Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_04-cv-02535/USCOURTS-caed-2_04-cv-02535-8/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act

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The caption is modified pursuant to Plaintiff’s 1

dismissals in the Joint Pretrial Statement and representations made

at the final pretrial conference.

1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

LONNY L. HODGES, )

) 2:04-cv-2535-GEB-KJM

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER

)

COUNTY OF SHASTA; CITY OF )

REDDING; OFFICER MATT )

ZALESNY; OFFICER REBECCA )

ZUFALL; OFFICER PAT LANHAM; )

CORPORAL WALT BULLINGTON, )

)

Defendants. ) 1

)

)

A final pretrial conference was held on December 18,

2006. Larry Baumbach appeared on behalf of Plaintiff; Gary

Brickwood appeared on behalf of Defendants.

After hearing, the Court makes the following Order.

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28 The parties also have leave to set forth their agreements 2

on any evidentiary matters in the Stipulation.

2

I. JURY/NON-JURY

All issues will be tried to a jury, except for the

ultimate question of whether an individual defendant is entitled to

qualified immunity from liability for Plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment

claims. But the jury shall decide disputed factual issues

applicable to this defense.

II. DISPUTED EVIDENTIARY ISSUES

Any evidentiary dispute capable of being resolved in

limine shall be addressed using the following procedure. Counsel

for the parties are required to meet and confer about the dispute. 

If the meeting fails to resolve the dispute, the parties are to set

forth their respective positions on the dispute in a document

entitled "Stipulation Re: Evidentiary Disagreements," that shall

be signed by counsel for the parties and filed no later than twenty

(20) court days before trial (“Stipulation”). 

2

In the Stipulation, after the movant states the legal and

factual basis for opposing admission of a clearly-identified,

specific item of evidence, the nonmovant shall state its position.

Failure to state a basis for admissibility or non-admissibility of

disputed evidence constitutes a waiver or abandonment of that

basis. If the same argument or a portion thereof applies to a

dispute over other evidence, that argument may be incorporated by

reference where that other disputed evidence is argued. 

 This procedure is intended to expedite the trial by

allowing the judge to understand the factual context involving

disputed evidence and to make binding pretrial rulings. The

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Since the judge disfavors side-bar conferences during 3

trial, counsel may be informed of this waiver in front of the jury.

Evidentiary disputes addressed in limine need not be included in

trial briefs as required by Local Rule 16-285(a)(3) (requiring that

"reasonably anticipated disputes concerning admissibility of

evidence" be included in trial briefs). 

3

parties are cautioned that failure to utilize this procedure to

resolve an evidentiary issue which is capable of resolution in an

in limine motion may be deemed a waiver of objection to such

evidence, or could result in a ruling excluding the evidence. 

3

III. FACTUAL, LEGAL AND/OR EQUITABLE CONTENTIONS

A. The Final Pretrial Order supersedes the pleadings

and controls the facts and claims which may be presented at trial. 

Any legal theory of relief or affirmative defense asserted in the

pleadings but not preserved for trial in this section of the Final

Pretrial Order cannot be raised during the trial. Therefore, to

preserve an issue for trial, and to be entitled to jury

instructions on that issue, the issue shall be identified and

preserved in this section of the Order. Failure to do so

dismisses, waives or abandons that issue, claim or defense. 

Hotel Emp., et al. Health Tr. v. Elks Lodge 1450, 827 F.2d 1324,

1329 (9th Cir. 1987) (“Issues not preserved in the pretrial order

are eliminated from the action.”).

B. The following issues are preserved for trial provided

jury instructions are submitted as required by Section IX of this

Order:

1. Plaintiff claims that the City and County

violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free

from excessive force by permitting officers to

abuse suspects of domestic violence.

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2. Plaintiff claims that his Fourth Amendment

right to be free from excessive force was

violated when Officer Lanham released an attack

police dog into the residence, and when

Officers Zalesny and Zufall and Corporal

Bullington struck him with batons and sprayed

him with pepper spray.

a. Each individual defendant asserts he

is shielded from liability by qualified

immunity for this claim.

