the pretrial conference and/or the imposition of sanctions. ALL

PARTIES WITH SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE.

Case 4:13-cv-05206-SBA Document 65 Filed 02/04/15 Page 2 of 6
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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G. PRETRIAL PREPARATION DUE: 12/30/2015 

Prior to the date pretrial preparation is due, Counsel shall meet and confer in

good faith in advance of complying with the following pretrial requirements in order to

clarify and narrow the issues for trial, arrive at stipulations of facts, simplify and shorten the

presentation of proof at trial, and explore possible settlement. In addition, Counsel shall

meet and confer regarding anticipated motions in limine, objections to evidence, jury

instructions, and any other matter which may require resolution by the Court. The following

items 1 through 8 below shall be filed and served by the above-referenced date.

1. Joint Pretrial Statement

Counsel are required to file a pretrial conference statement containing

Case 4:13-cv-05206-SBA Document 65 Filed 02/04/15 Page 3 of 6
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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the following information:

(a) The Action

(i) Substance of the Action. A brief description of the

substance of claims and defenses which remain to be decided

(ii) Relief Prayed. A detailed statement of all the relief claimed,

particularly itemizing all elements of damages claimed as well as witnesses, documents or

other evidentiary material to be presented concerning the amount of those damages.

(b) The Factual Basis of the Action

(i) Undisputed Facts. A plain and concise statement of all

relevant facts not reasonably disputable, as well as which facts parties will stipulate for

incorporation into the trial record without the necessity of supporting testimony or exhibits.

(ii) Disputed Factual Issues. A plain and concise statement of

all disputed factual issues which remain to be decided.

(iii) Agreed Statement. A statement assessing whether all or

part of the action may be presented upon an agreed statement of facts.

(iv) Stipulations. A statement of stipulations requested or

proposed for pretrial or trial purposes.

(c) Disputed Legal Issues

(i) Points of Law. Without extended legal argument, a concise

statement of each disputed point of law concerning liability or relief, citing supporting

statutes and decisions. Unless otherwise ordered, parties should cite to briefs served and

lodged setting forth briefly the nature of each party's contentions concerning each disputed

point of law, including procedural and evidentiary issues.

(ii) Proposed Conclusions of law. If the case is to be tried

without jury, unless otherwise ordered, parties should briefly indicate objections to proposed

conclusions of law lodged with this Court.

2. Trial Briefs

Each party shall serve and file a trial brief which shall briefly state their

contentions, the relevant facts to be proven at trial, and the law on the issues material to the

decision. 

3. Findings of Fact

In non-jury cases, each party shall serve and lodge with the Court

proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law on all material issues. Findings shall be

brief, clear, written in plain English and free of pejorative language, and argument. 

4. Witnesses

Each party shall serve and file with the Court a list of all persons who

may be called as witnesses. The list shall include a summary of the substance of each

witness' proposed testimony. 

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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5. Designation of Discovery Excerpts

Each party expecting to use discovery excerpts as part of its case in

chief shall serve and lodge with the Court a statement identifying (1) by witness and page

and line, all deposition testimony and (2) by lodged excerpt, all interrogatory answers and

request for admissions to be used as part of its direct case. Each interrogatory answer

intended to be offered as an exhibit shall be copied separately and marked as an exhibit. The

original of any deposition to be used at trial must be produced at the time of trial, as well as a

copy for the Court. Counsel shall indicate any objections to the use of these materials and

advise the Court that counsel has conferred respecting such objections.

6. Jury Instructions

The parties shall file a joint set of proposed jury instructions as to those

instructions on which the parties have reached agreement. As to any disputed instructions,

each party shall separately submit its "proposed" instruction(s) supported by a memorandum

setting forth the authority for its use. Responses or objections to any "proposed" jury

instruction shall be filed no later than the date of the pretrial conference. All instructions

shall be written in plain English which is comprehensible to jurors, concise and free of

argument, and shall be organized in a logical fashion so as to aid jury comprehension, and

are also to be provided on a CD in a word format. The Court's practice is to utilize,

whenever possible, instructions found in the Ninth Circuit Manual of Model Jury

Instructions.

7. Jury Voir Dire and Verdict Forms

Each party shall submit proposed questions for jury voir dire and a

proposed form of verdict. 

8. Exhibits

Each party shall provide every other party one set of all exhibits, charts,

schedules, summaries and diagrams and other similar documentary materials to be used at the

trial together with a complete list of all such exhibits. The Court requires one original

version of exhibits (as described above) for the Clerk and two copies (one for the Bench and

one for the witness stand). All such versions of the exhibits, including the originals, should

be indexed into a binder for easy and quick reference by all parties. The first page of each

binder should have a copy of the exhibit list (see attached) appropriately completed with each

exhibit description and its designated number. Plaintiffs shall refer to their exhibits

numerically and Defendants shall label theirs alphabetically. Exhibit labels are also attached

for your convenience. Exhibits should be brought to Court on the first day of trial.

9. Motions in Limine and Objections to Evidence

Each party anticipating making motion(s) in limine and/or objection(s)

to any testimony or exhibits expected to be offered shall file and serve a statement briefly

identifying each item objected to and the grounds for the objection. The parties must meet

and confer prior to filing any motion in limine and objection to evidence. The movant shall

certify to the Court in its moving papers that it has complied with this requirement. 

NOTE: All motions in limine submitted by each party shall be set forth

in a single memorandum, not to exceed ten (10) pages in length. Responses to the motions

in limine shall be set forth in a single memorandum, not to exceed ten (10) pages in length. 

Reply briefs shall not exceed six (6) pages. No motions in limine will be considered unless

the parties certify that they met and conferred prior to the filing of such motion. Any request

to exceed the page limit must be submitted prior to the deadline for these briefs and must be

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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supported by a showing of good cause, along with a certification that the applicant has met

and conferred with the opposing party.

(a) Motions/Objections due: 1/6/2016

(b) Opposition due: 1/13/2016

(c) Reply due: 1/20/2016

H. TRIAL DATE

Trial before the jury will begin on 2/8/2016, at 8:30 a.m., for an estimated 5

trial days, or as soon thereafter as the Court may designate. The parties are advised that they

must be prepared to go to trial on a trailing basis. The trial will take place at 1300 Clay

Street, 2nd Floor, Courtroom 210, Oakland, California, 94612 (located inside the U.S.

Bankruptcy Courthouse). The Court's trial hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with two

fifteen-minute breaks, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On the first day of

trial all parties are required to have someone in Court with full Settlement Authority.

I. TRANSCRIPTS

If transcripts will be requested during or immediately after the trial,

arrangements must be made with the Court Reporter Coordinator (Telephone No. 510-637-

3534) at least one week prior to the commencement of trial commences. 

J. STATUS AND DISCOVERY CONFERENCES

Any party desiring to confer with the Court may, upon notice to all other

parties, arrange a conference through the courtroom deputy (Telephone No. 510-637-3542). 

Conferences may be conducted telephonically, upon request (preferably in writing).

K. SANCTIONS

Failure to comply with this order may result in the imposition of sanctions

pursuant to FRCP 16(f).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: 2/4/2015 

SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG

United States District Judge

Case 4:13-cv-05206-SBA Document 65 Filed 02/04/15 Page 6 of 6