3. Plaintiff claims that his State law right to be

free from assault was violated when Officer

Lanham released an attack police dog into the

residence, and when Officers Zalesny and Zufall

and Corporal Bullington struck him with batons

and sprayed him with pepper spray.

a. Each individual defendant asserts he

used reasonable force to effectuate

arrest.

4. Plaintiff claims that his State law right to be

free from battery was violated when Officer

Lanham released an attack police dog into the

residence, and when Officers Zalesny and Zufall

and Corporal Bullington struck him with batons

and sprayed him with pepper spray.

a. Each individual defendant asserts he

used reasonable force to effectuate

arrest.

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5. Plaintiff claims that his State law right to be

free from intentional infliction of emotional

distress was violated when Officer Lanham

released an attack police dog into the

residence, and when Officers Zalesny and Zufall

and Corporal Bullington struck him with batons

and sprayed him with pepper spray.

a. Each individual defendant asserts he

used reasonable force to effectuate

arrest.

6. Plaintiff claims that his State law right to be

free from negligent infliction of emotional

distress was violated when Officer Lanham

released an attack police dog into the

residence, and when Officers Zalesny and Zufall

and Corporal Bullington struck him with batons

and sprayed him with pepper spray.

a. Each individual defendant asserts he

used reasonable force to effectuate

arrest.

7. Plaintiff claims that his State law right to be

free from false imprisonment was violated when

Officer Lanham released an attack police dog

into the residence, and when Officers Zalesny

and Zufall and Corporal Bullington struck him

with batons and sprayed him with pepper spray.

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a. Each individual defendant asserts

he used reasonable force to

effectuate arrest.

8. Plaintiff claims $3 million in punitive damages

against the individual defendants for his

Fourth Amendment claim and the intentional tort

claims.

9. Each side seeks attorney fees under 28 U.S.C. §

1988.

C. In addition to the matters set forth in Local Rule

16-285, the parties shall brief the following points of law in

their trial briefs. 

1. The elements, standards, and burdens of proof as

to each of Plaintiff's causes of action, including citations of

authority in support thereof.

2. The elements, standards, and burdens of proof

as to each of Defendant's defenses, including citations of

authority in support thereof.

Notwithstanding Local Rule 16-285, trial briefs shall be

filed with the Court no later than twenty (20) court days prior to

the date of trial. A joint or partial joint trial brief is

permitted. All legal positions briefed in the trial brief shall be

supported with case and applicable statutory authority. See Local

Rule 16-285. If separate or partial separate trial briefs are

submitted, responding briefs, if any, shall be filed with the Court

no later than five (5) court days prior to trial. The trial

brief(s) must include “a summary of points of law, including

reasonably anticipated disputes concerning admissibility of

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evidence, legal arguments, and citations of authority in support

thereof.” Local Rule 16-285(a)(3).

 IV. WITNESSES

A. Plaintiff anticipates calling the witnesses listed on

Exhibit A.

B. Defendants anticipate calling the witnesses listed on

Exhibit B.

C. Each party may call a witness designated by the

other.

D. No person, other than those named on these witness

lists, will be permitted to testify unless:

(1) The party offering the witness demonstrates that

the witness is for the purpose of rebutting evidence which could

not reasonably be anticipated at the pretrial conference; or

(2) The witness was discovered after the pretrial

conference and the proffering party makes the showing required in

"E", below.

E. If a witness is discovered after the pretrial

conference, counsel for the party offering the witness shall

promptly inform the Court and opposing parties of the existence of

the unlisted witness so that the Court may consider at trial

whether the witness shall be permitted to testify. The witness

will be not be permitted to testify unless:

(1) The witness could not reasonably have been

discovered prior to pretrial;

(2) The Court and opposing counsel were promptly

notified upon discovery of the witness;

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(3) If time permitted, counsel offered the witness

for deposition; and

(4) If time did not permit, a reasonable summary of

the witness' testimony was provided to opposing counsel.

V. EXHIBITS

A. Plaintiff anticipates offering the exhibits listed on

Exhibit C.

B. Defendants anticipate offering the exhibits listed on

Exhibit D.

C. No other exhibits will be permitted to be introduced

unless:

(1) The party seeking to use the unlisted exhibit

demonstrates that the exhibit is being used to rebut evidence which

could not reasonably have been anticipated at the pretrial

conference; or

(2) The unlisted exhibit was discovered after the

pretrial conference and the offering party makes the showing

required in paragraph "D", below.

D. Any party proposing to introduce an exhibit which was

discovered after the pretrial conference shall promptly notify the

Court and opposing counsel of the existence of such exhibit. The

Court will not permit any such exhibit to be introduced unless it

finds:

(1) That the exhibit could not reasonably have been

discovered prior to the pretrial conference;

(2) The Court and counsel were promptly informed of

the exhibit's existence; and

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28 The parties have leave to file joint exhibits. The above 4

procedure is designed for separate exhibits.

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(3) That the offering party has delivered a copy of

the exhibit to opposing counsel, or, if the exhibit may not be

copied, that the offering counsel has made the exhibit reasonably

available for inspection by opposing counsel. 

E. Plaintiff's exhibits shall be numbered and marked

with colored stickers provided by the Court while Defendants’

exhibits shall be designated by alphabetical letter also marked

with colored stickers provided by the Court. To obtain stickers,

parties should contact the Clerk of Court at (916) 930-4000.

The parties are directed to exchange with each other, at

least twenty (20) court days prior to trial, copies of all of their

respective exhibits, marked with exhibit stickers provided by the

Court. Within five (5) court days after receipt and examination of

the exhibits, each party shall file with the Court and serve upon

opposing counsel objections, if any, to the exhibits, referencing

the exhibits as marked by exhibit sticker and specifying the basis

for each objection. Failure to exchange exhibits as ordered could 4

result in the exhibit not being used at trial and/or the imposition

of sanctions. The failure to make objections in the manner

prescribed by this section shall constitute a waiver of objections. 

A party seeking to admit into evidence an exhibit to which no

objection was made must identify said exhibit for the record and

then move it into evidence. 

Counsel shall produce all exhibits to the Clerk's Office

on the Friday before the before trial date, no later than 4:00 p.m. 

At that time, the parties shall also furnish the Court with a copy

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Counsel for the parties are required to meet and confer 5

on whether it is appropriate to submit any documents to the judge

prior to trial. If the parties decide this is appropriate, they

shall reflect their agreement in a stipulation which has attached

thereto whatever documents they agree can be considered by the

judge before trial. The stipulation should be filed and submitted

to the judge’s chambers at the parties’ earliest convenience.

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of each exhibit, unless the exhibit is physically incapable of

being reproduced. Failure to produce exhibits as ordered could

result in waiver of the right to offer those exhibits. Each party

submitting exhibits shall furnish a list to the Court, the

courtroom deputy and opposing counsel itemizing the exhibits. 

VI. FURTHER PREPARATION FOR USE OF DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS5

A. It is the duty of counsel to ensure that any

depositions which are to be used at trial for any purpose shall

have been filed with the clerk, and counsel are cautioned that a

failure to discharge this duty may result in preclusion of the use

of the unfiled depositions or in the imposition of such other

sanctions as the Court deems appropriate.

B. No later than twenty (20) court days before the trial

commencement date, counsel for each party shall serve on the other

parties a statement designating all answers to interrogatories and

all portions of depositions (except for passages to be used solely

for refreshing recollection, impeachment or rebuttal). No later

than ten (10) court days before the trial commencement date,

counter-designations of other portions of these discovery documents

may be served. No later than five (5) court days before trial, the

parties shall file and serve any preserved evidentiary objections

to any designated discovery, or said objections are waived.

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VII. FURTHER DISCOVERY OR MOTIONS

Pursuant to the Court's Pretrial Scheduling Order, all

discovery and law and motion was to have been completed prior to

the date of the final pretrial conference. That order is

confirmed. The parties are, of course, free to conduct any

additional discovery they desire pursuant to informal agreement. 

However, any such agreement will not be enforceable in this Court.

VIII. SEPARATE TRIAL OF ISSUES

The trial will be conducted in two phases: liability and

punitive damages. If the jury finds punitive damages are

recoverable in the liability phase, trial on the amount of punitive

damages will immediately occur. During the first phase of the

trial, the jury will be given a liability instruction on punitive

damages along with the other closing instructions and a verdict

form which will include the liability question on punitive damages. 

If the answer is yes, then evidence pertinent to the amount of

punitive damages would be presented in the second phase of the

trial, following which the parties would present closing argument

on that issue and a jury instruction would be given. The jury

would then deliberate on the issue and fill in a punitive damages

verdict form.

IX. JURY INSTRUCTIONS, VOIR DIRE, AND VERDICT FORMS

A. The parties are to prepare jury instructions, in the

manner specified in paragraph B below. Counsel shall tailor all

general instructions to the facts and issues in suit.

B. Counsel are directed to confer and to attempt to

agree upon a joint set of jury instructions and verdict forms. 

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C. All instructions, both general and specific, shall

be submitted in the exact numerical order counsel desires them

given to the jury and shall be tailored to the facts and issues in

suit.

The joint set of instructions and verdict forms shall be

filed with the court clerk fifteen (15) court days prior to the

date of the trial. As to instructions on which there is dispute,

the parties shall adhere to the following procedure: 1) the party

offering the disputed instruction(s) shall submit the

instruction(s) as its proposed jury instructions, shall submit

authority in support of the proposed instruction(s) and shall

number the disputed instruction(s) in a manner that shows where

each disputed instruction should be placed in the tendered agreed

upon instructions. The contested instruction(s) and supporting

authority shall be filed with the joint set of instructions fifteen

(15) court days prior to the date of the trial; 2) the party

opposed to the contested instruction(s) shall file opposing

authority ten (10) court days prior to the date of the trial.

D. All instructions shall be, to the extent possible,

concise, understandable, and neutral statements of law. They shall

be prepared in accordance with Local Rule 51-163. Ninth Circuit

Pattern Instructions are preferred.

E. It is the parties' responsibility to ensure that

jury instructions are submitted on all issues preserved for trial

in accordance with the schedule set forth above. Pursuant to Local

Rule 51-163, instructions not presented in accordance with this

Order will be refused unless it is shown either (1) that the

necessity for the request arose in the course of trial; the

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instructions could not reasonably have been anticipated prior to

trial from the Final Pretrial Order; and the request for such

additional instructions is presented to the Court as promptly as

possible; or (2) that the refusal to give such instructions would

constitute manifest injustice under Rule 16(e). 

F. Most of the examination of prospective jurors is

conducted by the Court. The parties are directed to meet and

confer and attempt to agree upon a joint set of proposed voir dire

questions. These questions shall include any voir dire questions

supplied by the Court that the parties believe are necessary. The

joint set of voir dire questions shall be filed with the Court

fifteen (15) court days prior to the date of the trial. Parties

may also submit proposed voir dire questions which are disputed. 

Disputed voir dire questions shall be filed with the Court fifteen

(15) court days prior to the date of the trial and shall be

accompanied by an explanation as to the need for the question and

supporting case authority when available. The opposing party shall

respond with reasons for the opposition and any supporting case

authority no later than ten (10) court days prior to the date of

trial. Each side is granted fifteen (15) minutes to conduct voir

dire following the Court's examination of prospective jurors.

G. The parties shall file a joint verdict form

concurrently with proposed jury instructions fifteen (15) court

days prior to the commencement of trial. See L.R. 51-163(e). A

special verdict or interrogatories shall be included for all

factual disputes submitted to the jury that must be resolved before

questions of law can be decided, and for any other issue on which

specific responses are desired. The verdict form shall be prepared

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As explained in United States v. Blouin, 666 F.2d 796, 6

798 (2d Cir. 1981), "the goal of the 'struck jury' system is to

whittle down an initially selected group . . . [to the amount of

jurors] who will serve as the petit jury." The selected group

consists of the jurors who will hear the case, plus the number of

jurors required to enable the parties to use the combined number of

peremptory challenges allotted to both sides for striking jurors

from the group. Typically extra jurors are included in the select

group in the event the minimum amount of jurors required for the

"struck system" is reduced "for cause" or some other reason.

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in accordance with Local Rule 51-163(e). At the same time, where

disagreements exist, the parties shall explain the disagreement and

submit points and authorities supporting their respective

positions.

At the time of electronically filing the jury

instructions and verdict forms, counsel shall also submit a copy of

the sanitized joint jury instructions, the sanitized disputed jury

instructions, and the joint verdict forms to the Court by email to

geborders@caed.uscourts.gov in accordance with L.R. 51-163(b)(1).

X. PROPOSED FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The parties have identified qualified immunity as the only

issue to be decided by the Court. The parties are directed to

submit proposed prevailing party findings and conclusions on this

issues ten (10) court days before trial. The parties may

supplement their proposed findings and conclusions as trial

progresses, up until closing arguments.

XI. USE OF STRUCK JURY SELECTION SYSTEM

Nine (9) jurors will be impaneled. The "struck jury"

system will be used to select the jury. At the beginning of the 6

voir dire process, approximately eighteen prospective jurors,

randomly selected by the Jury Administrator, will be seated for

voir dire. The order of the jurors’ random selection is reflected

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During the questioning, the attached Query Re Excuse 7

Potential Jurors form could be given to the parties to determine if

a particular juror should be excused. 

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by the order in which they will be seated. The first randomly

selected juror will be in jury seat number one, which is at the

extreme right-hand side of the jury box in the top row as the jury

box is viewed from the well of the courtroom. The eighth juror

will be in the eighth seat. The ninth selected juror will occupy

the seat located at the extreme right-hand side of the jury box in

the bottom row. The fifteenth seat will be in the left-hand side

of that row. Three chairs will be placed in front of the jury box. 

The sixteenth juror will occupy the seat on the right and the

eighteenth juror will occupy the seat on the left. The first nine

jurors on a list, which shall be given to counsel, will constitute

the petit jury unless one or more of those nine is excused for some

reason. Assuming that the first and fifth jurors on the list are

excused, the second listed juror becomes the first, and the other

jurors’ numbers are changed accordingly, with the ninth juror on

the list becoming seventh on the list; however, the jurors continue

to be identified by their original numbers.

Following the voir dire questioning, each side will take

turns exercising its three allotted peremptory strikes. If a side 7

elects to pass rather than exercise a particular peremptory

challenge, that challenge is waived.

XII. ATTORNEYS FEES

The parties are referred to Local Rule 54-293 concerning

the post-trial procedure for seeking an award of attorney's fees. 

/////

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The parties estimate it will take eight (8) days to try 8

the case.

XIII. TRIAL DATE

Trial to a jury will commence on March 20, 2007. A 8

trial day will commence at 9:00 a.m. and will adjourn at

approximately 4:30 p.m. At the first phase of the trial, each side

has thirty (30) minutes within which to make an opening statement

to the jury and one-hundred and ten (110) minutes within which to

make a closing argument. If trial proceeds to the second phase,

each side has twenty (20) minutes within which to make a closing

argument on the punitive damage issue. Counsel are to call Shani

Furstenau, Courtroom Deputy, at (916) 930-4114, one week prior to

trial to ascertain the status of the trial date.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 19, 2006

 

GARLAND E. BURRELL, JR.

United States District Judge

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